WHAT’S LEFT
What kind of message are we sending to our children and the world when we elect, as President of the United States, a convicted con-man and serial liar, with multiple bankruptcies and failed businesses? Someone who praises Communist dictators, cheats on his wives, and pays $130,000 to conceal an affair with a porn star when his #3 wife was pregnant. MAGA family values?
It seems at times Like the world has been turned upside down. The very idea that Republicans could nominate someone for President, or that we would elect someone, who openly praises Communist dictators seems like a bad far-out dystopian sci-fi novel.
But that’s where we are. The questions remain. What’ next? And “What’s Left?”
Every parent has the hope of leaving this world in better shape than the one they inherited from their parents. Sadly, that’s not the kind of future that is on the horizon, at least in the short term.
Resistance to the 2025 Trump agenda is important, but not enough. In addition to thoughtful introspection about where we are and how we got here, we need to support each other, rebuild strong communities and develop and articulate a clear and compelling democratic vision for the future. A future where we all do better, because we all do better.
For some the election was a referendum on whether trans-students should be allowed to compete in girls’ sports, and which bathrooms they’re allowed to use.
It doesn’t matter if we’re gay, straight, LGBTQ, Black, Brown, White, Hispanic, Asian-Pacific, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, none of the above, immigrant, native born or Native American.
We all want the best for our children, good jobs, good schools, affordable healthcare and housing, clean water, a sustainable environment, safe communities and fair taxes. These are all Democratic values.
But there are numerous challenges, from climate change to growing income in-equality and threats to our democracy. We have watched Wisconsin Counties go from reliably Blue to increasingly Purple or Red.
Fairer maps helped Democrats pick up 4 Senate and 10 Assembly seats, but serious questions remain.
In 2024 the Wisconsin Democratic Party out-raised Republicans with over $17 million dollars. The Republican Party raised just over $5 million. With all of Donald Trump’s legal and ethical issues the election shouldn’t have even been close. Kamala Harris was an articulate, experienced, highly qualified, and credible candidate. So, if the candidate, money and lack or resources weren’t the problem, that leaves messaging and the campaigns.
Democrats have a credibility problem. I know that sounds ironic, given Donald Trump’s lies and the misinformation regularly circulating on Fox News. It’s important to remember that “politics are local” and many rural Counties and families are struggling.
Agriculture, once the backbone of Wisconsin’s economy, has experienced a decline, with farm foreclosures in Clark, Marathon, Grant, Lafayette and Vernon Counties heading the list. Inflation, particularly with housing, food, and fuel remains a concern. Public schools are facing budget and staffing problems with four out of every 10 first-year teachers in Wisconsin leaving the profession after just six years. Total teacher compensation has decreased 20 percent since 2010. As farmers grow older their children, if they graduate, are leaving for cities, where the jobs are.
Democrats haven’t been very good at publicizing their successes. The Wall Street Journal reported that “the U.S. is increasingly pulling ahead of the world’s advanced economies, with a surge of investment paying off in higher productivity and wages“. Crawford County has been allocated more than $3,000 and Iowa County more than $900, per person, in federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds. Inflation has been reduced from a high o 9.1% to 2.6%. Economists say being within striking distance of the 2% target after only two years since inflation peaked is an incredible feat.
But, growing income inequality has become a threat to our economy and our democracy, along with the peace and stability of our world. In 2022, the retiring CEO of United Healthcare received a compensation package worth $142 million dollars, 356 times more than the salary of President of the United States.
CEO-to-worker compensation ratio in the United States is estimated at 344.3 times more than the annual average salary of production and nonsupervisory workers, skyrocketing 1,460% since 1978, while worker salaries and wages have stagnated.
This reality, plus struggling economies in rural America may underlie a growing disenchantment, for some, and uncertainty about whether the Democratic party has really got their back.
Polls show that universal healthcare, increasing the minimum wage, increased funding for public education, battling climate change, reproductive rights for women and responsible gun safety legislation all have broad public support in Wisconsin.
So, is Wisconsin becoming more conservative?
In three of the four most recent elections, openly progressive Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates won by more than 11%.
Republicans cry “Socialism” as they try to dismantle Obamacare, privatize Social Security, Medicare and anything else that is designed to help working families.
Meanwhile, tax breaks and subsidies for Billionaires, factory farms and multi-national corporations have widened the gap between the 1%, a shrinking middle-class and those at the bottom of the economic ladder.
Private voucher school students in some Wisconsin communities are guaranteed $10,000 more in State-Aid than is provided to public school students in the same District.
Maybe it’s time we drop the labels and talk instead about what works.
Expanding the child tax credit lowered childhood poverty in the U.S. by as much as 30%.
Vaccines work. Polio, and Covid19 mortality have been dramatically reduced by vaccines.
Countries, where reproductive choice and healthcare are available, the incidence of abortions is significantly lower than in States where abortion is illegal.
So, What’s Left? And where do we go from here? Lasting change comes from the bottom up. In times of uncertainty politicians may stick their finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing. Our job is to create the wind.
We need more than resistance. We need a positive vision for the future and actions that can move Wisconsin and our nation forward.