I have been talking with my progressive friends about Gov. Scott Walker lately. I’ll be the first to admit that Walker’s policies have had mixed results at best. I stand with my progressive friends in opposing his budget cuts—after all, it is a recession which is the worst time to cut government spending. But my friends also want to hold a special recall election to kick him out of office early. I disagree.
I see the appeal of a recall election: With recall elections already circulating, there is a good chance that he could be replaced with a progressive Democrat. I’ll even admit that there’s probably no better way to reverse Walker’s policies than to just outright replace him. Regardless, the case for a recall is much more strained than its advocates would like to believe.
There are three things that can happen as a result of this attempt to oust the governor. For one, the petition to hold a recall may not have enough signatures in time, and even if it does, Walker may still win the election. In both of these cases, the progressive agenda is no further ahead than it is now. Both of these would leave the Democratic party with fewer resources and less likely to attract the support needed for the next gubernatorial election. Needless to say, this is not a case where the Democrats have nothing to lose—they might not have much now, but things can certainly get worse.
Of course, while the risks are great, so too may be the rewards. What would happen if Walker lost?
Before we can answer that question, we should take a look outside Wisconsin. The election of President Obama was certainly a triumphant moment for the Democratic party, and briefly left the Republican party in tatters. The Republican party probably would have stayed in tatters, too, if it hadn’t formed a strong, loyal opposition. Rather than sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the next election, Republicans took a tip from British Parliament and began opposing the President’s initiatives solely to oppose his administration. Given Obama’s troubles in office and the Republican party’s comparable gains, this seems to be working well for them.
Or is it? Even after the Republican party regained control of the House of Representatives and many state governments (including ours) in 2010, not a whole lot changed. In hindsight, the reasons for this are clear. Even though the government has changed hands, the financial situation has yet to improve. This leaves politics-as-usual much bloodier than it normally is, as each party desperately tries to be the one on top when the economic situation improves.
This state of political paralysis is predictable in a recession, since voters almost always throw out incumbents when the economy is ailing. This means more political paralysis for Wisconsin—even after a potentially successful recall a change in governorship may do little to improve the state’s economic situation. Look at California and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to see how the results of a recall can actually backfire.
But seats in government are not everything. Trust in Congress is at an all-time low and political paralysis is making few people’s lives any easier. It is possible that an economic recovery would occur after Walker’s replacement steps into office. But in truth, there is very little that a Democratic replacement for Walker would want, or even be able, to do that would make things better. Unfortunately, the budget still needs to be balanced, and raising taxes in a recession would hurt economic growth. The only thing that kicking Walker out makes more likely is the possibility that a Democrat is in office when the recession ends—but where’s the justification for a recall in that?
Out of the three possibilities, two of them leave the Democrats in essentially the same position—if not worse. The third might lead to Democratic gains in the short run, but would almost certainly have little effect in the long run. Recall elections are good for removing corrupt politicians in poor economic conditions, but this is hardly the case. At this point a recall election is just a “do-over” for the impatient. My friends see it differently, but as far as I can tell, recalling Walker isn’t worth the effort.
Zach Thomae is a freshman majoring in computer science. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
