July
2007
Political Theater or Real Discourse in the 5th CD
There’s an experiment going on in Wisconsin’s 5th Congressional district. Two Concordia College Professors are running for the seat held by incumbent Congressmen Jim Sensenbrenner and these two are planning on hosting Lincoln-Douglas style debates across the district in an effort to bring government to the people.
But is it realistic? What good can this do? I would like to think that they have a chance. One is a Republican, one a Democrat but neither is happy with what is going on in Washington DC.
Here at Watchdog Milwaukee we’ve struggled with whether this story is even worth writing about but consider the possibilities. If, by some unlikely chance, the residents in the mostly suburban and rural district find the motivation to pry themselves off of the couch to go see a real honest political debate. Could this change things? Yes, of course.
One positive for both candidates is that neither would support deficit spending in times of economic growth.
But is it realistic that one of these two could win? We have our doubts. The area leans heavily Republican and if by some miracle Jim Burkee and Jeff Walz manage to make it through the primary, it is nearly a slam dunk that Republican Jim Burkee would win.
What makes it interesting is that these candidates are actually friends and they plan a civil campaign with no tv ads and they even have a joint website. So is it possible? Even a blind squirrel occasionally gets a nut.
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Jim McGuigan
Jim McGuigan
It’s certainly a novel idea, but I believe it’s ultimately doomed to failure, simply because it seems almost taboo nowadays for politicians from opposite parties to not just get along – but be willing to work together. Folks are just too cynical (at least in my opinion) for this to end up as nothing more than a gimmick.
Why is it positive that neither supports deficit spending in times of economic growth?
Over the past few years, many on the right, and some in the media and even to a small extent among those on the left have said that our economy has grown. In fact, the stock market has risen, and some indicators of our economy have improved. But this is a picture of aggregates. An economy must be efficient and effective for ALL participants (and non-participants as well). If the medians, averages, etc rise, that does not mean that the economy is growing for everyone.
Spending must be gauged for the areas that need investment most. There are no simple rules. Fiscal, budgetary, monetary, and labor policy are complex. We cannot be pigeonholed into small positions that say “no new spending” or something like that when clearly we need more public investment to make our economy work for everyone.
This could be the beginning of what I’ve been saying all along… vote for the better person NOT THE PARTY LINE. Face it folks, the we are in the dog days of politics. Those hard liners are getting old (no offense to anyone) and many young voters don’t feel restricted to vote for an entire party. But then, I’ve been wrong before.