It should be pretty obvious to everyone but the most oblivious hermits in Wisconsin that politics over the past year have taken a very conservative turn. Gov. Scott Walker has dominated headlines by pushing conservative legislation and now Walker, vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan and the GOP’s National Chair, Reince Priebus, are three of the more important figures at the Republican National Convention, as noted by Craig Gilbert of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
And of course, with one party’s dominance in the headlines, there’s always an abundance of opposing sentiment, like the editorial on Wisconsin’s Voter ID law by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinal’s Editorial Board. While this kind of discourse promotes educated decision making by exploring all the options, it tends to overlook the fact that a changing of the parties in power is part of the political process.
While the majority of anti-Walker noise has died down in the state, there still remains an undercurrent of contempt for Wisconsin Republicans. Or ,at least, that undercurrent exists in Madison.
Driving back from northern Wisconsin last week I was reminded what this state is not – homogenous. After spending the majority of my time in Madison the past few years, it was easy to forget about the rest of Wisconsin. And with an almost entirely liberal dialogue here, it made it easy to think that most Wisconsinites support a liberal agenda. But, of course, that’s not the case.
The fact that Republicans can gain a majority in our government is something to be lauded regardless of what party with which you align. We should have faith in the fact that the political pendulum in this state is capable of swinging not only to the left, but to the right. That pendulum is one of our myriad of crucial checks and balances enabling and limiting those in power.
Because of Republicans being in power in Wisconsin during redistricting, the vast majority of new voting districts will likely benefit their party, as they would benefit Democrats if they were to draw them. So the message is simple, really: Wisconsin is likely going to be Republican for a while. Get used to the thought.
And despite how crazy you may think the right is due to a few notable loonies in the spotlight, remember that the left has those too. Yeah, Paul Ryan may have made some pretty obvious factual blunders in his speech at the Republican National Convention, as noted by USA Today. But that doesn’t mean you should completely ignore all Republicans ever. Try listening to a party you don’t agree with, but instead of assuming you’re going to disagree with them, go in with no prejudice and pay attention to the content of their speech, even if they’re talking to the president in an empty chair.
Wisconsin’s going to likely be conservative for a while. If you’re conservative, that’s obviously a good thing. But if you’re liberal, it’s also a good opportunity if you keep an open mind. The best political solutions come from healthy discourse that considers all sides of an equation.
Reginald Young ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in legal studies and Scandinavian studies.
