The Call of History

Opportunities to make history in politics rarely adhere to any candidate’s plans. They open up unexpectedly for those who seize the moment.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama was an ambitious, young politician who almost certainly envisioned he would run for president one day. But it’s doubtful he originally intended to run before he’d even finished his first term in national office.

However, eight years of a disastrous Republican presidency combined with baggage-burdened veteran Democratic candidates provided the opportunity for Obama’s historic election years ahead of schedule.

The possibility of a mayor from Milwaukee being elected governor of Wisconsin can’t really be compared to electing the first African American to the presidency of a nation with America’s shameful history of racism. But anti-Milwaukee attitudes statewide are sufficiently strong to make Tom Barrett the first Milwaukee mayor in our lifetimes who even dared to run for the office.

Like Obama in 2008, Barrett almost certainly hadn’t planned to run for governor at this time.

Barrett sought the governorship in 2002 after leaving Congress, coming in second to then Attorney General Jim Doyle in the Democratic primary. After that, he put away any gubernatorial ambitions and was elected mayor of Milwaukee in 2004.

In recent history, Milwaukee mayors tend to have jobs for life, barring any midlife sex scandals. Barrett’s strong family ties, including four school-age children, made it a particularly difficult time for him to take on a statewide campaign. But, again, an unusual confluence of events made it exactly the right time for this particular mayor of Milwaukee to run for governor.

The job opened up unexpectedly when Gov. Jim Doyle announced he would not run for re-election. Other high-profile Democrats—Congressman Ron Kind and Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton—then decided not to run for their own reasons.

All the while, Barrett was growing in stature as a possible candidate. Barrett received statewide and national acclaim for a courageous personal act. Leaving the Wisconsin State Fair with family members, he intervened in a West Allis domestic dispute to protect a grandmother and an infant. He ended up being brutally beaten with a tire iron.

Barrett had been among the earliest elected officials to support Obama’s candidacy for the presidency, traveling to Iowa to campaign door-to-door for Obama before the Iowa caucuses.

President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden personally called Barrett in the hospital when the mayor was recovering from his injuries. White House political operatives let it be known they were urging Barrett to run for governor of Wisconsin, where Obama won 59 of 72 counties—more urban, suburban and rural counties than in any other state in the nation.

Representing Milwaukee

Besides strong support for Barrett from Democrats from the top on down, another factor that makes it an unusually good time for a Milwaukee mayor to run for governor is what is happening within the Republican Party.

There’s a strong possibility the Republican gubernatorial candidate also could be from Milwaukee. Statewide polls show County Executive Scott Walker leading former Congressman Mark Neumann for the Republican nomination.

If Walker were the only Milwaukee candidate, he might have drawn far more votes from Democratic Milwaukee County than Republicans usually do. Barrett as the Democratic candidate negates that possibility.

One immediate effect of Barrett’s candidacy could be to boost out-state support for Neumann, Walker’s Republican primary opponent. Neumann is the anti-Milwaukee candidate.

When Neumann ran against Sen. Russ Feingold in 1998, he didn’t even bother to campaign in Milwaukee, which he lost by 68,000 votes. Already, in the governor’s race, Neumann has used coded language to suggest there’s something scary about the people of Milwaukee: “In a statewide race, people will be asking the question, ‘Do we want for all of Wisconsin what is happening in Milwaukee?’”

Golly, what could be so different about what is happening in Milwaukee compared to what is going on elsewhere in the state? It almost sounds as if there are different kinds of people here other communities wouldn’t want to see moving in.

Neumann has a reputation as a mean campaigner. During his Senate race, he made a female student cry when she asked him a challenging question at a campaign forum. He can be expected to hone his anti-Milwaukee tactics as he tries to take out Walker.

Walker puts a more amiable face on his hard-right politics, but as governor his no-tax-increase, right-wing political ideology would slash state aid to every city, county and school district in the state.

Walker already appears ready to abandon his nice-guy personal style by addressing shrill hate rallies staged by tea-baggers and inviting the preposterous Sarah Palin to campaign with him.

That could allow Barrett to make history as the only rational, positive candidate in the governor’s race.

REPLY TO THIS COMMENT

anonymous

Barrett is a nice enough guy, but you must admit that he doesn't even want to run for governor. He has absolutely no passion. I think he made a big mistake by running, and that this is going to be a republican year any way you look at it. And now Milwaukee is going to suffer the consequences by the mayor's loss of focus on things like MPS, which might I add is not a positive for Barrett's campaign.

