In 2011 a woman who worked for Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson (R) told Keith Best she was sexual assaulted by WI Rep. Bill Kramer (R). At the time, she retained a lawyer who wrote Kramer stating that she is the woman he assaulted and that Kramer needed to seek treatment and she would reconsider her decision not to report the incident to law enforcement if she learned of him acting inappropriately toward others in the future.
She alleges that in 2011 she was with a group of people at one event and they all decided to go to another place. She offered to give Bill Kramer a ride to the second location because he was too drunk to drive.
In Court documents the 2011 woman alleges:
Bill Kramer forcibly kissed her on the mouth with his tongue, put his hands up her shirt and grabbed her breasts, lunged her & pressed her up against her car, pushed her shirt up to look at her exposed breasts, grabbed her groin over her clothes, told her "I want to fuck you, I wanted to for a long time, I know you want it too, I want to get in your pants, I want to touch your pussy." She says that Kramer bent down to pick something up so she quickly sent a text to Keith Best and Jennifer Y & told them to hurry back to the parking lot because she was scared Kramer was going to rape her.
(emphasis mine)
In late February 2014, Bill Kramer is alleged to have sexually assaulted two more women.
In February, two women filed sexual assault charges against Bill Kramer(R). Living up to the words in her lawyer's letter to Kramer, the 2011 women went to authorities and told them that in 2011 she told Sen. Johnson, her supervisor and Keith Best that Bill Kramer had sexually assaulted her.
In September 2013, Bill Kramer was running for Wisconsin Republican Assembly Majority Leader. Keith Best told police he didn't mention the sexual assault to GOP Leader because he hoped the promotion would be a good motivator for Kramer to stop assaulting women.
Wisconsin Journal Sentinel quotes reports:
Best told the officer that he never spoke with Kramer about the incident and that despite the alleged sexual assault, Best hoped Kramer's promotion to Assembly majority leader would "give Kramer the motivation to 'clean up his act,'"
Nice huh?
So that's the GOP mind-set ... 'reward men who sexually assault women in an attempt to motivate them.' I wonder if the GOP plans to release all those convicted of sexual assault and give them leadership roles in the GOP in an effort to motivate them?
Whatever ...
The story gets even more bizarre and underscores the complete lack of respect men have for women and highlights the fact that the GOP elected leaders, who write laws, don't really give a damn if men, especially their own, sexually assault women.
Timeline:
April 2011
* Bill Kramer allegedly sexually assaults a woman who worked for Senator Ron Johnson.
* The woman asked Senator Johnson and her supervisor who was Johnson's Chief of Staff Tony Blando for advise on what to do about Kramer sexually assaulting her.
Guess it never occurred to these GOP f'cks (Blando & Sen Johnson) to .... oh I don't know ... advise their employee she should prosecute Kramer for sexually assaulting her?
September 2013
* Bill Kramer runs against Dean Knudson (R) for Wisconsin Republican Assembly Majority Leader, which is the number 2 spot int he Wisconsin chamber.
* Chris Kapenga (R) accused Bill Kramer of displaying a pattern of inappropriate behavior at an ALEC convention that made him unfit to hold the No. 2 spot in the chamber.
* Chris Kapenga (R) addressed the Assembly before the vote and said
“We can’t have sexual innuendos. We can’t have bad language in the public. I don’t have any concerns with Dean. I don’t. None. I do have those concerns with Bill.”
* Republican Speaker of the House, Robin Vos (R), did not purge Kramer's name from the list of candidates after Kapenga's comment.
The Guardian
describes ALEC as "
a dating agency for Republican state legislators and big corporations, bringing them together to frame rightwing legislative agendas in the form of 'model bills.' ALEC has received significant funding from the Charles Koch & David Koch is also a trustee of The Reason Foundation, a libertarian public policy institute and prominent ALEC member.
February 2014
* Bill Kramer is accused of sexually assaulting a female lobbyist at a fundraising event in Washington DC.
* Bill Kramer is accused of sexually assaulting a second woman, who is a legislative aide, at the same Washington DC event and again on the plane ride back to Wisconsin.
* Wisconsin legislators admit they saw Kramer physically assault the women but do not say whether they made him stop.
* Wisconsin lawmakers are told Bill Kramer is being investigated by police for sexually assaulting two women at DC fundraiser.
* Republican Speaker of the House, Robin Vos, was contacted by the 2011 woman and told him the details of Bill Kramer sexually assaulting her.
March 2014
* Bill Kramer ousted from GOP leadership position.
* Speaker Robin Vos said he was uncertain whether the 2011 incident would have made a difference in blocking Kramer's election for 2013 GOP leadership if Johnson or aides had shared details of the incident on their own without direct corroboration from the woman.
* Keith Best told a police officer that the incident "had been difficult for him" because Best was friends with both the woman and Kramer. He said he had seen Kramer drink too much and make inappropriate comments in the past but not be physically inappropriate. He said he remembered D.R had texted him and said she was very distraught and in need of service.
* Tony Blando, told police that in 2011 the woman who worked under him for Senator Johnson told him that Kramer had "fondled" her and grabbed her breasts after the Republican event and provided him with some specific information about what happened. He said she was distraught and seeking advice on what to do.
As for Vox, in GOP-land having their US Senator tell them Kramer had sexually assaulted his staffer wouldn't mean a GD thing ... and certainly would not mean Kramer is unfit to hold GOP Leadership position.
March 19, 2014
Bill Kramer with police:
Defendant said "I recall kissing her in 2008 at the Country Springs when she stuck her tongue down my throat." Defendant said he could not recall anything in 2011. Defendant was asked if he received a letter from a law firm regarding allegations and the defendant stated he did receive a letter from a law firm about contact with DR but claimed "I hardly read the letter." Defendant then said "I kissed her good night maybe." Still later the defendant stated "I'm sure I kissed her good night." ... ... the defendant stated "<strong>maybe I did maybe I didn't in regard to kissing." The defendant stated "as much as I remember she kissed me back." The defendant was asked if he touched her breasts and defendant responded "I am sure I put my hands somewhere, I do not know where." The defendant was asked multiple times about touching D.R's breasts and he responded with different answers including "I don't remember doing that and I am saying it did not happen." The defendant then stated "DR has very nice doctor enhanced breasts. I am not a big fan of those I like the real ones." The defendant stated "I do not have any incentive to put my hands on her breasts."
(emphasis mine)
I should mention here, in, what may seem to be effort to show that WI GOP respect women (snark), they appointed a women, Rep. Pat Strachota (R) to take Kramer's place as number 2 in the Assembly.
April 2014
James Gatzke, lawyer for Bill Kramer complains that the police report has been made public.
I wonder if Keith Best still thinks rewarding Kramer for sexually assaulting women is motivator for him to clean up his act.
Ahhh .... yes ... what GOP War On Women?
Link to the Court document is here.