6/25/2012
Tammy Baldwin: Don't underestimate her in Senate race
By Bill Kaplan
The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com .
In 1998 I made the mistake of initially underestimating Tammy Baldwin's sheer determination, political savvy and formidable personal attributes. Baldwin was the underdog in a hotly contested Democratic congressional primary and in the subsequent race against a moderate GOP opponent. And, she won handily, going on to represent the second congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Baldwin went on in later years to win against another moderate GOP opponent in a close election, and had decisive victories against more extreme GOP candidates. But she cemented her hold on the district by representing everyone, including Republicans.
Notwithstanding her progressive values, Baldwin has the will and personal skills to work across the partisan divide. I was with her at a health care policy conference and saw the high regard two conservative GOP congressmen had for Baldwin. They were collaborating on legislation to let states take different paths to cover the millions of uninsured. More recently Baldwin worked with fellow Wisconsin GOP Representative Reid Ribble to cosponsor a bill to defend U.S. / Wisconsin manufacturers from unfair trade practices by China and other nations, and save American jobs. Ideology doesn't stand in the way as Baldwin fights for regular folks. There's more.
Baldwin opposed deregulation of banks, supported by President Clinton and pushed by a GOP-led Congress. Big banks got bigger and harder to regulate. Unregulated and out-of-control banks drove a housing bubble which ultimately pushed the economy over the cliff into the worst economic crisis since the 1930's. Not a word was heard from any of Baldwin's GOP opponents for the open U.S. Senate seat.
There is a lot of hot air right now in the Wisconsin Senate race about the budget deficit and national debt. But I remember Baldwin speaking out early and forcefully about the consequences of deregulation of big banks, deficit-busting Bush tax cuts (tilted to the rich), putting two wars on a credit card and cutting taxes for the first time during wartime. Where were Tommy Thompson, Mark Neumann, Jeff Fitzgerald or Eric Hovde? Missing in action.
Finally, a meanness overhangs the GOP primary race. Millionaire Hovde attacks the poor and unemployed saying he is tired of "sob" stories about people being denied food stamps. And, Thompson, a good and decent person, says unemployment benefits should ultimately be capped at 36 weeks. He said: "People get so many weeks of unemployment they won't want to go to work." Sad what politics can do. But Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin stands with regular folks and helping Wisconsinites back to work with decent-paying jobs.
-- Kaplan wrote a guest column from Washington, D.C., for the Wisconsin State Journal from 1995 to 2009.
Tammy Baldwin: Don't underestimate her in Senate race
By Bill Kaplan
The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com .
In 1998 I made the mistake of initially underestimating Tammy Baldwin's sheer determination, political savvy and formidable personal attributes. Baldwin was the underdog in a hotly contested Democratic congressional primary and in the subsequent race against a moderate GOP opponent. And, she won handily, going on to represent the second congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Baldwin went on in later years to win against another moderate GOP opponent in a close election, and had decisive victories against more extreme GOP candidates. But she cemented her hold on the district by representing everyone, including Republicans.
Notwithstanding her progressive values, Baldwin has the will and personal skills to work across the partisan divide. I was with her at a health care policy conference and saw the high regard two conservative GOP congressmen had for Baldwin. They were collaborating on legislation to let states take different paths to cover the millions of uninsured. More recently Baldwin worked with fellow Wisconsin GOP Representative Reid Ribble to cosponsor a bill to defend U.S. / Wisconsin manufacturers from unfair trade practices by China and other nations, and save American jobs. Ideology doesn't stand in the way as Baldwin fights for regular folks. There's more.
Baldwin opposed deregulation of banks, supported by President Clinton and pushed by a GOP-led Congress. Big banks got bigger and harder to regulate. Unregulated and out-of-control banks drove a housing bubble which ultimately pushed the economy over the cliff into the worst economic crisis since the 1930's. Not a word was heard from any of Baldwin's GOP opponents for the open U.S. Senate seat.
There is a lot of hot air right now in the Wisconsin Senate race about the budget deficit and national debt. But I remember Baldwin speaking out early and forcefully about the consequences of deregulation of big banks, deficit-busting Bush tax cuts (tilted to the rich), putting two wars on a credit card and cutting taxes for the first time during wartime. Where were Tommy Thompson, Mark Neumann, Jeff Fitzgerald or Eric Hovde? Missing in action.
Finally, a meanness overhangs the GOP primary race. Millionaire Hovde attacks the poor and unemployed saying he is tired of "sob" stories about people being denied food stamps. And, Thompson, a good and decent person, says unemployment benefits should ultimately be capped at 36 weeks. He said: "People get so many weeks of unemployment they won't want to go to work." Sad what politics can do. But Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin stands with regular folks and helping Wisconsinites back to work with decent-paying jobs.
-- Kaplan wrote a guest column from Washington, D.C., for the Wisconsin State Journal from 1995 to 2009.