Today, Wisconsinites will kick off the finale to a year-long political crisis that has led the state to the first gubernatorial recall election in its history. A short-lived primary campaign between four Democratic candidates has brought us to the conclusion that only one person is capable of defeating Gov. Scott Walker and bringing Wisconsin back to even-handed pragmatism after Walker’s radicalism.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has proven himself the most reasonable choice in a race otherwise stacked with reactionary candidates whose only concerns are undoing Walker’s blunders. Former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk is the most unsettling of the choices voters face today. Her campaign has relied almost entirely on distracting the electorate from any issue that did not earn her the endorsement of the state’s unions. Two other Democrats, Sen. Kathleen Vinehout of Alma and Secretary of State Doug LaFollette, are niche candidates with a narrow knowledge base and lack of experience that disqualifies them from consideration.
For University of Wisconsin students, this choice is obvious. While Walker and Falk sit on extreme ends of the debate over UW’s place in the state’s budget, Barrett realizes the university is, most importantly, an educational institution rather than a business or a public employment mill. Both Barrett and Falk speak in similar rhetorical terms about funding higher education, but Falk’s efforts to court the endorsement of many unions at UW has tied her hands behind her back, eliminating any sense of tact. Barrett has fewer political alliances that could compromise his commitment to making UW more accessible to undergraduates while maintaining its quality of education.
Barrett also provides the most useful approach to solving the state’s labor discontent. As cause for supporting her, progressives who support Falk have cited her plan to veto the state’s budget if it does not contain collective bargaining. There is an easy answer to Falk’s proposal: Two wrongs do not make a right. Falk’s suggestion that she will practice obstructionist policy in line with the unsettling lack of democratic respect that has characterized Walker’s term should not be tolerated. It could also prove counterproductive and continue Walker’s reforms if her veto is overridden by an unruly legislative branch.
This election is not about Madison. If it were, we could easily elect Falk and feel no qualms. But the rest of the state is not as progressive as our city, and Barrett’s moderation is essential for Wisconsin.
The choice is simple. Students can either vote for a Dane County progressive who will burn bridges and positively fall to Walker, or they can choose a moderate leader who can help Wisconsin avoid being the joke of the nation.
In the likely event that Barrett wins the primary today, Republicans will continue their attacks that he has led Milwaukee, a city plagued by problems long before his arrival as mayor, into the ground. But we will always prefer a governor with a proven record of bipartisanship instead of one with tunnel-vision progressivism.