Immaculate Conception? Surely your not suggesting these political servants magically appear from the ether? Of coarse not, they are groomed, funded, vetted and ran. There are two levels of political process that are interconnected and always interact in some fashion. The shallow level, is widely known as party politics. This is the familiar world of political bosses and their machines, party elites, advertising agencies merchandising candidates to the voters, and the often carnival-like atmosphere of grass roots campaigning.The deeper level, much less reported, involves the ruling class. This level includes the world of large-scale fund raising from wealthy upper class individuals, the networks of influential people developed by exclusive private clubs and policy planning groups, and the media's merchandising of favored candidates through manipulation of the definition of news. A successful politician has contacts with both realms and attempts to reconcile them-but they do represent different traditions, constituencies, and purposes and thus are conceptually distinct. Obama for example, is a Columbia University graduate after which he worked for BIC, a firm that was linked to economic intelligence gathering for the CIA. Who rules Columbia? (http://www.utwatch.org/archives/whorulescolumbia.html#usintel) Obama's top contributors? (http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638) helped him "appoint" a military and financial cabinet bent on social and ecological destruction for the bottom line of capitalist profit, control and domination. Obama is White Power in Black Face (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=white power in black face&search_type=&aq=f). The electoral process is as scandalous as the facade of the so-called two party system that controls the social order of capitalism. There is a great misconception in the world on the question of power and authority. The powers that be have turned democracy into a meaningless spectator sport. WPR wants to point to Global Competence as a solution because "public instruction" is falling behind the times. You see, US "education" serves four functions: implanting apathy, ignorance, and obedience into the mass of its population as well as the reproduction of labor to maintain the system. If you think about it, it's served it's purpose while downsizing, capital flight, offshoring, outsourcing & self-sourcing took place and rolled back US labor concessions. While being a remarkable achievement of coercion in the division of labor, these policies have also spawned a highly explosive; reactionary-fundamentalist, illiterate-class, yoked to consumption. If you look around, only the skeletal remains of goods production lay bare and the barbarians at the gate are abandoning its service sector carcass. The ruling class is not interested in rebuilding America. Why would they? Labor abroad has been conditioned and disciplined with far more superior skillsets than its Amerikkkan counterparts. The underdeveloped nations are far more appealing to these captains of highly mobilized capital. Meanwhile, the messianic cults of both democrats and republicans will eventually evaporate their political capital like Blue Gold. As the indictments against the capitalist system are strengthened each passing day, social transformation may become clearer or foggier to the working class.(http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/works/1944/1944-fas.htm)

Ah Joel, here you go again. I hate to be coarse, but when you refer to groups of taxpayers meeting to discuss issues as "shrill hate rallies", you look like a moron. You also make it clear that you didn't attend any of these rallies, and have no idea what you're talking about. I understand that journalism is dead, but seriously- how long can you hope to get away with blatant lies and misrepresentations? Even if you do prosper by these tactics, aren't you embarrassed? Or does some imagined "end" justify your means, as is so often the case with the "compassionate, open-minded" liberal left?

I think the "shrill hate rally" Joel touches on was captured here on video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUPMjC9mq5Y). TWO ARTICLES DIGRESS:(http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/09/2009918102535246265.html)(http://www.redroom.com/blog/tim-wise/sick-heil-racial-paranoia-white-victimology-and-hitlerizing-obama)

Bill Preston - of course McNally isn't embarrassed when he uses terms such as "shrill hate rallies", this is what ineffectual and burned-out liberals do, this is their technique. Bill, you have to stop trying to understand why liberals/socialists are the buffoons they are...you will simply go insane. Rather, what you should do is analyze it and refute it. For example, if you read just a couple of McNally's columns you will quickly become cognizant of the fact that McNally fashions himself as some sort of arbiter of who hates who, who is "mean-spirited", who utilizes "politics of hate".....I mean, this is the type of vernacular that appeals to 8th grade girls. Furthermore, it doesn't take anything beyond a General Psychology 101 class to know that when someone incessantly is crying about "hate" or how mean and evil conservatives are, is not real happy with himself. Honestly, look at McNally....this dolt was let go by the JOURNAL SENTINEL and spends his days loitering in the UWM union and I guarantee if you or I knew McNally on a personal basis it would become painfully obvious what a jag-off this leftist is. Bill, my point here is don't try to figure out why liberals/socialists think the way they do just be secure in the knowing that you are intellectually superior.

The Call of History

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