Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president on Jan. 20, beginning what is likely to be another chaotic, ill-thought and destructive four years of Trumpism at the federal level of our government.
This newspaper has never backed Trump for the presidency, and we expect that we will be in steady opposition not just to his policies and his appointees but to his crony capitalist vision for how the federal government should benefit billionaires rather than the great mass of Americans.
Luckily, Trump will not be making all the decisions, on his own or in combination with his Republican congressional allies. That’s because, in their wisdom, the founders of the American experiment reserved most of the governing power to states and to local governments. When the Bill of Rights was added to the U.S. Constitution in 1791, it included the 10th Amendment, which declares, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
The federal government always acts in accordance with the preamble to the Constitution, which charges the officials who govern from Washington with the job of maintaining a historic commitment to “form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”
To our reading, that means that constant vigilance is required to protect civil liberties, civil rights and safety-net programs that guard against economic inequality, corporate abuses and the desecration of the environment.
But we understand that much of the actual work of promoting the general welfare is done by state and local governments. That’s one of the many reasons why we were pleased when Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared after the 2024 election — in which the majority of voters nationally and in Wisconsin cast their ballots for someone other than Trump — that while he respected the fact that the Republican president elect had secured a plurality of votes, “Wisconsin is a purple state. For many Wisconsinites, the presidential election results were a victory, and for nearly as many Wisconsinites, a loss to grieve.”
Like a number of other Democratic governors nationwide, Evers provided reassurance for those who fear a Trump presidency.
“To the Wisconsinites worried about what the future may bring, let me be clear: I will always fight to protect our LGBTQ families and kids, especially our trans and nonbinary kids,” said the governor. “I will always fight for women, access to affordable healthcare, and reproductive freedom. I will always fight to reverse the climate crisis and to leave our kids and grandkids with a more sustainable, better world than the one we inherited. I will always fight to defend democracy and the basic institutions on which our country was built. And I will always — always — fight for our kids and for the better future they deserve. My promise to the people of Wisconsin has always been to be a governor who works for all Wisconsinites and does the right thing when it matters most. That’s a promise I will continue to keep.”
We take the governor at his word and respect his clarity. But we know that Evers cannot do it alone. Voters must provide the governor with progressive allies at the state and local levels of government.
This spring will see critical elections for nonpartisan state and local posts. In 2025, more than ever, it is vital that Wisconsinites participate in the Feb. 18 primary elections and the April 1 general election that will decide whether rule-of-law progressives maintain their narrow majority on the state Supreme Court, name a pro-public education superintendent of public instruction and fill thousands of city, village, town and school board posts.
Madison and surrounding communities will have some of busiest ballots in the state. In addition to a contest for Dane County executive between newly elected Executive Melissa Agard, which this newspaper backed in the recent special election to fill the post and challenger Stephen W. Ratzlaff Jr., a former legislative candidate who making a case for cutting property taxes, the county will see a mayoral contest in the booming city of Sun Prairie, and village president races in Cambridge, Cottage Grove, Deforest, Oregon and Waunakee. Madison voters will decide competitive races for an open School Board seat, for which Martha Siravo and Bret Wagner are sunning, as well as 16 City Council contests, including a number of three-way primaries.
Voters have an opportunity, on Feb. 18 and April 1, to fill state, county and municipal posts with smart, activist leaders who will maintain Wisconsin’s historic commitment to robust progressive governance that serves all the people and, in so doing, establish a vital bulwark against the cruelties, excesses and failures of a federal government that, as of Jan. 20, will not be in good hands.
This post was originally published on here
