Here & Now

McCabe Discusses Run For Governor, Education, Healthcare

Frederica Freyberg:

Now back to state politics and the next in our series of interviews with candidates running for governor. Tonight, the former executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and founder of Blue Jean Nation, Democratic Mike McCabe, who announced his candidacy on Tuesday. Thanks very much for being here.

Mike McCabe:

My pleasure.

Frederica Freyberg:

So what sets you apart from the other Democrats running in this crowded field?

Mike McCabe:

Well, there’s going to be a lot of candidates. It’s going to be a crowded field indeed. They’re all very accomplished people. They come from different backgrounds. They’ve got different experience. But they all have at least one thing in common. They seem very, very comfortable operating within the political system as it currently functions. And I’m not. They all seem at peace with the political culture as it is. And I'm not comfortable with the culture. I think it’s been poisoned. And I think the system is working really, really well for a very wealthy and well-connected, privileged few, but it’s leaving an awful lot of people behind. It’s failing a lot of us.

Frederica Freyberg:

So it’s been poisoned by?

Mike McCabe:

By the influence of huge donations that go to elected officials, who then return the favor with actions that benefit those big donors. And it’s done at everyone else’s expense. It’s a government that works for a few and leaves everybody else behind.

Frederica Freyberg:

Meanwhile, as you launch this campaign in this way with this message, I saw this week that Republicans are criticizing you for being a hypocrite for taking money from George Soros. What about that?

Mike McCabe:

There is so much that’s misleading and untruthful about all of that we’d probably need two shows to straighten it all out. It’s a sign they must be spooked by my candidacy. But when I ran the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, we got a grant from the Open Society Institute, which is a charitable foundation that is prohibited by federal law from doing anything to influence elections. They now try to equate that foundation with these dark money groups that try to influence elections and conceal who’s doing the funding. So, you know, I think it’s because they’ve drenched themselves in so much dark money, tens of millions of dollars, to try to buy elections and now they want to muddy the waters and equate what a nonprofit group gets from a charitable foundation with that operation.

Frederica Freyberg:

Let’s move along to the issues. What do you think is the single-most important thing that Wisconsin needs to do to make its education system more robust, better going forward?

Mike McCabe:

I think first of all we’ve got to make sure that we have affordable and debt-free education for everybody in the state. You know, when people go to get the education they need to have a path to the American dream. They can’t be buried under a mountain of debt the way they are now. And right from the beginning we have to do a better job of adequately funding our schools and dealing with the morale problems within those schools. But then all the way up through the tech school and university level, we’ve got to make sure that it’s affordable for everybody. And it’s not right now. There are an awful lot of people who can’t afford that path to the American dream.

Frederica Freyberg:

If the Affordable Care Act remains in place, would you be in favor of taking expanded Medicaid for Wisconsin?

Mike McCabe:

Absolutely. We have the BadgerCare program here in Wisconsin. I actually favor expanding that to the point where it’s there for all Badgers. We should make BadgerCare something that is available to everyone in the state. Make it a public option that anybody could buy into if they want it or need it. It should be a public option on the insurance exchange.

Frederica Freyberg:

What's the best way in your mind to grow good-paying jobs in Wisconsin?

Mike McCabe:

Invest in small businesses and empower five million people in the state instead of showering tax breaks and state subsidies on a few thousand or even one or two huge global conglomerates and hope that they somehow will work magic for the rest of us. And some of that will trickle down to the rest of the population.

Frederica Freyberg:

Speaking of that, what is your position on the Foxconn incentive deal and Foxconn itself?

Mike McCabe:

Corporate welfare is just not the way to build a sturdy economy. It’s been a failed strategy for a long time. And it’s because the whole approach, this top-down approach, giving lavish benefits to a few in hopes that some will trickle down to the rest of us is the wrong way to go. We need to do an about-face and build an economy from the bottom up. Empower five million people. Living wages for everyone. Health care for all. Internet to every single household. Debt-free education so that you give people the means to do more for themselves and for each other.

Frederica Freyberg:

What would be your idea for a funding source, sustainable funding source going forward for Wisconsin’s roads and highways, which we seem to have so much trouble with?

Mike McCabe:

The two options we’re using right now is both neglect of our roads to the point where they’re some of the worst in the country and then borrowing so heavily. 20 cents out of every dollar doesn’t even go to roads. It goes to debt payments. We’ve got to be willing to be reasonable and maybe put a couple pennies on the gas tax. Pay for it now rather than put it on a credit card and make future generations pay for it.

Frederica Freyberg:

We need to leave it there. Mike McCabe, thanks very much.

Mike McCabe:

Thank you.