Single-issue campaigning is rendering politics absurd. On second thought, I'm a young guy. Maybe politics has always been an endless, senseless parade of contradictions, pandering, posturing and, above all, the sacred art of tax-bashing.
No. I'm not talking about President Bush, CIA leak probes or congressional investigations. Instead it is our very own state Legislature. Whether it's pushing back the vote on an amendment to ban gay marriage until Gov. Doyle's reelection bid in a year or haphazardly cutting the funding for the state's already ailing public schools, the Republican-dominated Legislature consistently disregards the state's best interests.
In the face of an unparalleled series of budget squeezes, it is refreshing to see that at least one state representative has risen above the petty patronage politics plaguing the Capitol building. State Rep. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater, has proposed a 30-day gas-tax holiday. This temporary tax relief will have two essential benefits for the state of Wisconsin.
1. Wisconsin drivers will spend 29.9 cents less per tank of gas.
2. Stephen Nass' name is in newspapers.
However noble these goals are, it seems ironic that it is the state's Department of Transportation that will be short-changed about $175 million. After all, the DOT's responsibilities include maintaining the public-transit system. Essentially, Rep. Nass' plan is to take away public money and give it back to us in 30-cent increments over the course of a month. This represents the worst form of political pandering possible at this juncture in the legislative session. Sure, no one likes high gas prices, but denying the DOT a vital source of funds for 30 days will do nothing but make the problem worse in the long term.
Rep. Nass' gas-tax-relief plan is nothing more than a parody of the ancient Roman "bread-and-circus" economy. To satisfy an increasingly disaffected populous, the Roman government sponsored a series of public gatherings with all the usual Roman fixin's: lion feedings, prisoner scalpings and even the occasional financial ruin. It is easier to provide a temporary fix than investigate possible long-term solutions to high gas prices. Apparently, Rep. Nass already knows this.
Rep. Nass' proposal makes it impossible to ignore the hypocrisy of the Legislature's majority agenda. Former governors Tommy Thompson and Scott "Musta Been Someone Else's Fault" McCallum handed Doyle a $2.8 billion deficit. During the 2002 gubernatorial race, McCallum and state Republican leaders claimed Doyle's fiscal policies would double the budget. Now, as Doyle struggles to come to terms with the budget, Republican leaders are demanding greater property-tax controls, a freeze on gas taxes as well as increased fiscal responsibility.
As for the great Doylini's next magical illusion, legislative Republicans are still demanding that he return their nose. From the gas-tax holiday to the voter-ID proposal, the Legislature has been more focused on scoring political points that no one is tallying than improving the state.
Every political party is susceptible to one-issue politics. Republicans' are highlighted above because of their dominance in both branches of the state Legislature. In a pragmatic sense, it is hard to blame them. With media coverage (TV media, mind you. Why open a newspaper when you can get the exact same breadth of information in a 45-second on-site report?) of local politics scanty at best and non-existent in reality, local politicians are forced to make their talking points as succinct and easy to consume as possible.
Our state government should extract a lesson from last Saturday's "God Bloggers" convention in southern California. Evangelicaloutpost.com author Joe Carter put it best when he said, "There's a bigger world out there than gay marriage and abortion." Wouldn't it be nice to expect the same kind of civility from our local elected officials?
Bassey Etim ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in political science and journalism.
