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State Debate: Be wary of ads in spring high court election, La Crosse Tribune urges

A 8/21 round-up of editorials from state papers

Compiled by Lynn Danielson  —  8/21/2008 10:26 am

The La Crosse Tribune is urging voters to be wary during next spring's election for Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson will be up for re-election and likely will face opposition from big-money groups running so-called "issue ads" that actually are de-facto campaign ads. Based on past history, the ads will likely play on negative, nasty themes.

The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a private group that tracks campaign spending and advocates for campaign reform, put out a report Wednesday that gave thumbnail sketches of the three conservative groups and two liberal groups involved in electioneering in the past two state Supreme Court races. On the conservative side are Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the Club for Growth and the Coalition for America's Families. Liberal groups include the Wisconsin Education Association Council and the Greater Wisconsin Committee.

When the relentlessly negative ads start running next fall, look carefully at the fine print that says which group is supporting the ad. Pay more attention to what the candidates say, and then make up your own mind and vote.

The Kenosha News says whether the legal drinking age is 18 or 21, neighboring states need the same rules.

The presidents of 100 or so prestigious colleges are asking Congress to consider lowering the age of legal drinking from 21 to 18. They say it would reduce the amount of binge drinking on campuses by underage youths. If they know they can buy it when they want to, the reasoning goes, they'll be less likely to gulp it when they can get it.

The idea deserves consideration if only because the law is widely ignored, is discriminatory and was imposed in a backhanded way.

Eighteen-year-olds are told they're mature enough to vote, join the military and sign binding contracts but, unlike youths in most other nations, too immature to drink beer.

Federal law does not prohibit states from lowering their drinking age, but if they do, they sacrifice a share of their federal highway money.

With Kenosha County's history of problems in the 1980s resulting from different drinking ages in Wisconsin and Illinois, we can't support differences between states on this issue. The college presidents make some good points, but we prefer the drinking age to remain at 21 than to have legal drinking at age 18 in one state and age 21 in another. Too many crashes occur when 18-year-olds cross the state line to drink legally, then drive home.There is good reason to believe that lowering the age limit might not change youthful drinking habits, but these university presidents deserve a hearing.

With Russian tanks storming through Georgia and Russian generals making public threats to blast away U.S. missile bases in Poland, now is the time, the Oshkosh Northwestern says, for McCain and Obama to engage in a frank, face-to-face debate on foreign policy.

The events remind us that we need to take a serious, focused and substantive look at how the next president of the United States plans to engage the world free of over-simplifications and free of distractions, like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and more lurid details about former Sen. John Edwards' dalliances.

The candidates have a responsibility; so do we. The mass media and newspapers have also fallen prey to seductive celebrity news. The attention on war, global conflict and foreign affairs has waned along with broader reader interest.

But when Cold War players start puffing their chests over placement of new missile-defense nests and who's going to have the best angle at shooting down the other's warheads, it's time to focus our diplomatic and policy attention there.

Compiled by Lynn Danielson  —  8/21/2008 10:26 am