Democrat Mary Burke goes after Big Government Republican policies. Wants a return to Local Government Control.

What is rarely debated is now getting traction by the Mary Burke campaign, and couldn't be more surprised.

Republicans are often heard talking about downsizing government. What they intentionally left out, before the word government, is "liberal." They're all about BIG government conservatism.

Under Scott Walker, local control went out the window. It could have been worse too, had it not been for the overreach written into some bills that even a few Republicans couldn't sign on to. WSJ:

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke pushed back Friday against state laws that strip away local decision-making, suggesting such provisions should be eliminated from future state budgets … in a 27-page document laying out her position on rural issues.

“We have laws on the books that prevent local governments from providing needed services to their citizens, in order to protect the interests of big business … one potential solution may be to prohibit use of the state budget as a vehicle for new laws that would strip existing authority from local governments.”

Since 2011, Gov. Scott Walker and Republican lawmakers have wrested from local governments control of cellphone tower siting, shoreland zoning restrictions, landlord-tenant regulations, public employee residency requirements, family medical leave rules for private companies and large soft drink bans, among other things. Other proposals, such as limiting a local government’s ability to regulate frac sand mining, didn’t pass.

The Republican response made my list of Humpty Dumptyisms:

Republican leaders have defended the measures as striking the right balance between protecting local control and taxpayers…

…by taking it away? The frightening thing is, they really don’t see a problem, as exemplified by this Walker campaign statement:

Walker campaign spokeswoman Alleigh Marre responded that the governor “has taken significant action over the last three-and-a-half years to support and strengthen Wisconsin’s rural communities.”

Then what about the Burke list of proposed changes giving control back to local governments? Did she just make it up? Yikes. I also like Burke's push for community internet services:

Burke also laid out proposals for expanding broadband Internet access, such as repealing a 2003 law that restricts municipalities from providing high-speed Internet service.