With one of the worst economic climates in this nation’s history, it’s understandable for job creation and stimulating a stagnant economy to be at the forefront of the platforms of those looking to represent the citizens of Wisconsin. These are dire times, and the notion of a candidate being able to serve as the voice and representation of disenfranchised Americans is imperative. Reasonably so, foreign policy has taken a backseat to issues the average American can feel the immediate effects of. What has become evident after a recent congressional debate between democratic incumbent Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, and her challenger Chad Lee, though, is how unfortunately far back in the minds of some candidates the issues surrounding how the United States carries itself on a global stage have gone.
Hosted in the University of Wisconsin’s own Grainger Hall Sunday, the Second Congressional District Global Affairs Forum gave constituents the opportunity to get a glimpse of what could be in store come Nov. 2. Baldwin, with a dozen years under her belt, was able to draw on her experiences in not simply voting along party lines, but laying out at least somewhat thoughtful plans or solutions to a variety of issues from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the plight of women around the globe. Lee was able to outline…a recent trip he took to southern Texas to visit his wife’s family.
Upon fielding questions about the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals, Lee was able to not only avoid the question entirely, but reroute the discussion onto the topic of immigration and sealing the border. Baldwin was able to call him out on his ignorance of the subject and highlighted her own knowledge of at least a few intricacies, but her experience over Lee was readily apparent. What is revealed by Lee’s nearly effortless parry and riposte in regards to UN goals is simple: Foreign policy fluency, or even basic competence in the subject, is like so pre-recession.
Lee may have dropped the ball during the debate. And sure, his lack of any foreign policy talking points on his campaign website could be troublesome to any Wisconsin voter concerned with America’s image and affairs abroad, but this is no new phenomenon in this election season. While Republican candidate Ron Johnson wages war against incumbent U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, he has fared, what’s the best way to put this, not God awfully, in his sparring with his opponent. But when one looks to his website, the extent of his foreign policy spouting is limited to honoring America’s service members and veterans, a noble position surely, and refusing to partake in the arbitrary drawing up of withdrawal timelines. The latter of the positions though, is much more than Baldwin can claim in her fight for her seat.
Baldwin voted, as did most of Congress, only days after the events of 9/11 to pursue those believed to be responsible for the tragedy. She was also able to rack up some serious progressive points in voting against the expansion of the War on Terror to include Iraq. But after her brief flirtation with war, Baldwin repeatedly voted against a number of defense appropriations bills, ostensibly to buttress her anti-war stance. It is backtracking such as this that proves such effective fodder for Republican candidates’ and voters’ scorn. Pair this with her near-constant devotion to withdrawal timelines, and you’ve got a textbook democratic heartthrob: Inefficient, contradictory and liberal in the face of previous commitments to our nation’s security.
So, Lee may not have the foreign policy chops to merit a seat in Congress, but he’s still an arguably successful small business owner and a man who has genuine faith in himself and what he sees as wrong with the way this state, and indeed this nation, is being run. And while Baldwin may be able to flaunt her experience on The Hill, until she manages to break away from the standard progressive Democrat mold and make a substantial name for herself, we the voters are left to choose the lesser, if not better informed, of two evils.
Ignorance, however blissful it may be, should not enable those attempting to determine the actions and fate of our country. The conspicuous absence of foreign policy talking points touted by candidates running for national offices in Wisconsin is troubling to me, though so is the lack of any meaningful solution to our fiscal deficiencies. At the very least these candidates should be aware of the responsibilities that come with such a position, and the constituency should take care to notice their absence.
Jake Begun ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism.
