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Sorry, elitists, but this is what democracy looks like
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| Contributor | Homegrown Democrat |
| Last Edited | Homegrown Democrat May 10, 2012 05:55pm |
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| Category | Editorial |
| News Date | Wednesday, May 9, 2012 11:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Across Wisconsin on Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of citizens went to the polls as part of an exceptional exercise in direct democracy. The voters in the Democratic and Republican recall election primaries for governor, lieutenant governor and the state Senate were participating in a process outlined by the state constitution, and their engagement was along the precise lines that progressive reformers of a century ago intended.
Unfortunately, just as Robert M. La Follette and his allies had to put up with stalwarts and reactionaries who sought always to stall their efforts to vest more power with the people, so there remain political and media elites that distrust and disdain direct democracy. They want to write the rules so that all the advantages are afforded to those who already hold power.
So it is that we see newspapers around Wisconsin championing state Rep. Robin Vos’ proposal to rewrite the state constitution in order to make it all but impossible to recall errant officials. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which backed Scott Walker and Rebecca Kleefisch in 2010, declared just days ago: “These recall elections are a waste of time and money.”
Yes, democracy can be demanding, and certainly annoys the politically powerful and connected elites. But Wisconsinites are embracing the power that was afforded them by the progressives of a century ago. We are proud of what this people-power politics has accomplished, and what it will accomplish on June 5. |
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