The Badger Herald

OPINION & EDITORIAL

Local politics spices things up

Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.

Also by Jack Garigliano:

Tuition raise continues daunting trend (October 25, 2007)
Republicans overreact to UW e-mail (October 11, 2007)
Music downloads still safe (September 28, 2007)
College Dems do it dirty, focus on 'ass'inine issues (September 13, 2007)
Tibetan flag flap should blow over (May 2, 2007)

by Jack Garigliano

Thursday, October 19, 2006

When crafting a delicious turkey sandwich, one must not forget to add the condiments. Although not an essential component of the sandwich, condiments still provide an extra dab of flavor that can make the whole sandwich all the more worthwhile. Whether it's the sharp tang of mustard, the concentrated tomato-like taste of ketchup or the repugnant stench of mayonnaise, carefully added seasoning can transform a simple turkey sandwich from a bland foodstuff into an experience to savor and enjoy.

Similarly, national affairs are all very well on their own, but the efforts of local counties and cities to affect the federal government add zest to the national turkey. The specific efforts I'm referring to are the non-binding referendums placed on the ballot by a host of municipalities last April, as well as several similar referendums coming to the constituents this November.

Last April, 32 city councils and county boards, including Madison's, included what was collectively known as the "Bring the Troops Home Now" referendums in their spring election buffet. These referendums asked whether U.S. troops stationed in Iraq should be immediately withdrawn. Twenty-eight of the 32 referendums passed, giving an affirmative "yes" to the question posed. This November, at least 13 other municipalities will pose the same question to their inhabitants. Tricky little Ozaukee County will ask essentially the same question, but formed in such a way that a "yes" vote indicates support for "waging a war on terrorism, including Iraq and Afghanistan," until "organized terrorism is eliminated." Two more municipalities, Wisconsin Rapids and Pittsville, will ask if President George and Vice President Richard should go through an impeachment hearing. Similar impeachment referendums have popped up across the nation.

Of course, the direct effect of these referendums is nil. When Bush reads what Pittsville thinks of him in the morning papers, he will not rush over to the House of Representatives and beg a swift impeachment from Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. And the United States will never suddenly pull out from Iraq as long as the battered land remains in its current sorry state. An immediate withdrawal from Iraq would be one of the most reckless, irresponsible things the United States has done this millennium, second only to the wretched invasion that started everything in the first place. On top of that, the referendums represent a very small portion of Wisconsin communities. The string of referendums last April stood for 325,000 of the 5.3 million Wisconsin residents. For you number aficionados, that's just 6 percent of the state represented, without mentioning the number of people from that tiny pool, or rather puddle, who actually bothered to take a break from their spring season and vote.

In the face of this apparent uselessness, some may be tempted to dismiss these referendums as completely unnecessary. But while the current referendums represent a very small portion of the population and their effect on legislators remains uncertain, these measures still show, more than boring old poll numbers ever can, that people care enough about the relevant issue to push it onto the ballot. In several municipalities, such as Monona and Mount Horeb, activists had to collect enough signatures to bring the proposed referendum to the city's attention. No small degree of campaigning took place last winter and early spring, especially in Madison, with the formation of the "Vote NO to Cut and Run" political action committee and "The Bring Our Troops Home Coalition." Now, I may be a tad naíve and unfamiliar with living in the mostly politically active climate of Madison. But these local movements give me, if not the politician, a welcome respite from the common visions of indifferent next-door neighbors and education referendum after education referendum being cut down by well-insulated crotchety old people who don't want to give any of their money to ungrateful little hooligans. Local community efforts that strive to influence national affairs provide a wealth of opportunity for activism, involvement, and debate of issues that may normally seem distant and unimportant. To return to the turkey metaphor (because it wasn't painful enough the first time), the extra spice of local actions can make the whole sandwich a better flavor.

Jack Garigliano (garigliano@wisc.edu) is a freshman majoring in English.

Feedback

Show all comments

Hide anonymous comments

Anonymous (October 19, 2006 @ 11:37am):

In many cases (like Madison), it wasn't the politicians that put it on the ballot, but the people, through a petition drive.

Anonymous (October 19, 2006 @ 12:53pm):

The problem with local politics is that everyone's a hothead extremist. Nobody's interested in debating the issues in a mature adult fashion. They just want to get in someone else's face and bitch-bitch-bitch.

Anonymous (October 19, 2006 @ 5:21pm):

Of the 32 communities voting on these questions in April, all but four were placed on the ballot by petitioning. And the four communities that didn't go the petition route were towns, where citizens are prohibited from placing a question on the ballot by petitioning (only residents of cities and villages are allowed to do this).
This time around, only the Milwaukee and the town of Springdale referendums were put on the ballot by elected officials, the rest are the product of citizen activism.