Voters Should See Romney As Walker On Steroids

Wisconsin residents with progressive values have learned the hard way that giving political control over government to "a severely conservative" chief executive, along with majorities in both houses of the legislature and on a compliant Supreme Court spells real trouble for social justice, basic services, budgets, public education, environmental protections and home rule.

Walker and his allies used State Act 10 to restrict local governments' ability to negotiate with public sector workers and then cut school funding while private school choice continues to drain away money.

The environment has taken a big hit.

Walker's DNR is dragging its feet on dozens of EPA compliance matters. Wetlands can now be more easily filled. A biomass power plant conversion in Madison was killed, as was the Amtrak line between Milwaukee and Madison - - though highway spending is up in Wisconsin, especially for new, major roads while local transit systems and street repair needs go begging.

Walker and his lieutenants talk a good, small government game, but have used state power to arrogate and consolidate rule-making power in the Governor's office while engineering and imposing a conservative agenda in localities.

Romney and his backers talk up states rights (Romney care in MA, good; Affordable Act nationally, bad), but if they were to win the presidency and the Congress you'd see national mandates from the top down on women's health and reproductive rights to collective bargaining to environmental disregard (off-shore drilling, the XL pipeline routing fast-tracked) to special-interest tax cuts for businesses and the wealthy that would further push Grover Norquist's blueprint for drowning government deeper into state and local governments.

Wisconsin tells the story.

For progressives, it's a national cautionary tale urgently grasped.