Recalling Tuesday: Wisconsin Election Hinges on Walker Policies
One sided ‘all or none’ partisanship was placed in strong highlight in our nation’s Congress this past week, and all polls show that a vast majority of voters are really sick of it.
Will Walker’s slash and burn no compromise governing style now turn over the Wisconsin legislature to Democratic control? We’ll probably know that outcome Wednesday barring any dead heats or recounts.
The four recall candidates in Wisconsin’s 2nd and 14th state Senate districts have spent a combined 82 years in elected office, but the particulars of their careers and long-held policy positions seem almost irrelevant as Tuesday’s recall election approaches.
That’s because the person most responsible for spurring the special elections and on whom each race hinges isn’t on the ballot — Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
“These races do appear to be about the politics of the Walker administration as opposed to the more typical candidates-oriented elections, which is all about the candidates (and) their qualities,” said Charles Franklin, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “I think what we’re seeing in Wisconsin now is ‘party government’ where policies and parties have overcome the more candidate-centered elections that we’re used to having.”
As Democrats attempt to take control of the state Senate, where Republicans have a 19-14 majority, Franklin said the months-long battle over collective bargaining powers for public-sector workers likely would weigh more heavily on voters’ minds than Democrat Nancy Nusbaum’s tenure as Brown County executive or Republican state Sen. Luther Olsen’s 21-year stint on the Berlin school board.