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发帖数: 29846 | 1 By Frank Burke
For those outside the state to fully appreciate the significance of what is
happening in Wisconsin, it is necessary to understand the local political
situation over the past decade.
To conservatives and to many moderates, the capture of the governorship, the
state senate and assembly, two House seats, and the Senate seat formerly
held by Russ Feingold, produced a feeling that can only be described as
liberation. The total Democratic control that accompanied the Doyle
administration resulted in a climate that in its fiscal, legal, and ethical
lapses was extraordinary even for a state as politically eccentric as
Wisconsin.
Often cited as the state that produced both Bob La Fallotte and Joe McCarthy
, Wisconsin politics has generally trended to the populist/liberal.
Milwaukee was the first major city to elect a Socialist, Emil Seidel, as
Mayor (1910). He was succeeded by another Socialist, Dan Hoan, who led the
longest continuous Socialist administration in U.S. history. (Appropriately
, a misguided and now deteriorated public works project, known locally as
the "Bridge to Nowhere," was named for Hoan.)
In recent years, the political and social structures erected and augmented
by Democratic administrations were left largely untouched by Republicans.
In his second term, the last Republican governor, Tommy Thompson, embarked
on a large number of wasteful, big-spending projects that generated higher
taxes. Under his aegis, the citizens of surrounding counties were forced to
pay taxes to finance the building of Miller Park on behalf of Milwaukee
Brewers owner, Bud Selig. When Thompson left to join the cabinet of George
W. Bush as Secretary of Health and Human Services, his successor, Scott
McCallum, had to use Wisconsin's share of the tobacco settlement funds to
cover budget deficits.
While Thompson can be credited for such initiatives as the School Choice
Program and welfare reform, his free-spending ways alienated conservatives
and paved the way to McCallum's defeat in 2002, as did the campaign of his
libertarian brother, Ed Thompson.
The Doyle administration quickly became known as a tax-and-spend, pay-for-
play, juggernaut with little or no sense of fiscal or ethical
responsibilities. To cover budget shortfalls, Doyle resorted to the illegal
seizure of state funds contributed by doctors to alleviate the cost of
medical malpractice. Courts have since declared that the money seized must
be repaid. Other irregularities included an attempt by the governor to
become the sole bargaining agent with tribal gaming casinos, and utilizing
stimulus money intended for high-speed rail to purchase equipment made in
Spain. Disregarding massive popular support and a reaffirmation of the
Second Amendment by the U.S. Supreme Court, he vetoed concealed carry
legislation that would have made it possible for responsible private
citizens to carry concealed weapons. (Wisconsin is one of only two states
that ban concealed/carry.)
Despite numerous instances of extensive election fraud, Doyle resisted any
reform attempts and vetoed a bill requiring photo ID. His anti-business
stance was evident in refusing to curb the lawsuit abuse that made the state
a Mecca for trial lawyers. Just as numerous film companies were
discovering the advantages of shooting at Wisconsin locations, he rescinded
the tax advantages that were helping to attract them.
Doyle also refused to rein in the DNR (Department of Natural Resources)
which has become a quasi-shadow government and extended its power far beyond
the scope of its original charter. Most recently, through a combination of
junk science and bad research, it has managed to decimate Wisconsin's deer
herd - a severe blow to one of the primary tourist lures.
Nor was Doyle the only problem. Russ Feingold's defeat was primarily due to
his refusal to heed his constituency on the matter of ObamaCare. In news
footage of town hall meetings, he could be seen arrogantly laughing at the
voters who questioned him. While styling himself a maverick, he continually
jumped into line in support of liberal legislation. His most single
accomplishment, the McCain-Feingold Act, could not pass constitutional
muster.
Wisconsin's other Senator, Herb Kohl -- known as "Senator Do-Nothing" -- is
a multi-millionaire who spent an average of 12 dollars per vote to become
reelected.
Perhaps what is most important and what is not being mentioned in the news
reports from Madison is the performance of the teachers in the Milwaukee
Public School System; the same teachers who forced the closure of the city
schools on Friday. As one of 17 urban districts with a graduation rate
below 50 percent, the system is in serious trouble. Further, as recently as
the 2005-6 school year (the last year for which this data is publicly
available), there were over 11,000 calls to police from Milwaukee public
schools. For example, the city's vocational school, Bradley Tech, was
thoroughly refurbished and reequipped by The Lynde and Harry Bradley
Foundation in memory of its founders. Despite this, it has become a hotbed
of violence, gang activity, and narcotics trafficking. When large-scale
fights have broken out in the school, students have called their parents by
cell phones to have the parents come and join the melee.
The school board, mainly populated by representatives sympathetic to the
teachers' union, continues to raise taxes to finance increased salaries and
benefits. On a national level, Obama's first stimulus package included
money to finance the construction of more Milwaukee schools, despite the
fact that five school buildings currently stand empty.
The problem has reached such proportions that even Democrats have noticed.
Within the last year, it has been suggested that the school system be broken
into a number of regions under separate administrators so as to make the
situation more controllable. The public is currently awaiting
recommendations contained in Governor Walker's comprehensive budget proposal
. The fact remains that the citizens of Wisconsin, and Milwaukee in
particular, are aware that there must be significant changes -- and that
these do not include rewards to perpetuate dysfunctional school systems.
As Milwaukee County Executive, Scott Walker inherited a financial mess
created by his predecessor. A strong proponent of not raising taxes, he
vetoed numerous bills in an effort to control the County's finances. Since
he has assumed the governorship, he has instituted tort reform, generated a
package of business incentives to put people back to work, and undertaken
steps toward election reform. Regardless of the mobs of demonstrators, many
of whom come from out of state on the behest of the Obama administration
and its union cronies, the people of Wisconsin enthusiastically support his
efforts. They have lived with the alternative for too long.
The combination of past fiscal irresponsibility by both political parties
but most especially by the Doyle administration, coupled with the
entitlement philosophy of the teachers' unions and other public sector
unions, has resulted in the loss of both jobs and population. This has not
gone unnoticed by other states that have avidly pursued Wisconsin companies
with packages of incentives and tax advantages. Only serious concessions by
the private sector unions have enabled two of the state's signature
companies -- Mercury Marine and Harley-Davidson -- to remain. Governor
Walker's valiant struggle certainly has national implications. For the
majority of Wisconsin's citizens, it represents a major step on the long
road toward rebuilding, repositioning, and reviving a state that has much to
offer.
As the state motto exhorts: "Forward!" |
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