Commentary Update for November 4th, 2003
1. This Week's Show: This week's Commentary guest is Oshkosh Mayor Stephen Hintz. The Mayor announced recently that he does not plan to seek reelection in 2004. We talk about that as well as a variety of issues facing the community. For those of you who do not get channel 66 but do get Oshkosh Cable Access Television (OCAT) channel 2 in Oshkosh, I recently brought a copy of our interview with City Councilors Paul Esslinger and Mark Harris to OCAT. It should be broadcast tonight (Tuesday) at 10 p.m., Wednesday at 3 p.m., and Sunday at 10 p.m.
2. Barbara Sniffen: Fighter, Mentor, Friend--The UW Oshkosh community lost a giant last week, emeritus professor of history Barbara Sniffen. She was an extraordinary influence on me; much of my establishment "tweaking" is a direct result of my interaction with Barb over the years. This has been a tough week. Here's my attempt at eulogy: http://www.uwosh.edu/faculty_staff/TAUWP/sniffen.htm
3. Ain't That America, Part I: That's the title of my latest Media Rant for the Valley Scene. Be sure to pick up a hard copy of the Scene (free!) at these locations.
4. Simile of the Week: Senator Robert Byrd has been an outspoken critic of the Iraq War from the beginning, so it was no surprise that he voted against authorizing the president's request for $87 billion. On the floor of the Senate, Byrd accused his colleagues of not performing their constitutional responsibilities: "Every Senator, upon taking office, swears an oath to support and defend the Constitution. It is the Constitution - not the President, not a political party, but the Constitution - to which Senators swear an oath of loyalty. And I am here to tell you that neither the Constitution nor the American people are well served by a process and a product that are based on blind adherence to the will of the President at the expense of congressional checks and balances. It is as if, in a rush to support the President's policy, this White House is prepared to put blinders on the Congress." Robert Byrd, A High Price for a Hollow Victory
5. Republicans Think Zell Is Swell; Northern Dems Say Zell Can Go To Hell: Georgia Democratic Senator Zell Miller has announced that he plans to support George W. Bush next year. He then lashed out at the "naive nine" running for the Democratic nomination: "I find it hard to believe, but these naive nine have managed to combine the worst feature of the McGovern campaign--the president is a liar and we must have peace at any cost--with the worst feature of the Mondale campaign--watch your wallet, we're going to raise your taxes. George McGovern carried one state in 1972. Walter Mondale carried one state in 1984. Not exactly role models when it comes to how to get elected or, for that matter, how to run a country." One can imagine there were plenty of high fives exchanged over at the Republican National Committee over that one. And over at the Democratic National Committee? Probably doing what they have been doing since 1992: trying to figure out how to be Republicans with smiling faces. "Vote for us, we are nicer than them!" has been the unofficial campaign slogan.
My theory, which I have not had time to expand on, is that the Democrats failed to do after 1972 what the Republicans did after 1964. In 1964, the Republicans got blown out of the water with Barry Goldwater at the head of the ticket. But instead of distancing themselves from Goldwater, the Republicans spent literally 20 years building a base of support for what he stood for. The result is that almost every Republican running for office today can comfortably harp on Goldwater themes of 1964: small government, big military, let the market rule. Democrats, by contrast, after the McGovern blowout of 1972 did everything they could to distance themselves from the major themes of that campaign, culminating in Clinton's "Democratic Leadership Council" of the late 1980s that, in my opinion at least, destroyed the party beyond repair. Whereas a Republican can harp on Goldwater's 1964 themes and risk offending mostly the right wing nuts in the party, Democrats who harp on McGovern themes get assaulted from all sides, especially the big money bag men running the Democratic National Committee. There is absolutely no reason why McGovern's 1972 themes of a smaller military, mending rather than ending anti-poverty programs, and national health care could not have become an appealing campaign platform. The Democrats simply abandoned the platform, refused to devote resources toward building a base for it, and replaced it with nothing more than Republican-lite tripe. Why would anyone vote for that other than fear or distrust of the Republican agenda? And while running campaigns on the basis of fear and distrust of the other party might win some elections in some districts, at some point a party has to stand for something positive (I don't mean "rah rah" positive as much as simply an agenda that people can understand and hang their respective hats on) in order to grab hold of the legislative agenda.
6. The Big Lie: Common Cause in Wisconsin's Jay Heck explains how both parties in the Wisconsin Legislature were never really serious about reforming our state's corrupt political system.
7. Cash and Carry Lawmaking: Mike McCabe of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign shows the grip wealthy special interests continue to exert on the legislature.
8. Taxpayers Defend Corporate Welfare: Here's something that would be funny if it wasn't so symbolic of how completely awful our political system has become. Northwest Airlines is upset at property tax exemptions the state legislature gave to other airlines. So, they are now suing the Department of Revenue for equal treatment. Taxpayers are now in the absurd position of having to defend the state in a lawsuit over a corporate welfare boondoggle that is already placing more of the tax burden on average taxpayers!
9. A Pathetic Legislature Deserves A Pathetic University: The President of the University of Wisconsin Board (Bored?) of Regents Toby Marcovich recently was asked what makes a good UW Chancellor. He said, "The No. 1 qualification is to be a fundraiser." Not to be outdone, Rep. Marlin Schneider (D-Wisconsin Rapids) said in response, "Sounds like being a legislative leader." I can't figure out what's more pathetic: that fact that the statements are accurate or the fact that Marcovich and Schneider don't seem all that motivated to reform both systems.
Peace,
--Tony
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