>> The deal between Republican legislative
leaders and Governor Tony Evers to use surplus
dollars to reduce property taxes, increase school
funding and give out tax rebates, failed in colossal
fashion when most Democrats voted against it, and
Republican candidate for governor, Tom Tiffany,
blasted the bill ahead of the vote. But when asked,
most people across the state said they were for it.
A new Marquette Law School poll found 80% of Wisconsin
adults say the legislature should have passed the
measure. Poll director Charles Franklin is here
with more. And thanks very much for being here.
>> Thanks for having me. >> So have you ever
conducted a poll with across the board bipartisan
results on any issue like this?
>> There are a few, but they're really rare. And on
this one, with the 80% in favor, that was 77% of
Republicans, 81% of independents, 82% of
Democrats. That is really an incredibly narrow range
across party. And it's also the same across ideology.
78% of liberals, 78% of conservatives and statewide,
in every media market in the state, it's in the high
70s or 80s in support of the bill.
most resonant about why people wanted this?
>> Well, I think the fundamental thing is that
it gives something that everybody wants at least a
piece of. In our other polling this year, we've
seen concern about reducing property taxes is high with
funding for special education is a 70% in favor
of that. And who doesn't want a check for 300 or
$600 to a couple? So there are popular elements there.
I think the other thing that's less obvious is that
this is a kind of old fashioned compromise where
everybody got something, and it's all about the good
things you're getting rather than the bad things.
The conflict in politics and in the capital may have
made it hard for that compromise to carry over in
the actual votes, where you saw both some Republicans
and all Democrats in the Senate voting no. That that
inability to reach a compromise and stick to it
is much easier for the public to see this as a
reasonable outcome, maybe harder for legislators.
>> So in your polling, you referenced the potential
fiscal impact, but you surveyed people before the
Legislative Fiscal Bureau actually put a specific
$2.9 billion number on a potential projected deficit
as a result of this. Do you think if you had that
specific number, it would have changed the results?
>> It might have changed it a little bit. That report
came out after we were already in the field, so it
was too late to incorporate it. But we did ask a
separate question that said, some opponents have said
this is fiscally irresponsible. Do you think
it would be better to wait until we have a better
picture of next year's budget, or pass it now,
even if that means a potential future budget
deficit? It was still 69% saying it should be passed.
Now just 21% say wait until later. So having that
information, those real doubts about the fiscal
situation did lower support by 11 points, but it still
left more than two thirds in favor. And again, across
the board, Republican, independent and Democrats
still wanted it to happen. Now.
>> Back to your results. How surprising is it that
usual party politics kind of don't apply here?
>> Yeah, it's very surprising because so
little that we see in state politics is bipartisan this
way. I think part of what's going on is you had an odd
combination of bipartisan support for the bill.
Governor Evers and Republican leadership. But
you also had bipartisan opposition, Tom, Tiffany's
opposition. Most of the Democratic candidates
either were outright opposed or were very
lukewarm about the bill. And as we saw in the vote
split, there were three Republicans in the Senate,
enough to sink the bill without Democratic support,
and all Democrats opposed. So you had both bipartisan
support and bipartisan opposition. So what's a
partizan to do when they're sent such conflicting
messages? And the result was just almost no
difference in how the parties felt about the bill.
>> Now there is the piece about Governor Evers not
working with his Democratic caucus on this, and then
they mostly vote against it. What do you make of Evers
play in this legislation? >> I think that's a
politically stunning result, not one that most voters
pay that much attention to day in and day out, but it
surfaces the fact that for seven and a half years,
Evers has really had to deal with the Republican
majorities in the legislature. The Democratic
minority could do very little to help him, though
it was vital for passing the most recent budget, for
example. But he just hasn't been forced politically to
work with the Democrats in the legislature. But this
was really surprising that his party would desert him
so completely on, you know, the sort of capstone bill
of his term as governor. >> You asked the question
in your poll whether positions on this bill will
affect the November elections. Will it?
>> 25% said it would be very important for their
fall vote. I take that with a grain of salt. Fall is
still a good ways away, but what I think we can be
certain of is that the issues of property tax
funding for schools, those things are going to be at
the center of our fall campaigns. Even if voters
have completely forgotten about this bill, and I'm
not sure that they will forget about the bill. But
how do you sell that? You're for property tax
relief. You're for school funding. If both parties
took such ambiguous stands took such ambiguous stands