If Wisconsin Democrats want voters to take them seriously on ethics reform, it must start at the top. That means no more highway contractors invited to Gov. Jim Doyle's fundraisers. It also means that if civil servants are suspected of rigging contracts for political gain, they should be required to give all the money back.
The reason too many refuse to vote is that their interests won't be represented regardless of the outcome. Sadly, they are usually right. Of course if the disaffected masses did start voting and promoting rational candidates able to work with their colleagues in the statehouse, politicians would suddenly find the motivation to snub influential lobbies.
However, a movement of this magnitude would need a catalyst. While unlikely, a new progressive revolution would be a uniquely Wisconsin story.
True progressives want transparency in government and an end to the state Republican equation of grandstanding plus guns minus gays equals victory. They also want an end to the disproportionate influence of ultra-liberal special interest groups who are hijacking whatever remains of rational democratic leadership. See: shrill anti-war mother Cindy Sheehan threatening to run against U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Cal., for refusing to filibuster the Supreme Court nomination of Justice Samuel Alito.
It is the compromises politicians make to placate these groups which lead to an extraordinary lack of action. It is why Democrats are incapable of fixing Wisconsin's broken public school system and why state Republicans are incapable of doing anything that doesn't allow us to carry hidden guns.
With the threat of mass defections from vital interest groups, who can blame Mr. Doyle for walking the line? Why risk political ruin just so the entire state is subjected to gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker's boundless ego for four years?
Don't shed too many tears for Gov. Doyle. Everyone is forced to operate within this system, and it is nearly impossible to get elected at the state level without buying publicity. Since nobody pays attention to state politics, the best way to get this money is from special interest donors. Someone ought to have the courage to change the system by turning away from the improprieties of a statehouse drowning in special interest money. Jim Doyle does not.
I don't believe this is asking for too much. Instead, voters are asking for too little. No one expects him to follow in the footsteps of the late Wisconsin Sen. William Proxmire, who won a landslide re-election in 1982 with $145.10 in campaign costs. After all, who knows if that approach will pay off? Is this part of the population too enamored with reality TV, shopping for designer mouse pads and wearing 'UGG'ly boots to care whether their tax dollars are funneled to a political campaign? The frightening conclusion is that these otherwise rational people will find any excuse to avoid voting as long as the drop in their quality of life is too subtle to notice.
This progressive revolution does not seem like a Wisconsin story, but if we follow this path our state will have to get much worse before it gets any better. The revolution will have humble beginnings.
Here's the game plan: the new right-to-life governor allows pharmacists to refuse to dispense everything from birth control pills to condoms. You figure since you don't live in the boonies, no worries. That changes when a red-faced pharmacist goes on a diatribe explaining just how the pill you take every day kills God's children.
On a national level, Democrats rail on President Bush for ignoring the hardships of laid-off GM workers. Eventually a few Republican leaders convince him to bail out U.S. auto companies, which saves the jobs of those still employed. But you find it strange Democrats advocate providing welfare to a company whose outdated business model revolves around selling giant gas-guzzlers that destroy the environment.
An obscure challenge to an abortion statute in Virginia shocks the nation as the high court overturns Roe v. Wade. A number of state legislatures, including Wisconsin's, capitalize on the momentum and quickly ban abortion. Surprisingly, without abortion the world hasn't fallen apart and you notice people are more measured in their sexual activity. You start to think that maybe the pro-lifers have a valid point about our corrupted values. That is, until a friend dies from an infection after attempting to dislodge a contorted coat hanger from her uterus.
After a series of unexplained dividend tax cuts people take to the streets, incensed by government peddling to special interests. Twenty state senators lose their jobs in the next election cycle. Fifteen of the winners are independents.
Yeah, I get it. It's pie in the sky to hope that successful politicians who sincerely try to represent the interests of a district will risk their careers to reform a broken political system. But I like to dream.
Bassey Etim ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism and political science.
