PrefaceAs a labor historian, I have watched very closely the economic calamity that has besieged the United States—and particularly my hometown of Green Bay—since 2008.The uncertain political situation has brought us a Democratic president, who is amoderate liberal. It’s also brought Wisconsin one of its most conservative governorssince the days of the robber barons.Ever since Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker introduced his budget repair bill inJanuary 2011, reporters, colleagues, family, and friends have turned to me to explain thehistorical significance of the changes that the state Republicans have proposed andenacted. My neighbor, a retired farmer and union steelworker, has been the most persistent, stopping me nearly every time he sees me to ask what is going on now andwhat it all means. This project, which is dedicated to my colleagues, friends, andneighbors, started out as a way for me to record what was happening and make sense of the history unfolding in front of me. At the encouragement of my friends at Hill andWang—particularly Thomas LeBien and Dan Crissman—I have written what one mightcall a contemporary history of these last few months in Wisconsin. I have taken Governor Walker’s accomplishments and plans and have put them into a historical context.As a historian, I am conscious of the fact that this book might become part of avery raucous political debate. That is not its purpose. Rather, my goal is to provide ahistorical view of the contemporary situation and thereby help educate the reader to theimportance of this historical moment when—as I argue—the Wisconsin Republicansattempted to weaken and undermine progressive community activism and to break withthe past and establish a new and less progressive relationship between the state and its
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Kersten does an enviable job of telling the story as an involved participant-historian. As Wisconsin prepares for the recall of Scott Walker, voters can tap this account for help in thinking through their voting decision.