David Michael Miller
Just when you thought the Democrats had just the right number of gubernatorial candidates — enough to field a baseball team, but not quite enough for a sellout at Miller Park — the group may be getting larger.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett announced last week that he’s considering another run. Barrett has already lost twice to Scott Walker, first in the 2010 race to succeed Gov. Jim Doyle and again in the 2012 recall election. Barrett also finished second in the 2002 primary that set up Doyle for his first gubernatorial victory that year.
Since Barrett’s announcement I’ve been hearing nothing but groans from Democrats. “Been there, done that” is the dominant view. But in the very next breath they lament their current choices.
I think my fellow Democrats are wrong about both things: Most of their current crop are just fine and Barrett would still make a good addition to those choices.
My working theory of this election cycle is that dull is good. All the energy is on the left and all of it is negative. Anyone left of center, and a fair number a shade to the right of it, will march across broken glass strewn over a hot parking lot awash in Celine Dion’s greatest hits blaring over loudspeakers to vote against Walker and, by implication, Donald Trump.
In a race that is all about voter turnout, there is no lack of motivation on the left —while on the right there is a mixture of lugubrious lethargy and sleepy satisfaction. The Christian right is satisfied with Trump’s Supreme Court pick. The racist right is happy with his continued attacks on immigrants. The country club right is content with its big tax breaks. And what remains of the principled right is dispirited. In this environment, the last thing the Democrats need is to give any aspect of the right a reason to get out and vote.
But almost to a person my friends complain that no one in the current Democratic field inspires them. I patiently explain my theory of dullness. We’re already set up to win, I tell them. A candidate that is exciting to you is also likely to excite anger and motivation among Walker and Trump voters. With all the energy on our side, why go out of our way to create some with the other guys? In full disclosure, I am getting absolutely nowhere with this argument. It seems that it’s not enough for liberals to win; they want to fall in love.
Which brings me to Barrett. Milwaukee’s mayor is one of the most likable people you’ll meet in politics. He has a good sense of humor and he knows how to make a joke at his own expense. He has a well–earned reputation for having a steady hand and avoiding blunders. His three statewide races have been competently run and, because he’s been through this before, he knows how to handle what’s coming. In short, he and the people around him know what they’re doing.
You could make a decent case that Barrett lost in 2010 amid a national voter backlash against Obamacare and the stimulus package — both good pieces of public policy that, in an act of political malpractice, national Democrats had allowed Republicans to brand as big government out to get them. And he lost in 2012 because voters didn’t think that a public policy dispute — as opposed to, say, corruption — was enough to dislodge a governor who had just been legitimately elected.
So, add it all up and 2018 might be the perfect year for Barrett: a competent, calm political professional who won’t excite the far-right base. The third (or fourth, depending on how you want to count it) time might be the charm.
Of course, it’s not like he doesn’t have baggage. For one thing, he’s mayor of Milwaukee, and antipathy toward our big city from the rest of the state has worked for Walker before (never mind that he was Milwaukee county executive himself).
And Barrett is still dealing with fallout from a mess that came to light earlier this year, in which the city’s public health department didn’t inform residents of high levels of lead in their drinking water.
But there are no pictures of Barrett with Fidel Castro or leading marches amid clouds of tear gas. Other candidates have heavier baggage. And let’s face it: The Republican political assassination machine, unhindered as it is by anything approximating veracity, will find something to attack in every candidate out there.
Democrats shouldn’t want a candidate who is too exciting. They would do better with a candidate who has been through this before, who knows how to navigate the blistering attacks and a grueling campaign. One who isn’t likely to make a mistake. They could do a lot worse than Tom Barrett.
