October 17, 2005

Missing Out on a Winning Issue

The Taxpayers' Bill of Rights (TABOR) is a rare issue that garners such wide-spread support across Wisconsin. In a just-released Wisconsin Policy Research Institute poll the only groups that don't have a majority supporting TABOR are liberals and blacks. A majority of people in the People's Republic of Madison back limiting increased in state and local government spending. It seems like a winning issue, right? Politicians should be pushing this issue that has little political costs, right? Well, what is State Senator Glenn Grothman's most recent accomplishment? He's the man who whupped Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer because she wasn't doing much for TABOR. TABOR is Grothman's issue. Grothman put pressure on Gov. Jim "Needles" Doyle to allow fireworks to be launched near Summerfest.

The Wisconsin GOP has become very distant to voters, especially conservatives. Instead of advancing TABOR they've shrunk from the fight to limit government spending. The screams of local officials who don't want to control spending have more weight than the plight of taxpayers tired of paying more for government.

"Wisconsin Residents Favor Constitutional Amendment to Limit State and Local Spending" [PDF]