David Michael Miller
Paul Soglin’s strongest asset as a politician is his affect of certainty. No matter the topic, Soglin speaks with the air of absolute authority. When it comes to self-confidence, the man is positively Trumpian.
But when a guy presents himself as the smartest person in the room he better actually know what he’s talking about. So, if Soglin is serious about running for governor, he’s going to have to step up his game.
The mayor made a sloppy and serious mistake when he claimed that Madison accounts for two-thirds of all the state’s private sector job creation since Gov. Scott Walker took office. Specifically, he said that 40,000 of 60,000 jobs were created here.
The independent and respected organization PolitiFact had this to say about the mayor’s claim: “The actual net increase in jobs in Wisconsin, comparing April 2011 versus May 2017, is much higher: 209,900. And the Madison area accounted for less than half of the increase. We rate Soglin’s statement False.”
There’s no reason to think that Soglin was being intentionally misleading. He just got his facts wrong and if it were a minor point it would be a small error.
But in this case Soglin was wrong about what appears to be the centerpiece of his argument: Vote for me because I’ve created jobs in Madison and I can do it for the rest of the state.
Of course, Soglin can retool. He can still make the case that Madison has created more jobs per capita than other places, but the Walker campaign now can seize on his stumble out of the gate, which was made with the cameras rolling, whenever it wants.
And there’s a deeper problem. Even if Soglin had gotten his facts right, the argument that the rest of the state can be Madison is a big stretch and — to most of the rest of the state — kind of abhorrent. Trust me on this, most of Wisconsin does not want to be us.
The assertion, implicit in the mayor’s argument, that Madison’s economy would be what it is even without the university and state government is just not plausible. Even if you discount the actual direct impact of the stable and relatively well-compensated employment base at those two institutions, there are powerful intangible factors that can’t be dismissed. What’s the value of 5,000 bright and motivated young people coming to our community each year to be UW freshmen? What’s the impact when some of them stay after graduation to work here, start businesses or just be part of a well-educated workforce?
And let’s not forget that Epic is in Dane County only because its founder was at the UW. Of course, don’t think Walker will fail to mention that Epic is not even headquartered in Madison, but in Verona.
But beyond the weakness of Soglin’s argument on the merits — even if he had his facts straight — there’s the cultural issue. The argument, “I’m from Madison and I’m here to help you,” is just not likely to play outside of these 77 square miles.
In this case, being mayor of the state’s second largest city is not an asset to be touted but a liability to be overcome. It’s not that it can’t be done, but a person would need to start with a strong dose of Midwestern humility. The argument wouldn’t start with, “Look what we’ve done in Madison,” but rather more like, “Thank you for sending your tax dollars and your brightest kids to us.”
I am not suggesting apologizing for our city’s success, but I do think beginning the discussion with an acknowledgment of everything we owe our fellow Wisconsinites might impress and surprise them.
So, it’s important to get our facts right, but it’s even more important to get our attitude right.
