Why the Prospects for Milwaukee Are So Bleak

The problem with Milwaukee is talk radio.

So long as Charlie Sykes, Mark Belling and Jay Weber dominate the discussion on crime and poverty, there is little hope for Wisconsin's most important city to work its way out of its troubles.

For the past three months as I drove to Milwaukee every other week on I-94 I listened to Milwaukee stations. Sykes on the way into town, Belling on the way out.

This past month I discovered Jay Weber. Yikes.

It is impossible for them to engage in any kind of constructive discussion. They are so blinded by ideology, so blinded by a need to discredit any thought, idea, or proposal from the left, that it leaves the metropolitan area frozen.

On the issue of crime, I will gladly join them in making specific criticisms of some inadequate approaches to law enforcement.

There is a need to jail and convict, there is a need to fix 'broken windows.'

There is a need to drive out drug dealers, extortionists, and pimps from low income communities.

There is a need to stand up to public officials who attack those who might assist the police in combating crime.

But there is also a need to expand the discussion beyond their narrow purposes. Sykes does not understand how New York City lowered crimes rates when Giuliani was mayor. Belling does not understand the management of a police department, and Weber, especially does not understand the nature of community policing in Madison or anywhere else in the western hemisphere.

None of them understand that law enforcement alone does not work. To bring about real change law enforcement must be combined with strategies that strengthen neighborhoods and address issues of job training, education, childcare, transportation, and health.

So long as the discussion is drawn in the narrow lines provided by Sykes-Belling-Weber, there will be no meaningful discussion of the issues and Milwaukee will not arrive at sound solutions.

That is because community leaders, business leaders, and political leaders need the support of citizens to implement change. Sykes-Belling-Weber do an excellent job at what they know best - making sure metropolitan Milwaukee never achieves cohesion.

Comments

[mjonthemove]

A hearty, huge thank you from a Milwaukeean tired of blind ideological missives being fired at anyone who wants to engage in discussion. Thank you. Have a great Tuesday.

[John]

Right you are.

It's interesting how our growing time spent in vehicles coincides with the growth of talk radio blather. Is it any wonder that the voices of the right will stop at nothing to reinforce an auto-centric existence? They'd lose their captive, isolated, road-rage-fueled audience if people suddenly got comfortable on a train or well-kept bus.

Not long ago I was listening on the weekend to WISN; a gardening show hosted by the ubiquitous "Paul" (he co-hosts about a dozen shows every weekend morning) and a woman referred to as... "The Garden Hoe." Classy.

[Sam]

Disappointed in you. Why get personal ? You do such a wonderful job of presenting view points that this type of personal attack causes me to wonder who the true Soglin is. Is he an intelligent person full of ideas or a vindictive demagogue.

Your point that conservative talk radio is influential in the Milwaukee area is true. The question is why is there no political leadership espousing contrary points of view ? Where is the political dialogue that Milwaukee needs to move forward ? Milwaukee long ago (before Bellings and Sykes) reached an US vs. THEM mentality and until they ALL get their act together and agree that they are all in this together there will not be meaningful change.

Please keep the constructive thoughts comming. You have too much to offer to let yourself be dragged into the mud of personal slander.

[John]

"Sam," are you reading some OTHER blog entry?

Seriously - where's Soglin's "personal attack"? His observations are, in my opinion, reasonable and accurate.

[elliot]

Milwaukee is as successive Democratic city administrations have made it.

The Democrats have been running the place basically forever and yet you blame the failures of Milwaukee's inner-city on disembodied voices on the radio (which are not even powerful enough to get a Republican elected to mayor or alderman).

Wow.

[kr]

No, it's not based on Democratic administrations. Milwaukee has had mayors who have all done a good job.

The problems can largely be traced to jobs moving out of the city. Think of all the employers who closed their doors over the past 30 years and you get an idea of why things have gone down hill.

Getting back to the topic at hand. In light of these problems none of our talk radio hosts have done anything constructive and have only played to the ignorance of their audience.

[Bruce]

Your opinion ignores a basic reality in Milwaukee: None of the actual human citizenry and/or voters within the city of Milwaukee (those with the power to make a difference) listen to your nemeses Sykes/Belling/Weber. They're all too busy opining on the conspiracy theories that put Michael McGee, Jr. in jail on WNOV and WMCS. Many of the "extortionists" you describe happen to be elected Milwaukee officials; the FBI field office set up at city hall may be the result of this fact, but of course, corrupt government has nothing to do with your argument, it's all the fault of "talk radio". Weak.

None of the electorate in Milwaukee listens to WTMJ/WISN. Your point is moot. This is what happens when Madisonians try to explain the problems with that "city to the east" that you're only willing to acknowledge when it's a chance to give it a good slam... or to endorse throwing a few more social spending dollars its way, then feeling like you've done a noble thing.

[Michael]

Well here we go again, a liberal know nothing blaming talk radio for Milwaukess crime rather then looking at what is really wrong. Milwaukee is domanated by dim witted Demacrates and liberals, and yet these half witted jerk wants to blame talk radio. Do you people actually believe your own trash. Jay said to be cival, in our responses to this jack ass, yet I am sorry. I am sick and tired of people that do nothing but critasize, and have no real solutions of there own. Our Demacratic Mayors solution for crime is to hand out blue wrist bands. That has really helped. Our City aldermen vote down a ordanence to prevent gangs from loittering out side busness, and on street corners. These idiots have no freaking idea what to do, and by this half wits comments about talk radio makes it obvious he has no clue ether. What a Jack Ass.

