I haven’t written much at all about the recall effort in Wisconsin. This isn’t because I don’t find it interesting or important or worth supporting. It’s mainly a combination of a general aversion to writing about state and local politics for a national/international audience, and a lack of knowledge on my part about the details of Wisconsin’s internal political climate and culture. Simply put, too many of my readers don’t care, and I don’t have anything of value to add.
I do note, however, that the whole recall effort has created a kind of bureaucratic clusterfuck that costs a lot of money and takes a lot of time to litigate and arbitrate. And, it occurs to me, that it might be a few election cycles before Wisconsin sees an end to this kind of permanent campaign. Generally speaking, it’s best to let elections speak for themselves and not seek to overturn elections prematurely through recall campaigns. I didn’t like it when it was done to California Governor Gray Davis. I didn’t like it when Tom DeLay had Texas’s districts redrawn mid-decade. So, the only reason I’m supportive of the effort in Wisconsin is because the governor there is being so incredibly aggressive about screwing over important Democratic constituencies. By seeking to destroy public service unions and disenfranchise minorities, Gov. Walker isn’t merely governing; he’s waging war against the left. And I don’t shy away from that kind of war.
Yet, when this is all over and the Democrats have restored sanity to the Badger State, I suggest that progressives reexamine the recall laws. I say this because the next time we win power in Wisconsin, the GOP will instantly move to have recall elections and overturn the result. It’s not like a move like this will be restricted to ‘extraordinary circumstances.’
In general, people should be free to serve the full terms they were elected to serve, and any exceptions should be because of actual criminal activity, not policy differences. Impeachment is a more appropriate remedy than recall petitions. That is, of course, unless your opponents are looking to completely destroy you.
