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GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — In normal times, the Wisconsin Democratic Party convention this weekend would have been a celebration.
But with party leaders fighting a recession, skyrocketing unemployment and other problems, the two-day gathering of the faithful that was to end Saturday took on a more somber tone.
"This is all about the challenge of governing in tough times," said party activist Sachin Chheda of Milwaukee.
Gov. Jim Doyle set the tone on Friday night when he shared two statistics with the crowd that he called sobering.
He said he was shocked when personal income tax collections plummeted by 35 percent in April from the previous year — setting the stage for a major state budget shortfall and deep cuts.
And he noted the state’s unemployment rate went up from 4 percent last September to 9.4 percent now, the quickest increase since the Great Depression.
Underscoring the theme of governance were those in attendance. They included state health officer Seth Foldy, who is leading the state’s response to the swine flu, and Assembly Majority Leader Tom Nelson, who appeared hours after the chamber approved the tough two-year budget early Saturday.
Party leaders vowed to lead the state and nation out of the economic mess, which they blamed on former Republican President George W. Bush and risky schemes on Wall Street.
"It’s like that parade that went through town with the horses and the elephants, when that parade leaves town, there’s a lot to clean up, isn’t there?" U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen told the crowd. "We’ve got a lot of work to do."
To be sure, the party has a lot to celebrate: After successful elections last year, the party controls the governor’s office and both houses of the state Legislature for the first time in 23 years.
Wisconsin went for Barack Obama in a landslide for president. Democrats hold both U.S. Senate seats and a majority of the state’s congressional delegation.
After ticking off those victories, outgoing party chairman Joe Wineke said: "Too bad W. left us with such a pile of crap. Worst recession since the Great Depression. Our auto industry in shambles. The world hating us."
Bill Bergin, a retired union factory worker who is a delegate from Watertown, also lamented the challenges.
"There’s a lot of problems. Every town in Wisconsin needs jobs. Unemployment is higher than it’s been in years. It’s a bigger mess than we thought it would be," he said.
But he and other activists who gathered at the Radisson Hotel and Convention Center in Green Bay predicted voters would give Democrats credit for trying to fix them.
They expressed confidence that Doyle and U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold were in strong positions to win re-election in 2010 and that the party would keep control of the Legislature.
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker has already announced his candidacy for governor and former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann is also expected to enter the race. One opponent, David Westlake, has filed paperwork to challenge Feingold.
Wineke also warned Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, the only Republican statewide office holder, to "watch his back." Former Department of Natural Resources Secretary Scott Hassett was at the convention building support for a potential campaign.
Bergin and other activists said their confidence was a reflection of strength of the party’s organization after 2008. Democrats have seen their membership rolls increase across the state, he said, and an influx of younger voters energized by Obama.
"The movement Obama created is carrying over after the election and it’s made our organization 10 times stronger than it’s ever been," said Chris Harroun, a UW-Milwaukee student involved in College Democrats of Wisconsin.
Jef Hall of Oshkosh, chair of the Winnebago County Democratic Party, said he worried the economy "is going to get worse before it gets better." But he brimmed with confidence when talking about the party’s chances in 2010.
He said local Democrats such as Rep. Gordon Hintz of Oshkosh were in strong position to win re-election, and the party would mount a strong challenge against GOP Rep. Dean Kaufert of Neenah.
"It’s times like this that people turn to Democrats to take over," he said. "We are the people that can bring us out of economic mismanagement."
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