[Paul]

kr, thank you for your comment. The solution to Milwaukee problems will be found in a regional approach. It must be an appraoch where Milwaukee, receives political and economic support from the M-7, which elliot fails to comprehend. As for liberals being part of the problem, they are. See the next two days posts about Madison.

[Mike Plaisted]

Paul, you are exactly right about the poisoning of the local dialog by those with the big radio megaphones. For instance, listen to them discuss the continuing problem of poverty in the city. They use new (and unsurprising) statistics showing a growing poverty population, and use it not to seek solutions, but the beat up on the supposed "failure" of the Great Society (just imagine where we would be without those very basic programs) and blaming the victims, such as harping on the single-mother birth rate.

There is no way to get a word in edge-wise on the radio, certainly, and very little in the community to challenge the wing-nut demogouges. The only other big media footprint in the city is the Journal Sentinel, which is much more likely these days to be led around by the nose by talk radio than be accused of being "liberal" by plotting their own path. Worse, people like Sykes appear at places like Marquette law school, presented as some sort of rational voice in the community.

I don't know what the solution is -- I challenge them as best I can on my humble blog -- but you have definitely put your finger on the problem.

[Bruce]

Mike Plaisted writes: "J/S... led around the nose by talk radio"

Have you read the Journal/Sentinel lately? Honestly? Whining anti-poverty features in which convicted social security cheats play the starring role? "Watchdog" reports smearing a cop by giving voice to the sour-grapes accusations of less than 2% of the 700+ habitual criminals he has arrested over a 3 year time line?

J/S "led around the nose by talk radio"... dumbest quote I've read in weeks.

[George Mitchell]

Paul disagrees with talk radio hosts in Milwaukee. Therefore, he concludes, this explains the city's problems. Consider the "logic" at work there.

While the former mayor was largely effective in that role (as he was when an alderman), he is not well informed about the nature of Milwaukee's problems. Read his self-authored biography and draw your own conclusions about what motivates him.

[sibe]

Paul, you surely know better than to let your disdain for talk radio blind you to the reality of what causes crime. Milwaukee's problems aren't caused by Sykes, Belling and Weber. They are highlighting the problems that are uncomfortable for politicians to confront on their own. Not that it's helping much, which is too bad. Think of what it finally took in Madison for the city to take the spread of crime and gangs and drugs seriously. It took a murder on the west side, and the tough-as-nails fireball freshman alder Thuy Pham Remmele's motivation to shame this city into confronting crime in her district. Madison suffered too long from a lack of leadership on this issue. Let's hope that's changing now. Milwaukee has suffered with a lack of leadership, even longer. It has labored under racially divisive politics for too long, with few willing to call out the race baiters (save for talk radio hosts), and those who facilitate them. Don't blame talk radio. They don't deserve it. The listeners most especially don't deserve it. Blame the weak leadership on the issue. By the way, I love your blog.

[John]

"Michael" above ("Well here we go again, a liberal know nothing blaming talk radio for Milwaukess crime...") was evidently sent here by WISN's Jay Weber ("Jay said to be cival, in our responses to this jack ass, yet I am sorry...") - - - but I can't help thinking after reading his comment and glancing at his - gulp - MySpace page that he is an elaborate construct created to discredit the so-called typical talk radio audience and prove Soglin's point.

[kr]

Sibe, but talk radio IS the problem. Never mind the total negativity about the city of Milwaukee. The constant fear of crime whipped up by these authoritarian shrills is leading the inordinate incarceration of Milwaukee's minority and poor population. Now get that on your resume and see how easy it is to get a job.

But yet Sykes and Belling gin up the fear. It's ridiculous. I campaigned for a Republican out in Brookfield last year and one of the biggest issue on people's minds was conceal and carry. Wha? In an area where there is very little crime (though a gun really won't protect you) and these people are worried about packing heat.

That is the kind of nonsense our local propagandists play up.

[Mike]

You have to be kidding me. How'd this guy ever become a mayor. It's an insult to anyone's intelligence to say that the cause of the problems with Milwaukee are talk radio. Instead of expending all of your energy castigating talk show hosts, why not haul your butt to the north side of Milwaukee and convince the dumbasses that live there that prosperity and a meaningful way of life will be attained only by keeping their asses in school, studying and either going to tech school or college. Not cruising hte streets. Not playing the bad ass and killing each other over petty shit. Instill some self discipline in these clowns and maybe you'll see improvement. Quit blaming others. That shit is old.

[ARS - expat cheesehead]

Seems to me that some respondents in this thread have some serious reading comprehension issues. Mr. Soglin clearly stated that talk radio was preventing the serious discussion of wide ranging solutions. he was NOT claiming that talk radio was solely responsible for the current situation.

Look again at the second to last sentence "So long as the discussion is drawn in the narrow lines provided by Sykes-Belling-Weber, there will be no meaningful discussion of the issues and Milwaukee will not arrive at sound solutions."

And maybe break out those junior high school English text books again.

[Bill]

I lived in Madison and graduated from UW in early 70's. I was proud of the way that Paul "Hizzoner Da Mayor" Soglin led that great city. Sorry to bust the balloon, but radio talk show hosts are rewarded for big audiences. That they might get into the hearts and minds of a few weak souls is an accident, and not design. To blame Mssrs. Weber, Behling and Sykes for Milwaukee's ills is lunacy. Milwaukee has always been run by a mix of old line labor and liberal/progessive politicos. And despite that, the city seems to be in pretty good shape, at least compared to similar rust belt urban areas. But, Soggy, I still love ya. Just like Jay, Mark and Charlie, you are allowed to not know what the hell you're talking about from time to time.