"It profits me but little that a vigilant authority always protects the tranquillity of my pleasures and constantly averts all dangers from my path, without my care or concern, if this same authority is the absolute master of my liberty and my life."

--Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Wisconsin Fiasco

The Wisconsin recall election targeting Governor Scott Walker is now officially a fiasco.   Yesterday, the Democratic Party nominated Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett to run against Walker in next month's recall election.   Hmmmmm.... that's the same Tom Barrett who lost to Walker in November 2010, a scant 18 months ago.    That's the same Tom Barrett who, as Milwaukee Mayor, used the tools Walker put in place to balance the City's budget.   That's the same Tom Barrett who was not endorsed by the public employee unions or teachers' unions whose outrage at Walker's budget reforms (including his effort to rein in public employee union power) fueled the recall effort to begin with.  

So now we will have a recall election that will not even be focused on the issue that formed the basis for the recall in the first place!   All that is let is an election that will essentially be a "do-over" for Tom Barrett.

I hope Walker beats him like a drum.   And I think he will.   Americans are sick of politics.   Wisconsinites, after a bitterly contested Republican Presidential primary, complete with ubiquitous Romney robo-calling, are even sicker of politics.   I don't think they are going to like the idea of Barrett forcing them to trudge to the polls one more time, just because he didn't like the result the first time.   And, of course, I think deep down they are disgusted with the public employee unions who seem perfectly happy to drive the state off the cliff, so long as they can keep their lake houses and bass boats and cushy retirement packages.

No comments:

Post a Comment