Welcome back Badgers. We here at The Daily Cardinal are very excited to start yet another fantastic semester here at Madison and we are sure you are as well. This summer has provided a multitude of issues that we students need to pay attention to.
Election 2014
The Wisconsin gubernatorial race is rapidly approaching and has begun to generate intrigue from all across the nation.
Incumbent Scott Walker’s opponent Democrat Mary Burke has recently soared in the polls and now, in fact, leads Walker, erasing a 17 point deficit from April. The Los Angeles Times has even called the election the “tightest” race in the country.
Walker’s biggest issue continues to be the poor job numbers generated in the state of Wisconsin. The creation of 250,000 jobs was the goal number for 2014 but initial numbers and forecasts predict that the actual number created will be around 100,000.
Walker’s hard-line conservative viewpoints have continually drawn scrutiny throughout his time in office and poor economic numbers in Wisconsin have served to increase the popularity of Mary Burke’s liberal approach.
Ferguson
The outrage and response from the citizens and police department of Ferguson, Mo., regarding the killing of Michael Brown remains a highly controversial topic.
Earlier this month, teenager Michael Brown was shot and killed by a local Ferguson police officer. Brown matched the description of the main suspect in a convenience store robbery minutes before he was approached and ultimately shot multiple times by local police. Mass riots and looting have led to harsh responses from the police toward the citizens of Ferguson. Because of this heartbreaking event, our nation’s ever present racial tension and our increasingly militaristic police forces have been brought to the forefront of our domestic political discourse.
Ukraine
Turning to international events, the conflict in Ukraine continues to be a global focal point.
According to a Politico poll conducted on July 21, 67 percent of Americans believe the United States should intervene only in matters where national security is directly threatened. More specifically related to Ukraine, the same poll asked respondents if the United States should do more to counter Russian aggression. 17 percent responded that the United States should do more and 34 percent said the U.S. should be even less involved than it already is.
These numbers remain consistent between both Democratic and Republican respondents. It is clear to a vast majority of American citizens that the Ukraine conflict is not something the U.S. ought to be involved in. Yet even with these clear positions laid out by the American people, Republican and Democratic senators are speaking out publicly stating the U.S. government should be doing more to help Ukraine, the opposite of what most Americans believe.
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., chairman of the Senate Commitee on Foreign Relations said, “We should be providing the Ukrainians with the type of defensive weapons that will impose a cost on Putin for further aggression, this is no longer the question of some rebel separatists, this is a direct invasion by Russia. And we must recognize it as that.”
From the other side of the political aisle, U.S. Sen. John McCain. D- Arizona, criticized the U.S. governments handling of the Ukraine situation stating, “For God’s sake, can’t we help these people defend themselves? This is not an incursion, this is an invasion ... Give them the weapons they need, give them the wherewithal they need, give them the ability to fight. They will fight.” Senators Menendez and McCain’s statements on Ukraine provide a glean of hope for bipartisan relations going into the future. Unfortunately this bipartisan breakthrough is in an area where most Americans would prefer we don’t stick our nose.
ISIS
Finally, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, better known as ISIS, has been marauding through Syria and Iraq capturing civilian and military personnel alike. Additionally, ISIS has also captured cities, airports, oil fields, military equipment and holy sites. ISIS now maintains a presence from Syria’s Mediterranean coast to just south of Baghdad, Iraq.
Upon capturing new territory, ISIS, which began as an Al-Qaeda splinter group, leaves in their wake hundreds of dead civilians and military personnel executed publicly en masse. ISIS has also begun filming beheadings of individuals and posting them online as a warning to all who oppose them. The most high profile of these beheadings was of an American journalist, James Foley who the group claims they would have released if the United States government paid the $132.5 million ransom. ISIS has threatened the life of another American journalist they reportedly hold hostage, Steven Sotloff.
ISIS sweeps through Syria and Iraq, ignoring international borders and subjecting all newly acquired land to Sharia law. Sharia law is the political ideology by which the government rules based on the teachings and practices of Islam. In a truly Sharia law-based society cutting off people’s hands for theft or crucifixion for holding dissimilar beliefs are not uncommon. Moreover, these practices can already be seen throughout regions controlled by ISIS.
The United States once again faces a possibility of military intervention and will no doubt be under the world’s microscope even more than usual, which makes President Barack Obama’s statement from Aug. 28 all the more problematic. He said in a statement, “I don’t want to put the cart before the horse. We don’t have a strategy yet.” President Obama’s honest and open statement alludes to just how different the ISIS threat truly is. Obama has, however, given authorization for “targeted airstrikes” against ISIS fighters in order to protect American troops as well as prevent the genocide of any minority groups targeted by ISIS. This move will by no means subvert ISIS’s power and is merely a preventative measure. To completely destroy ISIS, a much more involved strategy will be required, a move most Americans would not support.
Have an opinion on today’s local or international issues? Feel free to contact us at opinion@dailycardinal.com.
