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Marred by corruption and partisanship, the Wisconsin political scene today bears little resemblance to what once was called the laboratory for democracy, said panelists at “What Ever Happened to Good Government in Wisconsin and How Can We Fix It?”
Good people are being financed out of the game, said Steve Gores of the citizens’ lobby group Common Cause, which hosted the event. Money is a vice, he said. So is power.
Jay Heck, Common Cause executive director, agreed with Gores that power in Wisconsin is too concentrated, leaving politicians beholden to their leadership instead of their caucus or district.
In Wisconsin, if you’re not the majority, you have almost no power, Heck said. “The good news is we have nowhere to go but up.”
Panelists were nearly unanimous that campaign finance reform is crucial to restoring Wisconsin’s reputation for transparency and open government.
The level of campaign spending is unprecedented and obscene, said Heck, citing the most recent gubernatorial and state Supreme Court races.
State Rep. Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, who has served four terms in the Assembly, and freshman state Sen. Dan Kapanke, from across the aisle, agreed.
People are spending $80,000 to $100,000 to campaign for a job that pays less than $50,000, Shilling said of legislative races.
Slowing down the money arms race and supporting legislation such as the Ellis-Erpenbach campaign finance reform bill offers the chance to repair the system, she added.
In its fifth reincarnation since it first was introduced in 1999, the Ellis-Erpenbach bill has broader bipartisan support than ever before, Heck said.
“Campaign finance really is the way out of the swamp,” said La Crosse County Supervisor John Medinger, adding he was disappointed Gov. Jim Doyle defaulted on his promise to put campaign finance reform on the September agenda.
“I don’t see any momentum in Madison,” said Medinger, who also served two term as La Crosse mayor and 16 years in the state legislature.
Samantha Marcus can be reached at (608) 791-8220 or smarcus@lacrossetribune.com.
a_t_matic wrote on Oct 28, 2007 11:11 AM: