John Nichols: Scott Walker targets the 'search for truth'

http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/john_nichols/john-nichols-scott-walker-targets-the-search-for-truth/article_bd9158d7-002a-5a0b-bbc6-06b29c831d9c.html



Editor's note: There was a "drafting error" in the budget bill, according to the governor's office. "The Wisconsin Idea will continue to thrive," the governor's office tweeted late Wednesday afternoon. "The final version of budget will fix drafting error - Mission statement will include WI Idea."

Much has been made of the notion that the Republican Party has launched a “war on science.” And 2016 Republican presidential prospects Chris Christie and Rand Paul have earned headlines of late for making comments that abandon public health imperatives in order to feed skepticism about whether children should be vaccinated against infectious diseases.

But Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has trumped his fellow 2016 contenders.

Walker is launching a war on the truth. Literally.

As part of a broader attempt to diminish the state’s support for, and ties to, the University of Wisconsin System, Walker wants to strike “Wisconsin Idea” language from state statutes — including references to public service and a commitment to “search for truth.”

The Wisconsin Idea, which is much discussed but not always so much understood in the present day, has always been about seeking the truth, and about applying the results of that search not just to curriculum choices but to the policies and programs of the state...And when new technologies developed, such as radio and television, the UW utilized them to spread knowledge and ideas to Wisconsinites who might never set foot on a campus. (Notably, Walker’s budget also proposes cuts to Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television.)