As Scott Walker once more declares that the Wisconsin Supreme Court vote is not a referendum on his administration's policies (1) , his Republican colleague Jeff Stone is at home dumbfounded as to why he's not celebrating a victory in Walker's vacated Milwaukee County Executive postition. Instead, Stone got absolutely trounced (61%-39%) by an inexperienced political unknown, Chris Abele. And JoAnne Kloppenburg, a non-factor in the Supreme Court primary in February (25% of the vote, compared to Prosser's 55%), is the leader in the clubhouse for the justice post.
Not a referendum, huh?
When Walker won the gubernatorial election in 2010 by a not-landslide-like 52%-47% margin, he was all about how his subsequent policies were what the people of Wisconsin wanted. He and his Republican colleagues in the Legislature certainly acted as though they felt that was a referendum on his policies (or, at times, perhaps a divine command?) (2)
Unlike that election, though, voters here knew the real costs. They didn't have their candidates lie about collective bargaining, (3) or consolidate political power to appease corporate investors (4) , or say things to purposely mislead the people of Wisconsin (see previous posts).
Kloppenburg's possible election may be nothing more than something akin to a mosquito bite on the neck of Walker's administration, but a slew of them may just have him and his friends running for cover.
On, Wisconsin.
(1) Supreme Court vote doesn't shake Walker's resolve, WI State Journal, http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_3e2fac38-60b6-11e0-ae09-001cc4c002e0.html
(2) Scott Walker Believes He's Follwoing Orders From the Lord, The Progressive, 3/7/11 http://www.progressive.org/wx030711.html
(3) Politifact, JS Online, http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/feb/22/scott-walker/wisconsin-gov-scott-walker-says-he-campaigned-his-/
(4) Yes, a power grab, JS Online, 12/27/10, http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/112522499.html
No comments:
Post a Comment