Participation in power. It is a fundamental principle upon which
democracies build success. Allow people to choose their
representatives, the reasoning goes, and you have a better
government. But as any politician knows, playing to the people’s
ever-shifting preferences can be a successful way to maintain
power. Likewise, when the people aren’t paying any attention, you
can pull a fast one and no one will notice.

Our own Gov. Doyle seems to be playing by these rules. Only this
time, he’s keeping his mouth shut on legislation that will
critically affect the nature of democracy itself.

It’s time to call him out.

Amid the furor of conceal and carry as well as the
anti-gay-rights bill, a little-known bill introduced by Republicans
passed the State Senate on a party-line vote: S.B. 18. It would
allow future gubernatorial candidates to select their own
lieutenant governor candidate after they get through the party
primaries in September.

Under current law, the lieutenant governor must endure the
democratic scrutiny of a party primary, and the winners of the two
separate elections then move on to the general election in
November.

The current system sounds pretty democratic, doesn’t it? The
people, those from whom a democratic government rightfully derives
its power, pick those who represent them in a position specifically
designated by the Wisconsin Constitution.

Take the current governor and lieutenant governor, for example.
Gov. Doyle won his primary in a three-way race, taking a plurality
of the vote. Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton won her race by majority,
defeating Kevin Shibilski.

Ahh, but now we know why Gov. Doyle has not mentioned a thing at
all about this legislation — you see, he wanted Shibilski to be
his lieutenant governor. The trouble is, Kevin Shibilski was the
only Democrat to vote for the Republican budget proposal when he
sat on the Legislature’s most powerful committee — the Joint
Finance Committee. As a result, he was rightfully vilified within
the Democratic Party on what was the most critical piece of
legislation during that session. Days later, Democrats across
Wisconsin called Barbara Lawton and asked her to run against
Shibilski for the lieutenant governor’s slot. Shortly thereafter,
she declared her candidacy — and Shibilski’s numbers tanked. In
the primary, she went on to garner more votes for her nomination
than Doyle did for his.

So I tip my hat to all you Senate Republicans — you’ve used
your majority to successfully pass a piece of legislation that
divides Democrats. You knew that Doyle didn’t like Lawton, and that
he had kept her from “getting on the inside” of hot legislative
negotiations by giving her assignments like the Arts Board and
burying her popular campaign finance reform legislation. And,
predictably, Gov. Doyle has played right into your hands — one
source close to Lawton says that her office has no idea what Doyle
plans to do on the bill, and they are scrambling to find out what
will happen.

It’s too bad Doyle has not yet come out against the legislation
— perhaps it’s his ego. His pick for lieutenant governor was a bad
one, and it is precisely for this reason that primary voters got
him a better one. (Shibilski later resigned from his position as
tourism secretary amidst scandal.) It’s funny how democracy works
that way. The people pick what they think best represents their
interests — and more often than not, they make the right
choice.

Politically, taking a stance against this legislation also makes
sense for Doyle. Right now, the State Democrats are in disarray —
half of the Senate caucus just voted for legislation to allow
concealed weapons, just enough to override his veto. And an
override of the same legislation is just a few votes short in the
Assembly, where Democrats also crossed over.

All this in spite of the fact that law-enforcement associations
— as well as a majority of Wisconsin citizens — are against the
gun legislation. If Doyle wants to keep his party together and
maintain the relevancy of his veto pen, he should get on board
(openly and legislatively) with Lawton and the majority of the
Democratic Party she represents.

So here’s a piece of advice for you, Gov. Doyle: Stop playing
politics quietly, and let the people decide. The people picked
Lawton, and there is nothing wrong with a little democracy every
now and then. Hey, it might even help you in the political arena —
that’s what matters most to you, right?

Paul Temple ([email protected]) is a senior
majoring in political science and philosophy.