A funny thing just happened in my hometown. There was a revolt. And the results are disturbing for the course of our state politics.
In Washington and Ozaukee counties, current president of the state senate, Mary Panzer, was unseated in her primary run by far-right ideologue Rep. Glenn Grothman. Panzer ran a terrible reelection campaign and has recently made a series of mistakes that showed her to be one who has rested too long on her laurels as head of state government.
A little background on the 20th Senate District:
I’m from West Bend, a wonderful little town that is as homogenous, conservative and monotonous as you can get. At my high school I could count the number of minority students on my fingers and toes (and might not need the toes).
My family moved there in the mid-’70s when an influx of new families started (slightly) to bring in a bit of new blood to the area, some of which was a tad Democratic. But they remain in the extreme minority; Democrats tend to be sacrificial lambs in electoral politics.
Panzer made a series of missteps and stumbles in the last legislative session (and the emergency one she called during the Democratic convention). She couldn’t get TABOR passed in the state senate, a conservative pet project; was supported by WEAC (the teachers union, the kiss of death in conservative country) and had a tenuous and strained relationship with her home district.
In contrast, Glenn Grothman is a true blue right-wing ideologue. He supports concealed weapon permits and is a staunchly pro-life, even to the point of never allowing an exception for a woman’s health. Most importantly, to the residents of my hometown who don’t understand economics, he is pro-TABOR.
In an interview with representatives of the teachers’ unions of the 20th Senate District, Grothman made the comment that he favors charter schools because of their strong moral component but dislikes public school because they teach values. That statement doesn’t even make sense until you realize what values he is referring to (tolerance and acceptance), and morals he thinks should be imparted (draw your own scary conclusions).
Grothman typifies the new Republican ideologue. He is opposed to spending a single dollar on improving Wisconsinites’ lives if it relates to children or families. Opposition to abortion and gay marriage is the definition of morality. A shallower, scarier and weaker set of moral guideposts I find hard to define.
If he is the future of the Republican Party in this state (and many certainly hope he is), then Wisconsin is in serious trouble.
The election in Ozaukee and Washington counties had a 36 percent turnout, crushing previous primary turnouts in 2002. Polls ran out of ballots and my own mother, going to her polling place, saw a sea of serious men in suits voting. She was sure that these pro-TABOR forces were determined to make their voice heard.
This is where we have our largest problem.
New state senate leader Scott Fitzgerald is far more to the right than Mary Panzer was. He plans on bringing TABOR to a vote, having a revote on the gay marriage ban and a resurrection of the concealed weapon permit law. Fitzgerald and Grothman are just part and parcel of the shrinking tent of conservative politics in Wisconsin. The tent is too small for centrist pragmatists like Mary Panzer.
These radicals do not want to improve the lives of Wisconsin residents. TABOR is the worst idea to ever come down the pike in Wisconsin politics. It will cripple public schools, raise your tuition, reduce basic government services and it’s all in the stalking horse of lowering taxes.
Wisconsin has always had excellent public services provided for by the state. Good schools, good roads, a well-funded criminal justice system (and penal system), nice parks, all of which are threatened to the point of extinction by these new Republicans.
If I were a conservative in this state, I would be very, very concerned of creating an enormous backlash with these policies.
I always knew my hometown was righteously conservative. Now I’m afraid it’s gone off the deep end.
Rob Deters ([email protected]) is a third-year law student.
