Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Thursday, August 07, 2008

Vandals hit Democratic office in Viroqua again

By MATT JOHNSON / Lee Newspapers

VIROQUA, Wis. — The Democratic Party headquarters for Vernon and Crawford counties in downtown Viroqua was vandalized with a racial slur spray-painted over a sign promoting Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama.

It is the second time in recent weeks that the office’s front windows were defaced with spray paint. On July 15, at midday, vandals spray-painted the words “McCain: He’s a vet” on the front windows in addition to other messages.

The most recent incident, which was reported early today, included a racial slur about the Illinois senator’s run for the White House. The presumptive Democratic nominee is black.

The headquarters is in the former Dahl Pharmacy Building along Main Street. Karen Dahl, a member of the National Democratic Party’s Veteran and Military Council and owner of the building, said it was disappointing to see the headquarters vandalized a second time. She compared the vandalism to a hate crime.

Four hours after the vandalism was discovered, the spray-painted messages remained on the window. Dahl said local Democratic Party officials were torn between giving the matter any attention or leaving the vandalism up for a while so people can see how low the vandals had stooped.

“It really puts Viroqua in a bad light,” Dahl said.

Officials with the presidential campaigns of Obama and Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, could not be immediately reached for comment.

For more about this story, see Friday’s Tribune or return to www.lacrossetribune.com.