This Fourth of July, families across Wisconsin will fire up the grill, line Main Streets for hometown parades, wave American flags, and gather beneath the fireworks to celebrate the greatest experiment in self-government the world has ever known.
The celebration carries even more meaning this year. As America marks its 250th birthday, communities across the country are taking part in a once-in-a-generation milestone—a chance to reflect on how far the nation has come, honor those who built and defended it, and pass that appreciation on to the next generation.
But while families across Wisconsin are looking forward to celebrating America’s semiquincentennial with patriotic parades and flag-lined streets, State Representative Lee Snodgrass (D–Appleton) has apparently had enough.
In a 2018 Facebook post in a group called “Pride Parade in the Fox Cities – Make It Happen 2019,“ Snodgrass—who is listed as one of the group’s administrators—wrote, “Appleton has so many damn parades. I’m tired of parades with patriotic pride and itching for one with LGBTQ pride. Who’s with me?”
She then encouraged other members of the group to research communities that had already held Pride parades, explore ways to fund the effort, and “start with fun stuff.”
According to another member of the group, that “fun stuff” included bringing “condoms and lube” to hand out during the parade—a comment that Snodgrass herself “liked.”
Snodgrass’s apparent disdain for patriotic celebrations reflects a broader trend within today’s Democratic Party. According to a recent NBC News poll, just 29% of Democrats say they are proud to be American. Among adults ages 18 to 34, that number rises to only 36%. It’s no coincidence that this same demographic has become the driving force behind the Democratic Socialist movement’s recent surge across the country.
This is hardly the first time Snodgrass has found herself at the center of controversy.
In 2022, while the Legislature was debating a Parents’ Bill of Rights, Snodgrass tweeted, “If parents want to ‘have a say’ in their child’s education they should home school or pay for private school out of their family budget,” implying that parents whose children attend public schools should have fewer rights over their children’s education.
Then, in a 2024 interview with the League of Women Voters, Snodgrass argued that “population decline is healthy for our planet” as a way to combat climate change and suggested Wisconsin should invest in automation to offset workforce shortages caused by declining birth rates.
Just this year, during an Assembly floor debate on legislation creating a civil cause of action for minors harmed by gender transition procedures, Snodgrass compared a minor receiving puberty blockers or a double mastectomy to an adult getting a spray tan or hair extensions.
Snodgrass’s past comments, coupled with her disdain for patriotic celebrations, reflect a broader trend within today’s Democratic Party—one that seems increasingly disconnected from the values and traditions that have long united Americans.
While most Wisconsinites are proud to celebrate America, Lee Snodgrass seems more interested in celebrating anything but.
