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>> The deal between
Republican legislative

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leaders and Governor Tony
Evers to use surplus

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dollars to reduce property
taxes, increase school

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funding and give out tax
rebates, failed in colossal

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fashion when most Democrats
voted against it, and

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Republican candidate for
governor, Tom Tiffany,

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blasted the bill ahead of
the vote. But when asked,

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most people across the
state said they were for it.

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A new Marquette Law School
poll found 80% of Wisconsin

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adults say the legislature
should have passed the

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measure. Poll director
Charles Franklin is here

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with more. And thanks very
much for being here.

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>> Thanks for having me.
>> So have you ever

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conducted a poll with
across the board bipartisan

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results on any issue like
this?

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>> There are a few, but
they're really rare. And on

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this one, with the 80% in
favor, that was 77% of

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Republicans, 81% of
independents, 82% of

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Democrats. That is really
an incredibly narrow range

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across party. And it's also
the same across ideology.

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78% of liberals, 78% of
conservatives and statewide,

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in every media market in
the state, it's in the high

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70s or 80s in support of
the bill.

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most resonant about why
people wanted this?

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>> Well, I think the
fundamental thing is that

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it gives something that
everybody wants at least a

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piece of. In our other
polling this year, we've

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seen concern about reducing
property taxes is high with

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funding for special
education is a 70% in favor

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of that. And who doesn't
want a check for 300 or

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$600 to a couple? So there
are popular elements there.

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I think the other thing
that's less obvious is that

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this is a kind of old
fashioned compromise where

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everybody got something,
and it's all about the good

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things you're getting
rather than the bad things.

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The conflict in politics
and in the capital may have

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made it hard for that
compromise to carry over in

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the actual votes, where you
saw both some Republicans

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and all Democrats in the
Senate voting no. That that

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inability to reach a
compromise and stick to it

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is much easier for the
public to see this as a

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reasonable outcome, maybe
harder for legislators.

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>> So in your polling, you
referenced the potential

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fiscal impact, but you
surveyed people before the

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Legislative Fiscal Bureau
actually put a specific

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$2.9 billion number on a
potential projected deficit

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as a result of this. Do you
think if you had that

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specific number, it would
have changed the results?

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>> It might have changed it
a little bit. That report

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came out after we were
already in the field, so it

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was too late to incorporate
it. But we did ask a

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separate question that said,
some opponents have said

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this is fiscally
irresponsible. Do you think

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it would be better to wait
until we have a better

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picture of next year's
budget, or pass it now,

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even if that means a
potential future budget

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deficit? It was still 69%
saying it should be passed.

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Now just 21% say wait until
later. So having that

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information, those real
doubts about the fiscal

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situation did lower support
by 11 points, but it still

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left more than two thirds
in favor. And again, across

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the board, Republican,
independent and Democrats

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still wanted it to happen.
Now.

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>> Back to your results.
How surprising is it that

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usual party politics kind
of don't apply here?

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>> Yeah, it's very
surprising because so

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little that we see in state
politics is bipartisan this

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way. I think part of what's
going on is you had an odd

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combination of bipartisan
support for the bill.

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Governor Evers and
Republican leadership. But

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you also had bipartisan
opposition, Tom, Tiffany's

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opposition. Most of the
Democratic candidates

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either were outright
opposed or were very

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lukewarm about the bill.
And as we saw in the vote

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split, there were three
Republicans in the Senate,

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enough to sink the bill
without Democratic support,

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and all Democrats opposed.
So you had both bipartisan

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support and bipartisan
opposition. So what's a

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partizan to do when they're
sent such conflicting

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messages? And the result
was just almost no

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difference in how the
parties felt about the bill.

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>> Now there is the piece
about Governor Evers not

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working with his Democratic
caucus on this, and then

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they mostly vote against it.
What do you make of Evers

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play in this legislation?
>> I think that's a

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politically stunning result,
not one that most voters

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pay that much attention to
day in and day out, but it

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surfaces the fact that for
seven and a half years,

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Evers has really had to
deal with the Republican

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majorities in the
legislature. The Democratic

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minority could do very
little to help him, though

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it was vital for passing
the most recent budget, for

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example. But he just hasn't
been forced politically to

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work with the Democrats in
the legislature. But this

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was really surprising that
his party would desert him

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so completely on, you know,
the sort of capstone bill

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of his term as governor.
>> You asked the question

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in your poll whether
positions on this bill will

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affect the November
elections. Will it?

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>> 25% said it would be
very important for their

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fall vote. I take that with
a grain of salt. Fall is

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still a good ways away, but
what I think we can be

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certain of is that the
issues of property tax

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funding for schools, those
things are going to be at

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the center of our fall
campaigns. Even if voters

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have completely forgotten
about this bill, and I'm

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not sure that they will
forget about the bill. But

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how do you sell that?
You're for property tax

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relief. You're for school
funding. If both parties

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took such ambiguous stands
took such ambiguous stands