Democrats are rightly criticized for failing to articulate a message and program.
In Wisconsin, this should not be a problem.
Democrats should take a strong position in favor of common sense public water rights guaranteed in the Wisconsin Constitution by the Public Trust Doctrine.
The doctrine says the waters of the state belong to everyone and that people have a right to enjoy clean, accessible water.
* That means rural families whose wells are contaminated by runoff from nearby feedlots
- - many of which are industrial-scaled operations which the Walker administration routinely approves, hardly ever inspects, allows to operate without valid permits and will soon be permitted to pump out unlimited amounts of groundwater forever even from underground supplies known to already depleted.
Details, here,
* That means people in cities with aging lead pipes to which the state has responded with a token, fanny-covering program.
* That means people should be able to fish or swim in state rivers, but cannot; our waterways are increasingly rated as impaired because, among things, the state relaxed efforts to stop the discharge of polluting phosphorous that feeds and breeds smelly, unhealthy algae.
And the state now officially rejects global warming data and climate change science even though it also knows a warming climate threatens the state's beloved and financially-crucial walleye population.
* And it means a replacing with an intentional clean water and respectful land ethic the 'chamber of commerce mentality' Walker installed at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
So:
No more dead zones in Lake Michigan.
No more 'brown water events' at rural homeowners' kitchen taps or in streams and fields near feedlots.
No gouging pristine timber-and-wetlands for sand mines or high-dollar Lake Michigan shoreline golf courses or Iowa pig breeders.
Water is life and should be at the core of Wisconsin public life, which is why the Public Trust Doctrine - - a part of the state constitution - - should be implemented with policy, investment and respect.
This shouldn't be a partisan matter, but Wisconsin Republicans have become the pollution party, so Democrats and Independents have to take a positive approach:
Clean Water For Everyone.
In Wisconsin, this should not be a problem.
Democrats should take a strong position in favor of common sense public water rights guaranteed in the Wisconsin Constitution by the Public Trust Doctrine.
The doctrine says the waters of the state belong to everyone and that people have a right to enjoy clean, accessible water.
* That means rural families whose wells are contaminated by runoff from nearby feedlots
- - many of which are industrial-scaled operations which the Walker administration routinely approves, hardly ever inspects, allows to operate without valid permits and will soon be permitted to pump out unlimited amounts of groundwater forever even from underground supplies known to already depleted.
Details, here,
* That means people in cities with aging lead pipes to which the state has responded with a token, fanny-covering program.
* That means people should be able to fish or swim in state rivers, but cannot; our waterways are increasingly rated as impaired because, among things, the state relaxed efforts to stop the discharge of polluting phosphorous that feeds and breeds smelly, unhealthy algae.
And the state now officially rejects global warming data and climate change science even though it also knows a warming climate threatens the state's beloved and financially-crucial walleye population.
* And it means a replacing with an intentional clean water and respectful land ethic the 'chamber of commerce mentality' Walker installed at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
So:
No more dead zones in Lake Michigan.
No more 'brown water events' at rural homeowners' kitchen taps or in streams and fields near feedlots.
No gouging pristine timber-and-wetlands for sand mines or high-dollar Lake Michigan shoreline golf courses or Iowa pig breeders.
Water is life and should be at the core of Wisconsin public life, which is why the Public Trust Doctrine - - a part of the state constitution - - should be implemented with policy, investment and respect.
This shouldn't be a partisan matter, but Wisconsin Republicans have become the pollution party, so Democrats and Independents have to take a positive approach:
Clean Water For Everyone.