COMMENTARY | What is happening to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is an abomination of the electoral process in the U.S. Voters have amassed more than 1 million signatures to recall the first-term governor because he has done what few other politicians actually do: He has carried out the very platform that he campaigned upon.
The Republican governor told The Ticket that the law he passed in 2011 has significantly reduced the $3.6 billion deficit the state was facing when he took office. Democrats rewarded his success by pulling millions of out-of-state dollars into a campaign to unseat the governor, who still has more than two years remaining in his term. That action is a pathetic mockery of the electoral process. Since when should a candidate be forced to defend his record so early in his or her term?
Americans are already tired of the constant election cycle. For once, we'd like to see our elected leaders actually govern. Walker has demonstrated that from the beginning of his term and has been rewarded with a midterm challenge to hold on to the office. Now he is expected to govern, raise money to defend his recall, campaign across the state and, if successful, begin it all over again so he has campaign cash for an eventual re-election. In other words, Walker's political opponents have effectively reduced their do-something governor into a candidate once again. That's a shame.
Every day Americans complain that our government has not done enough to tackle the energy crisis, the debt crisis, the health care crisis … and the list goes on. Wisconsin voters elected a governor intent on changing that by restructuring contracts that were overly generous with taxpayers' money. That was the manifesto Walker championed in 2010 and it won him the election. He delivered what voters sent him to Madison to accomplish.
Washington needs someone with Walker's intestinal fortitude to handle the litany of national crises we face. Hopefully, Wisconsin voters will see through this ridiculous kidnapping of the democratic process and retain their hard-working governor.