The brother of a Wisconsin Democrat running to replace Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) said a letter his mother released attacking Ryan was not written in her voice. James Bryce, brother of congressional candidate Randy Bryce, called a Wisconsin talk radio station to say the campaign's actions are "unconscionable."
"I talked to my mother last night, and after talking to her, as soon as I read the reply, my immediate response was 'that’s not her,'" Bryce said. "That’s not her writing. That’s not how she talks."
Yesterday, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel obtained a letter signed by James and Randy’s mother, Nancy Bryce, calling on the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) to pull an ad that features James explaining why he will not support his brother in the election.
"There is now a group of people from Washington who consider it a good idea to pit my boys against each other for their own political gain," the letter says. "But they didn’t consider a mother’s pain at seeing her children used as tools in a political fight, splashed with millions of dollars of ads across the airwaves."
"Shame on this 'super PAC' for running these ads, shame on its leader Paul Ryan for funding them, and shame on people of good conscience who choose to sit idly by and watch this pain inflicted upon a family in the name of partisan politics," the letter continues.
Earlier this week, CLF released an ad wherein Bryce, a police officer, explains why he will support his brother’s opponent, Republican Bryan Steil. "I don’t think people want to be represented by someone who’s shown contempt for those in law enforcement. That’s one of the many reasons why I’m voting for Bryan Steil for Congress," he said.
Randy Bryce has been arrested nine times since 1991, and he has compared police officers to "terrorists" on Twitter.
On the radio show, James Bryce said he talked to his mother and feels "confident in saying that I think it’s unconscionable that a campaign would take advantage of a vulnerable and elderly mother, use her as a pawn in an ad like that."
Bryce clarified that he believes someone else helped write the letter. "I’m saying that as soon as I read that response, my first thought was 'that’s not her writing, that’s not her style, that’s not the way she talks,' and after talking to her, I’m confident in saying that she definitely had some help," he said.