Discussion Section Notes February 19, 2018 PLSC 111 Discussion Section Notes February 19, 2018

Understanding Issues Can urban people understand the needs of rural people? And vice-versa? Should anything be done to stem the loss of rural representation? Less farmers Rural health care crisis Transportation funding issues Water usage Broadband Brain drain Owens River Valley, California

Are there issues that are purely urban? Some issues shift Drug issues used to be mostly urban, but now have moved across the country Same with crime Other issues based on place person is from Immigration Gun control Social policy Taxes sales vs. property Everybody seems concerned about jobs and keeping young people

Background to Cramer Richard Fenno Pioneered “soak and poke” brand of research He basically followed political actors around and wrote on their activities. Wrote “Homestyle” which is one of the most influential books in all of political science

Rural Consciousness Wisconsin has been competitive at the state level for a while It has very blue parts (Madison, City of Milwaukee, Lake Superior, Eau Claire, Oshkosh, Lacrosse, Menominee Reservation, Racine, Kenosha, Janesville) And very red parts (the WOW counties, Fond du Lac, the suburban areas of the cities, and lean red in the Fox River Valley) But as the southeastern part of the state has moved blue, much of northern Wisconsin has shifted red Democrats have become a more urban party Republicans have been receiving huge margins in the Milwaukee suburbs, similar to that of the south, not the Midwest

But in 2016 The state flips from blue to red for the first time since 1984 in the presidential race Even though the state was usually competitive, it leaned blue Reelected Ron Johnson too Notice where the changes seemed to have occurred to go from a 6-7 point Obama win to a less than 1% Trump win Also, there was a big turnout drop for Democrats in Milwaukee Some have attributed this to the strict photo id law

Scott Walker Elected Governor in 2010 Defeated Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett by 52-46 Former Milwaukee County Executive and State Representative (elected at 23) Close ties to Koch Brothers Ran for President in 2016 Running for Reelection in 2018

Act 10 The so-called “budget repair bill” Ended collective bargaining rights for most state employees Increased contributions to health and pension plans (10%) Republicans had won large legislative majorities and passed this through Democrats in the Senate fled to Illinois to prevent a quorum (19-14) There were massive protests in Madison Republicans managed to pass it without the missing Democrats

The Recalls The Wisconsin Constitution allows for recalls of elected officials one year after their taking office This meant that Walker and recently elected 2010 Republicans were not subject to recalls until 2012 However, State Senators elected in 2008 were subject to recalls Two were recalled in 2011 and another in 2012, giving Dems the State Senate temporarily They lose the majority when the newly enacted redistricting maps take effect Walker survives the recall rematch with Barrett

More on the rural/urban divide What is causing this? Power distribution? Resource distribution? Proper role of government? Different lifestyles? Rural identity Rural persons more likely to identify with that place Identity over issues Being ignored (think Trump saying forgotten man) Resentment at cities Dislike of public employees Not getting their fair share Distaste for elites Perception versus reality

Elements of Rural Consciousness Rural areas getting ignored by decision makers and leaders Not getting their fair share of resources (support for less gov) Values being misunderstood and disrespected by urbanites This has led to group consciousness Group identify politics for rural people, even though they are mostly white Rural voters shifted to Dems, urban to GOP including in Wisconsin

Writing Assignment for Class In your readings, one was about Rural Consciousness. Describe what this term means and why voters in rural Wisconsin had this feeling about the large cities in the state and their residents. What issues help to cause this. This should be couple of paragraphs for a good answer