April 3, 2012
Questions in the aftermath of Walker's tsunami
By Bill Kraus
The Walker tsunami opened with a bang. He (and the two-house majority) had promised to get rid of something nobody understood--the structural deficit--and to balance the budget, which everyone understood.
They did that. They did it largely with proceeds from the only cookie jar in the kitchen: education. The other cookie jars, medicaid and corrections, were sealed shut by the feds and fear respectively.
The rest of the early agenda was mostly about getting even, settling scores.
The public employee unions were the bane of Republican candidates and organizations. They had been successfully outspending and outworking anyone who stood in their way for years. The Walker tsunami put an end to that by limiting their bargaining authority and shutting down dues check off, otherwise known as their money machine.
They put an end to public campaign funding--often referred to as “welfare for politicians”--in all its manifestations, including the judicial one.
They responded to the Republican paranoia about the threat to election participation by illegal, insufficiently identified voters.
They took care of the obsessive 2nd amendment partisans who think guns are good. Wyatt Earp would have been pleased.
They even ventured into the sexual freedom minefield and tried to deflect and defer the hormone machine. In homage to Queen Victoria perhaps.
Other than that they didn’t do much.
Early on, the governor derailed high speed trains for fiscal reasons and because they had promised to do that in the campaign, and it was easy. His suddenly rebellious minions took this another unwelcome (to the governor) step further later in the session by nixing an Amtrak upgrade.
Their attempts to exploit the most prominent economic opportunities presented by new, startup, high tech, high risk companies were also derailed when all those once loyal neophytes in the Assembly turned out to be fiscal fanatics who disapproved of all public spending including that intended to invest in job creation.
The several proposals to simplify and speed up the mining authorization process, which was billed as a fast track to jobs, foundered as well.
This was at least partially attributable to a backlash from the members of the minority who will not vote for anything that gives the majority bragging rights.
The unintended and unanticipated and unhealthy side effect of the tsunami has created an environment which does not encourage innovation at a time when what Wisconsin and the rest of the country need more and better new ideas and leaders who spawn them.
And the questions linger about who or what will undo the damage done. And how?
post a letter about this blog »
And those new leaders are Falk and Barrett? One the public unions have bought and paid for the other they told not to run. What a winning combination you liberals have come up with to waste millions of taxpayer money.
-SW | Wakeshas WI | April 3, 2012
The recall wouldn't even be happening if it wasn't for Walker's agenda, funded by the Koch brothers, Hank Greenberg and Bob Perry. Congrats to you Bill Kraus, for finally writing a piece which levels appropriate criticism at Walker and most importantly, his supporters in the legislature. You're right to bemoan the lack of compromise recently in our state, which was once a part of the Wisconsin political scene, but Walker has sent that down the drain and I suspect his actions will leave a rift in this state for a very long time, regardless of the outcome of the June 5 recall election.
-Alexander Randall | Waukesha(correctly spelled:) | April 5, 2012
current
--------
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004