First of all, let's celebrate the pending departure of Diamond Jim Doyle, the guy who raised pay for play graft to an art form.  No matter who wins the Governors chair next week, it will be a huge upgrade.  The question now is how in do we want to go, all in for a complete departure, or partly in for Doyle light, except with charisma? 

This is the first election that I have actually met and talked with both gubernatorial candidates several times. My personal impression is that both men are hard-working, well-meaning, really nice guys. Big deal, they both managed to pass How to be a Politician 101. Mr. Walker and some of his staff were very supportive when I ran for County Board several years ago.  On the campaign trail I crossed paths with Mr. Barrett, literally, and was struck, again, by his fundamental good nature and sincerity. 

I pride myself on having a nose for authenticity. Even though I risk getting a boatload of crap from some of my conservative friends, I have to be honest and admit both candidates pass the smell test. In that regard though, I think Barrett's staff is failing him in their tough guy, grumpy old uncle, or whatever the hell image they concocted. The blatant lie about Walker wanting to stop stem cell research was particularly scummy.  That Barrett is unfamiliar to me. The dude poured me a beer at Irish Fest once, how can he be a jerk?   I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and blame his consultants. 

I lived under three mayors here in Milwaukee and Barrett is the best, faint praise perhaps, because his predecessors were such wankers . But that's part of the point, the depth of the talent pool for his potential replacement is frighteningly shallow, almost to the point of being dry.  To say it reminds one of the bar scene in Star Wars is to put it kindly. 

Fair or not, the greatness of a state depends a lot on the vibrancy of its largest metropolitan area.  I humbly submit Detroit Michigan and Twin Cities Minnesota as examples, and rest my case on this point.  I fear losing Barrett as Mayor would take us one giant leap toward Detroit.   

Walker has gotten endorsements from both the Wisconsin State Journal and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel so I understand my two cents is somewhat deflated.  The Sentinel Journal was particularly surprising after watching them carry Barrett's water and bludgeon Walker repeatedly for the last eight years.  What those dailies lack however is my outstate heritage and sensibilities.  To that end I can relate with outstaters weariness and skepticism about being controlled by Milwaukee and Madison. While it may be downplayed by the media and Barrett, outstaters don't brush off the idea that Eagle Scout Walker grew up in a small town. 

Walker meets all my fiscal conservative criteria and is the real deal.  He campaigned for County Executive on a promise not to raise taxes and proceeded to present zero tax increase budgets eight years in a row, no lies, no gimmicks.  When he learned that the county had arranged for the exec to be paid more than Governor he actually gave himself a pay cut, to the tune of over $374,000 over eight years, walking the talk.  I can't think of a better or more stark example of putting principle over politics. I don't suppose those who can't fathom how people could vote against their own self interest will be able to understand this. 

Just as impressively, he has managed to accomplish more with less.  The county parks system here was is sorry shape when he came on the job.  Over eight years they were improved to the point of winning a national gold medal - - all while decreasing staff and shrinking budgets!  The prospect of that governing philosophy being foisted onto the tax and spend mentality of Madison is enough to get my vote purely for entertainment reasons.

Doubters should take heart.  Wisconsin has always prided itself in being one of the leaders in the state experimental labs of democracy. (it got us Progressivism for example, but hey, not every experiment can be a success) From my knowledge of history, or certainly in my lifetime, this will be first time fiscal conservatism has ever been tried.  Consider this an opportunity to expand those famously open minds. And please, don't embarrass yourself with "what about Thompson?".   Good guy and all, but it takes a particularly supple imagination to accuse him of fiscal austerity.  Sorry Gov and fans, but I gotta call em like I see em.  Remember that was when the mainstream media had tighter control of the narrative and its attending definitions.  They routinely used the term "conservative" as a slur to bludgeon any Republican any time they did something they didn't like.     

Contrast the parks experience with Mr Barrett, who promised flat out and repeatedly, that he would put an end to the routine dumping of raw sewerage into the Milwaukee rivers that feed into Lake Michigan. Well, he didn't, and every time we get more than an inch of rain, the gates open up, and feces flows.  Is there a word beyond disgusting?  During Barrett's tenure an amount roughly equal to that of the entire gulf oil spill, 147 million gallons, has been dumped into Lake Michigan, and yet, Barrett prioritizes a high speed train to Madison instead of trying to secure federal funds to finally shut down this recurring cesspool.  There can be no more putrid example of a broken campaign promise, and to this voter no better proof Barrett has not earned the promotion he seeks.  It is more likely to be fixed if we promote the successful County Executive to State Executive in the hope pressure from the top will finally start to clean up this mess.

I have no delusions we will ever restore the idyllic Wisconsin of my youth.  But the prospect of a fresh start with bold new leadership really has inspired me to believe in Wisconsin again.  The possibility that we may once again be ridiculed by our neighbors to the south for having such clean government has some appeal as well.



Different stuff and place, but the color is about right.  You get the idea.