The Politics of the State Fair

When you think of a state fair, what comes to mind?

The animals, the pig races, the midway, the music, forty varieties of foods served on a stick, and the cream puffs -- that's the stuff of the annual summer celebration of Wisconsin.

Things at the Wisconsin State Fair change from year to year; but there are plenty of traditions, and memories can literally be relived.

One of the constants that the fair offers is the little version of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It's a tiny replica of the newspaper that's free to fairgoers.

Almost ten years ago, the headline on the front page of the miniature paper shouted about the Packers' return to the Super Bowl and to Glory.

In 2000, the paper referred to the celebrations that marked the new millennium.

The little JS typically has an appealing and apolitical lead story. After all, it's the state fair -- a fun, happy time. No one wants a downer of a headline or a controversial issue on the yearly mini-JS.

That's what made this year's model sort of weird.

The lead story?

"UW grows animal-free stem cell lines"

And below the fold is a story on Russ Feingold's possible presidential bid, "He tests the waters, but will he jump in?"



The 2006 mini-JS also has the story of Brett Favre's last game of the 2005 season, "A fond farewell?"

That's the sort of thing I've come to expect, not the politically-charged stuff like creating embryonic stem cells or speculation on a President Feingold.

Kids looking at the paper can ask their parents, "What does it mean to grow stem cells?"

The parents, if they're being honest, can respond, "It's the cloning of human embryos, sweetheart. Let's get a corndog!"


Although the Journal Sentinel usually manages to keep its liberal agenda under wraps for the fair, politics is not a stranger to the grounds.

A Wisconsin State Fair staple is the Herb Kohl Milk House, paid for by Kohl for Senate. (That means Herb got out his checkbook and personally funded the place.)

It offers small plastic cups of flavored milk for a quarter, two for a quarter with the fair's coupon. Although 160,000 glasses are sold during the run of the fair, the Milk House isn't meant to make a profit. Its purpose is to get Kohl's name out there.



Other than the name, there really isn't any in your face politics at the Milk House, just ice cold milk. However, being an election year, a Herb Kohl U.S. Senator banner is roped to the roof of the structure.

I suppose if the Republican Party of Wisconsin had its act together and put up a viable candidate for Senate, and Kohl was actually facing a serious challenge, there would be more signs of blatant campaigning.



I wonder how many people standing in the always long lines for their cup of milk know who Kohl is or where he stands on the issues. I would guess that most could not care less. They just want some milk.

Politics also makes its way into the Wisconsin Exposition Center. For the most part, it holds row after row of salespeople hawking their wares -- slicers, dicers, juicers, cookware, blenders, mops, miracle cleaners, etc.

Among the "can't live without it" products, you'll find a Republican Party of Wisconsin booth. It has information about Republican candidates, plus items to purchase such as buttons ("Dump Doyle") and bumper stickers.

In addition, signatures are being collected on a few petitions, one deaing with taxes and another dealing with the gay marriage amendment, for example.

The Republican booth is an energetic, active place. Believe it or not, there are Robert Lorge pamphlets; but by far, the emphasis is on the governor's race. There are a number of fact sheets available, clearly delineating the differences between Jim Doyle and Mark Green.

According to a worker, Green will be at the booth this Sunday, talking to voters and pressing the flesh.

On the opposite side of the hall, the Democrats had a booth of their own.

Take a look--



The place was deserted. The tables were empty. Not a soul was around. Nothing. Nobody.

Stacy Forster writes:

Here's the lineup of candidates who will be staffing the Democratic Party of Milwaukee County's booth at the State Fair, which opened today.

The campaign of Democratic attorney general candidate Kathleen Falk, Dane County Executive, will run the booth on Sat., Aug. 12, but incumbent Democratic Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager doesn't have the booth for a day.

That's not a snub of Lautenschlager, however. Dave Redeman, a county party spokesman, said all the Democratic primary campaigns were offered the opportunity to staff the booth for a day, provided that the campaigns help defer some of the costs of the booth and offer at least 12 volunteers. Falk took the party up on the offer, but Lautenschlager did not, he said.

I don't know why the Dems decided to close down early on the opening day of the fair. For that matter, I don't know if it was staffed at all yesterday.

Weren't the Dems able to get a candidate to run the booth on Thursday?

I'm pretty sure the Dems were there at least for a while because I heard two microphoned salespeople manning the adjacent booth saying, "The Democrats are already gone."

Whatever, I do know that it was a lonely place when I saw it.

The photo was taken while the rest of the exposition center was still abuzz with salespeople giving their most sincere pitches about their wonder products, their voices amplified by cheap microphones. The Republican booth was open for business as well, while the Dems slept.

Every other booth was staffed, but the Dems' spot was a ghost town, noticeably empty.

That doesn't send a very good message to Wisconsinites, that is, the ones taking the time to notice.

While politics can be found amid the cream puffs and the miracle mops and massage chairs, I think the last thing on most fairgoers' minds is politics.

More people are interested in finding the fried Oreos than finding information on political candidates.