Tiffany (Unwittingly) Blasts Trump
Sept. 16, 2026
Here’s the start of a recent newspaper column by a fairly well-known supporter of Tom Tiffany, the far-right-wing candidate for Wisconsin governor:
“Wisconsin voters, in picking their governor in two months, will decide if they want to elect a leftist so addled that he signed legislation using public money to give laptops and tablets to jail inmates who then used them to intimidate witnesses and view pornography.”
So says Mark Belling, a right-wing former radio host, blasting Democratic candidate David Crowley for authorizing the tablet program.
It is true that some tablets have been misused by a handful of inmates since Crowley authorized the program as Milwaukee County executive in 2022. It also should be noted that in each cited case, they got caught.
Tiffany, though, says the program proves Crowley is soft on crime. If you follow politics in Wisconsin, you’ve seen the commercial.
Too bad Tiffany didn’t do his homework. Because the program isn’t some liberal scheme cooked up by Crowley to give unfettered internet access to incorrigible criminals. It is being used in thousands of jails and prisons across the country, in “red” and “blue” states alike, including Utah, Idaho, Texas, Florida — you get the picture. The concept underpinning it is well-regarded among many prison officials as well as prisoner advocates for offering rehab and educational opportunities to incarcerated people.
And here’s the kicker:
President Donald Trump’s own Department of Justice loves the idea. In July, the department announced plans to roll out a similar “landmark” program to inmates throughout the entire federal Bureau of Prisons, which has more than 150,000 people in custody. The tablets, it says, “will dramatically modernize the agency’s approach to communication, education, rehabilitation and daily operations across its facilities nationwide.”
So according to Tiffany, Trump is way softer on crime than Crowley is.
Maybe Tiffany should rethink that TV commercial.
— Chuck Melvin