In Which I Almost Starred in a Political Ad for Wisconsin's Gubernatorial Campaign

I am a political junkie. Like Nate Silver Fan Girl political junkie and I pull no punches about my lefty-liberal leanings, either.

I am no fan of Wisconsin's current Gubernatorial Douchebag, Scott Walker. I have thrown my support behind Mary Burke, for a number of philosophical reasons. Mostly because of Walker's War on Education, his attacks on public unions (especially educators) and the massive cuts he has made to state education. I believe his cuts have adversely affected my kids' school, the district, and the state of Wisconsin.

My friends are mostly liberal lefties as well--so it really wasn't a surprise to me to get a text from a friend asking if I would talk to someone from the Burke campaign about education. I always ready to share my opinions so I had a chat with someone on the phone and agreed to let some guys from the campaign come and scout me, my kids, and our home for a possible commercial.

Two nice, geeky looking guys showed up--they seemed like characters from The West Wing--causally dressed but polite, erudite and sympathetic. We talked around our kitchen table for an hour, while the kids drew pictures and piped up with their precocious opinions on politics. (I have NO idea where they get it.)

Then they walked around the house and took some cell phone photos, thanked us for our time, and our story, and said they would be in touch. I even got a request for a photo selfie--for a potential make-up artist in case they decided to use me, I'd definitely need the help of a professional.

As it turned out, the younger of the two, Gabe, sent me a text and left me a voicemail the next day saying they wouldn't be down to Stevens Point and therefore, couldn't use us.

I'm pretty sure they can find someone more telegenic and more eloquent to express my feelings towards this state administration's stance on public education. At least I hope they do. Burke should be attacking Walker on this. His cuts were brutal and they were made worse by a cap he put on property taxes so that individual districts couldn't make up for budget shortfalls by raising local property taxes.

I have a straightforward philosophy on pubic education: It is the first level playing field our kids encounter and it is the most important one. Education is the magic bullet for EVERY social ill; crime, poverty, abuse all go down as education increases. Why would you not want that fully funded? Why would you disrespect the system that educates our youth and the people that do it?

I honestly believe that there is a war on intellectualism in this county. And that somehow, people see educated individuals as elitist snobs, or rich idiots. But education is the bootstraps that conservatives have such a hard on for. If you want someone to pull themselves out of poverty, THEY HAVE TO GET A GOOD EDUCATION. By denying everyone a FREE, quality education, they are undercutting their own moral code that people can help themselves out of poverty.

Edited because this article came out after I published.

Wisconsin Second Only to Alabama in Cuts to Education Funding.