Pay attention, folks, we have another election coming up, just like the one we held last November. Remember? That's how we got our new governor and the spectacle of public revolt that has played out over the last three weeks. On April 5 we get to do it again.
There's no indication that any race in this election packs the volatility of the last one, but there is a race that tangentially refers to the current state of affairs, the one for the State Supreme Court seat. Both candidates, the conservative and the, well, not-so-conservative, are supremely circumspect when commenting, or "no commenting," on the current situation at the state Capitol. After all, the one that gets elected may very well have to rule on matters arising from the situation. There are a raft of litigable issues in that donnybrook.
All this is discussed in our cover story, "Supremely Relevant," by news editor Bill Lueders. It ranges beyond the current contretemps and serves as a general overview of the candidates and their positions for your pre-election perusal. There remains the question: Will recent events affect the outcome of the race between incumbent David Prosser, self-described "judicial conservative," and opponent JoAnne Kloppenburg, the declared nonideological candidate?
If this really is a referendum on Walker, it is somewhat unfair to the candidates, who certainly did not go into this race expecting it to be that. But what's fair? The truth is, this race has been overtaken by events, and there will be a lot of tealeaf reading of the results going on among the political class. Maybe the predominant attitude in the rest of the state does not reflect the rejection of Walker's policies prevalent in Dane County. But I'd be surprised if it didn't.
That's the reason we have elections, to find out what the people think. And one thing they should all be thinking is to get out and vote. The Republicans showed up last fall, and the Democrats didn't. People should think about that - voting does make a difference.
