As I read Professor Richardson’s statement that newly elected Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Protasiewicz, a de facto ally to the Democrats, is estimated to have won her election by ten points or so, a figure I presume comes from behind the paywall at The New York Times, I was at first somewhat disappointed, as this will be a 55% – 45% victory, which seems scant.
But then it occurred to me that there’s an intellectual error in marrying a name too tightly to meaning. By this I mean, in this case, that political parties’ character changes over time; they are fluid. The Wisconsin Republicans of today are not those of 50 years ago, or, before that, of Senator McCarthy (R-WI).
As the Wisconsin Republican Party continues to lose, the moderates will begin to learn that the nature of the culture of their party, toxic team politics, is the reason they’re losing. They’ll quietly rebel against its strictures by not voting for extremists; indeed, strident extremists may very well find themselves unceremoniously ejected and shunned.
The entire leadership could be asked to leave.
Will they try to change their spots? Sure. Such is the lure of power for the extremist. But they won’t succeed. There’s little point in concealing one’s extreme positions during a campaign, followed by attempting to consummate them after winning. Voters get angry.
So I don’t see margins getting much larger for the Democrats, and that’s OK. I’d rather see a sane Republican Party that contributes to governing and not a Gingrich Doctrine dominated Party devoted to winning, regardless of the consequences for the Party’s makeup.
