Some advice for the Badger State gubernatorial candidates
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Thu Aug 17, 2006 at 01:04:11 PM EST
Man, it sure does seem like we're talking about Wisconsin a lot these days; but that's to be expected with the campaigning that's going on and the ongoing ethical scandals involving state officials. There's a lot going on, and it's all keeping the Wisconsin reform community - especially Common Cause Wisconsin's Jay Heck - very busy.
Today, though, I want to highlight an editorial I came across from the Wausau Daily Herald. It's message is straightforward: "Mudslinging drowns out good ideas."
The story of this year's gubernatorial campaign will not be Mark Green's plan to reformulate the state's school-funding structure.
It will not be Gov. Jim Doyle's efforts to position Wisconsin as a leader in stem cell research and application.
It will not be about health care reform or rebuilding the University of Wisconsin System or tax relief or any of the myriad issues confronting residents of this state.
It instead will be about this election being the dirtiest and most expensive in history -- unless both major-party candidates and their supporters clean up their acts.
This year's governor's race is estimated to cost $35 million; much of that will be spend on attack ads - indeed, it's already happening.
Now both sides are slinging mud furiously, each accusing the other of instigating the dirty attacks while posing as the innocent victim.
Meanwhile, the rest of us are trying to figure out how to afford a tank of gasoline, buy back-to-school supplies, budget for winter heat bills and find enough cash to pay off the doctor's bills...
...But the candidates themselves are drowning out their own messages by denigrating one another at high volume.
"The whole strategy this year is attack, attack, attack and try to make the opponent look as corrupt and slimy as possible," said Common Cause executive director Jay Heck. "Both candidates will be badly sullied. What this does is drive voter turnout down, and Wisconsin is traditionally No. 2 to Minnesota in turnout. But in 2002, when Doyle and McCallum ran their negative campaigns, we dropped to No. 14. So you can see what this does."
Sorry for the long quotes, but I am so impressed by this editorial that I want to showcase it well. Definitely go read the whole thing. Among other things, the editors note that their neighbor Minnesota caps spending for its governor's races at $2 million each, forcing candidates to spend their money on only the most important things (which don't include attack ads) and allowing them to spend more time meeting with voters and discussing actual issues. The result? Minnesota is tops in voter turnout in the nation.
Let's hope that's a lesson these guys learn quickly.
Tags: Wisconsin, In the States, Jim Doyle, Mark Green, mudslinging (all tags)
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