It took a lawsuit filed by the Center for Media and Democracy and The Progressive to reveal the full truth about Gov. Scott Walker’s involvement in trying to eliminate the beloved Wisconsin Idea.
The plan was scrapped after much public outrage over this clandestine effort to attack the goals of the University of Wisconsin System.
Contrary to Walker’s denials at the time that the changes to the UW’s mission statement in his last proposed state budget were a “drafting error,” the documents released in the court suit show that his office was behind it all. When faced with questions from state staffers, the response was, “The Gov requested a simplified and clearer mission and purpose statements.”
Gone were the high-minded ideals of our great-grandparents’ generation that urged Wisconsinites to improve themselves through education and public service and, above all, “search for truth.” If Walker had gotten his way, the state’s lauded university system would have been remade according to his vision as a glorified vocational school whose main purpose is training the workforce. Of course, we think that training workers for all sorts of jobs and professions is a laudable goal but an education is much more. So we don’t think that Walker should have tried to gut the lofty goals enshrined in the Wisconsin Idea just so he could promote worker training in his budget to satisfy his corporate donors as he positioned himself to run for the Republican nomination for president.
Worse yet, Walker lied and totally misled Wisconsinites about his office’s role in the death of the Wisconsin Idea. Then he tried to prevent the records’ release by claiming that the state open records law allowed him to withhold “deliberative” documents from the public’s view. The lawsuit ultimately forced him to release the records.
We’re disappointed that this preacher’s son and Eagle Scout couldn’t do the honorable thing and tell the truth about his plans to gut the Wisconsin Idea. We should be used to Walker’s lies by now, but for once we wish he would be honest with the public about his agenda. The “search for truth” in Wisconsin shouldn’t have to involve a lawsuit.
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