Now that you have it, what are you going to do with it?

That is the question following the huge success of a feel-good advisory referendum on health care undertaken Tuesday in six counties and 16 communities.

One answer, from a political science professor, is to ignore it because it doesn't mean anything.

Another answer, from the chief promoter of the voting effort, is to use it to promote changes in the health-care system via the Legislature.

The referendum won support from 70 percent or more of the voters — 73 percent in Dane County, 75 percent in La Crosse County — or more than 411,000 votes, according to figures provided by Citizen Action of Wisconsin, the referendum's promoter.

The referendum question was intentionally simple but also loaded with a tempting comparison phrase:

"Shall the next state Legislature enact health care reform legislation by December 31st, 2009, that guarantees every Wisconsin resident affordable health care coverage as good as what is provided to state legislators?"

Well, asks David Siemers, a political science professor at UW-Oshkosh, who wouldn't support that?

"It's a context-less position," Siemers said last week. "If you ask the same electorate, 'Are you willing to pay for universal health care for everyone who is uninsured?' that referendum will not pass.

"So, we have to ask, which is the mandate from the electorate?"

Robert Kraig of Citizen Action said the question may be vaguely defined, but the vote reveals which direction to take. Health-care change has failed in the Legislature before, as recently as last year with a version called "Healthy Wisconsin."

"The chief point of the referendums was to create a strong public mandate to influence" whatever health plan the two houses come up with, he said. "A number of the new members of the Assembly caucus were in referendum cities and counties, and a number of contested races for incumbents were in those areas."

As a public relations campaign, the effort by Citizen Action was successful and clever, Siemers said.

"They avoided a great deal of controversy by not setting out a specific (health-care change) plan and haven't endorsed one in particular," he said.

In the end, the gauge of a successful advisory referendum campaign is the result.

More than two years ago, a blanket of "stop the war" referendums was spread over the state during two elections. Most of those resolutions passed in all sizes of municipalities, including counties and, noted Siemers, "we are still there, aren't we?"

The new president may also be a factor in this schedule, Kraig said.

If Obama decides to push a national health-care effort within, say, 100 days of taking office, Wisconsin would be in a good position to either make the changes or lead the effort if it is "kicked back to the states" Kraig said.