Rev. Scott Anderson: Pragmatism returns to the governor's office
In signing his first state budget on Wednesday, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has proved himself to be a smart and savvy political pragmatist, a refreshing change from eight years of ideological warfare in the halls of the state Capitol.
He surprised Republicans, disappointed the progressive wing of his own party, and will be cheered by the small sliver of swing voters who decide statewide elections in this state and who elected him in 2018. Democratic party leaders should take note as they seek to recapture the state Senate in November 2020.
Gone was the drama, the hubris and the bombast that characterized life in the state Capitol since 2010, with both Democrats and Republicans to blame. Yes, there was political bickering between the parties and between the two legislative chambers as the budget process unfolded, but it all felt so normal, and comparatively uneventful.
The governor put forth a bold, politically popular vision for Wisconsin in his budget submitted last February. That’s what leaders do. But he also must have known, with Republicans in the driver’s seat in both the Assembly and Senate, that at the end of the day he would get much less.
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