On the tail end of three well-crafted, inspiring escapes into a time long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away, George Lucas not only became one of the richest men and most well-respected men in the industry – he restored the Republic. And for those of us who adhered to a certain dogma of quality in our science fiction, he entered the annals of an extremely lonely pantheon.
It was with both excitement and trepidation, then, that we regarded the immense fanfare around The Phantom Menace. Sad was the day, however, when our cynicism was affirmed, as the sequel proved itself relegated more toward big money’s mockery of the Force than its adulation. Episodes Two and Three only reinforced the trend of gratuitous mediocrity and poor imagination that rendered the triumphs at Yavin and Hoth mere side notes to Lucas’ later, chronologically-skewed descent into degeneracy. And if the metaphor is clumsy, screw it. You don’t get many opportunities to rant in public about the degradation of the biggest name in sci-fi, and Feingold was in office for as many terms as Star Wars was good.
And as we were forced to watch George Lucas bastardize an entire franchise, so too must the people of Wisconsin witness Ron Johnson fail to do justice to a legacy hard-fought before him. Three noble and inspiring terms by Russ Feingold are about to be undone by the impetuous and well-funded efforts of one man who thought he could one-up near perfection.
Ron Johnson, lacking anything even resembling political experience, successfully ousted a man of integrity and skill for the sole reason that he had the funds to do so. Dark and stupid days loom on the horizon for the Badger state; we can only hope Johnson sticks to his intention of not keeping reelection in mind during his service.
To be sure, Feingold, the farm boy from Janesville, had his Endor moments. There was his lone vote against the PATRIOT Act. And his vote against the war – along with a subsequent grilling of Darth Wolfowitz, we couldn’t help but love.
We’d also like to give a shout out to the horde of commenters who predicted a bitter tirade against RoJo’s victory in Wednesday’s paper. You were right. We couldn’t help ourselves. But really, we just consider ourselves – and everybody else that calls the state of Wisconsin home – to have been well-represented for the past 18 years. Natalie Portman may have had better roles, but at this juncture we find it sadly prescient that Padme’s wasn’t the only galaxy where democracy seemed to die to thunderous applause.
Obi Wan Kenobi issued a warning that lingers with us. “Only a Sith deals in absolutes,” warned the embattled Jedi master. But this isn’t the first time a constituency that feels threatened by entrenched economic interests has chosen an extremist. When a white-haired gentleman named Palpatine first arrived from an obscure Outer Rim planet called Naboo, even the habitually pacifist Alderaanians were awed by his charm. Too bad, “It’s a trap!” came one Death Star too late.
Sam Clegg ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in economics. Jake Begun ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism.