The picture, above, comes from an article in the July 4th edition of The New York Times. The person depicted in the photo is Francesca Hong, a state legislator in Wisconsin who identifies as a "Democratic Socialist." Hong is running to become Wisconsin's next Governor, and the hardcopy headline on the article reads as follows: "Candidate Tests Socialist Label In Wisconsin's Governor Race." One key issue in the Governor's race is proposed data center projects, which would transform the kind of scenery shown right behind Hong in the picture. She is an opponent.
Even non-subscribers to The Times should be able to read the entire article I have linked above. Here's a quote from the article, which appears right near the beginning of the article and which captured my attention:
Jeff Hanneman was infuriated to learn about a proposal this spring to build a 220-acre data center on the site of a shuttered paper mill near his house in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.
Worried that the project would pollute the tranquil waters of the nearby Wisconsin River, Mr. Hanneman, 43, planted a “No Data Center” sign in his yard. And, although he’s a Republican who voted for President Trump, he decided to support a democratic socialist who has called for a pause in data center construction and is running for governor.
“I really don’t think or care about the label,” said Mr. Hanneman, who planted a “Francesca Hong for Governor” yard sign next to the other one. “If she was voted into office, she could do a lot of good things for our state.”
I'll be interested to see the outcome of the Wisconsin Governor's race. In general, I think that our politics has become way too rooted in "Party," and Party labels, and that "Policy," and "Political Effectiveness" should play a much larger role in how we each decide to vote.
When we, as voters, decide that our choices are, essentially, "binary," that we need to declare ourselves, by our vote, to be either "Red" or "Blue," Republican or Democrat, I think we're losing the main idea. The main idea underlying our political system is that we, the people, should elect people whom we believe will best "represent" us. The policy positions of our politicians should be more important than the party label that might accompany them. An elected official's effectiveness in advancing the interests and desires of those who voted for them - those whom they "represent" - is actually the most important reason to vote one way or another in any political race.
End of lesson (or maybe "diatribe" is a better word)! You've heard it before, I know, but I continue to be rankled by the partisan polarization that seems to sweep everything else away, as we contemplate the future of our system of democratic self-government.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/03/us/politics/democratic-socialism-wisconsin-francesca-hong.html
I agree with the gist of your diatribe. A fundamental shift in our understanding is sorely needed. Interestingly it seems that anti-data centers is a cause that unites almost everyone across the current political landscape.
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