I love the list stories that always show up at the end of the year. Best movies, worst movies, top news stories, top sports stories, worst dressed people, etc. Bill Lueders has been writing his much-anticipated Cheap Shots list for Isthmus for so long that it wouldn’t seem like the holidays without Bill leaving a trail of skewered politicians littered across the ice.
It’s strange to say it, but I always look forward to the list of famous people who have passed away in the last year — not because I’m happy anybody’s dead, but because remembering their lives usually brings back pleasant memories. After all, most famous people, like David Bowie, were famous because we appreciated their talent and their work marked moments in our own lives. It’s bittersweet to remember them. This year, Charles Manson will be an exception to that rule.
It seems to me that writers, editors and news show producers especially like these list stories at this time of the year because, let’s face it, like everyone else none of us really wants to work very hard around the holidays. And list stories are pretty easy. Who’s to say that one movie is better than another or that one news story was more far-reaching? And, in fact, getting readers to disagree and weigh in with their own opinions is half the fun.
So here’s my own end of the year list story: My predictions on what will be the biggest state news stories of 2018.
1. Supreme Court strikes down Wisconsin’s gerrymander. It seems likely that Justice Anthony Kennedy will provide the swing vote to declare Wisconsin’s legislative district maps unconstitutional. And, in fact, those close to the case say that the court’s decision to take a similar case from Maryland where Republicans are challenging a Democratic gerrymander may indicate that Chief Justice John Roberts is looking for a way to join the majority and make it 6-3. But the question remains if the decision will come in time to change the lines in Wisconsin for 2018.
2. Democrats nominate generic candidate. With a final tally of 37 candidates competing for the nomination the Democratic Party will just pass on naming anyone for the ballot on the theory that even a blank space under the Dem column gets 45 percent for starters. If another 6 percent materializes they’ll come up with somebody you’ll like. Just trust them. But seriously folks, the race for the nomination is so crowded and so wide open that who wins the August primary will be one of the biggest surprises of the year.
3. Walker unseated. I’m going way out a limb here because most pundits seem to think the incumbent is the odds-on-favorite to repeat. Maybe, but I’m going to guess that a mighty blue wave combined with Walker fatigue (the guy’s been in a glaring public spotlight for almost a decade) spiced with a Foxconn blowback will deliver whichever warm body the Dems nominate to the governor’s mansion, which of course they will immediately rename the executive residence.
4. Baldwin reelected easily. She’s a skilled politician who is a lot tougher than she seems and, because Tammy Baldwin is a national symbol (the first openly gay woman in the Senate), she’ll have plenty of money. Meanwhile, the Republicans seem to be gearing up for a nasty primary, which could well end up delivering the less electable candidate for the general election just as it did in Alabama.
5. Powerful storms and floods rock state. The pace of impacts from global climate change is rapidly increasing. Wisconsin isn’t subject to hurricanes or massive wildfires, but increasingly intense rain events are already happening and are likely to keep getting more severe. Internationally, 2018 may be the year when climate change impacts are the overwhelming top story, outpacing even blood-and-soil nationalism. Combined with a Democratic wave in the fall elections, maybe Wisconsin will once again allow the words “climate change” to be spoken in state government.
6. Something happens at Lincoln Hills. It’s hard to say exactly what will happen to fix the horrible state of affairs at the state’s youth prison, but it can’t go on like this. The best answer is probably to convert it to an adult prison and create smaller youth facilities with at least one in southeast Wisconsin as proposed by Rep. Evan Goyke (D-Milwaukee). If there ever was an issue where the Legislature should be able to set aside partisanship and just fix a problem, this should be it.
7. Roads crumble in a dramatic way. Let’s hope nobody dies or is injured, but sooner or later there will be a significant failure in a major Wisconsin road. The Legislature’s inability to bite the bullet on transportation taxes and the sucking up of even limited road funds for the Foxconn project means that the state’s highways will continue to deteriorate. Slow erosion doesn’t make for much of a news story, but maybe the accumulation of rough roads, short of a major failure, will be enough to move the needle.
8. Foxconn plant slowed. If their track record means anything, look for the giant manufacturer of flat screens to fall short of over-the-moon expectations for the jobs and ripple impacts of their new plant in Racine County. Picture an altar. Picture a gaggle of state and local officials dressed in their tuxedos roasting in the mid-summer heat. Picture them nervously glancing at their watches as the bride does not appear.
9. Brewers win World Series. No, I don’t really think this is going to happen, but you never know. If Thames gets off to another big start and Yovani Gallardo regains his form and Jimmy Nelson comes back early from injury and Shaw’s 2017 season wasn’t just a one off and Braun stays healthy….
Let’s stop there, at nine, just to be different and not offer the obligatory 10th prediction. Fill that one in yourself or strongly disagree with my other predictions. Just do me a favor and don’t be so rude as to check back on this a year from now.
