{image1}After voters shot down almost three-fourths of state referendums in early April, far more than in past elections, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel theorized about the reasons they failed, particularly in the geographic region around Milwaukee, where nine of 10 went down.

Reasons ranged from anti-tax fervor to a decline in state aid for schools. But the newspaper left out the elephant in the living room:

Talk radio.

Even the other reasons given - such as anti-tax fervor - fit the talk radio script. And that script is increasingly resonating with voters outside the typical GOP circles. Talk radio is influencing public policy more than ever before in the state, especially in the Milwaukee area. Talk radio's power reached an apex by helping drive the recall fervor in the pension scandal that drove former County Executive F. Thomas Ament from office. And it's been growing ever since.

Want proof? Increasingly, talk radio is helping set the Democratic agenda, too. Gov. Jim Doyle's recent political chess moves have been all about stealing part of the Republican/talk radio play book - his property tax freeze, his voter reform bill. He's taken the ideas without the substance, but the "mainstream" media have pretty much let him get away with it, disingenuously painting his blatant flip-flops (remember when Doyle thought property tax freezes were a political gimmick and when he said November's election problems were "a lot more brouhaha than reality"?) as positives. And talk radio's pressure in the Election Day tire slashing case may have spurred Democratic D.A. E. Michael McCann to finally issue charges after a poorly explained months-long delay.

It's become a given that radio talkers are able to mobilize GOP voters, particularly in low-turnout or close elections or in localized controversies. On the GOP primary trail, statewide candidates are far more likely to hear "I heard you on Sykes" than "I read about you in the newspaper."

But the "mainstream" media rarely give talk radio credit, preferring to write off the trifecta of Milwaukee talk show hosts (Charlie Sykes, Mark Belling and Jeff Wagner) as "radio ranters" and "talk bullies of the right" - phrases that actually appeared in the Milwaukee newspaper.

This approach is condescending not so much to the hosts (who thrive on criticism) but to the several hundred thousand listeners each week, many of whom likely feel talk radio is the only media outlet reflecting their voices.

In the case of Milwaukee's daily, reporters have done fair and balanced work on issues like the Election Day problems. But the paper's editorial board, cartoonist, and metro columnists skew unabashedly liberal. A 2004 Wisconsin Policy Research Institute study found that the Milwaukee daily's editorial page was becoming increasingly irrelevant. The institute found that 76 percent of the paper's endorsements went to Democrats from 1998-2004. The percentage of endorsements that matched voters' ultimate decisions in the ballot box dropped dramatically since the 2002 County Board recall elections. By being so one sided, the paper leaves a void for talk radio to fill (Milwaukee TV seems more studiously neutral).

At the same time, talk radio has increasingly struck a vein with voters - in particular through its recent emphasis against taxes and voter fraud. Republicans in the Legislature also drive those messages, but talk radio magnifies and generates support for them.

In the case of school referendums, the radio talkers stoked the anti-referendum fervor for days. They focused in particular on a Waukesha school board member who had distributed the criminal record of the child of a referendum opponent and the tax records of another. He stepped down; the referendum, like almost all others, failed. Their power may be greatest regarding issues that the mainstream media overlook or downplay.

Talk radio's influence has some geographic limits. Thus far, it has not propelled Republicans into statewide office (witness talk radio favorite Gregg Underheim's defeat by WEAC-empowered State Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster).

But the GOP gubernatorial candidate last time, Scott McCallum, did not inspire enthusiasm, nullifying talk radio's potential impact. This time, with a strong Milwaukee County candidate vying for the governor's post - Scott Walker - Doyle's campaign has apparently calculated that he ignores talk radio's bread-and-butter issues (yep, taxes and voter fraud) at his own peril. The other strong Republican candidate, Congressman Mark Green, also has been highlighting those issues on the campaign trail, where the election integrity topic in particular seems to be resonating in GOP circles far from Milwaukee.

And, although the state went for John Kerry, Wisconsin helped the president win re-election by chewing up Kerry's resources in what used to be a reliably blue state. And it's probably not a coincidence that the south shore Milwaukee suburbs flipped Republican last November since they were the hub of the pension/recall anger.

Other episodes where talk radio has shown muscle include:

• The defeat of Mary Panzer. Talk radio's power may be greatest when it turns on a Republican politician. So found out the former Senate majority leader, when talk radio helped seal her political demise over her lukewarm support of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

• Light rail, ethanol proposals. Talk radio opposition has killed even discussion of light rail and may do the same for a Republican proposal to mandate ethanol statewide.

• Walker's landmark election to the county executive post. The election of a conservative Republican in Democratic territory can be attributed in large part to support from talk radio; the same can be said for county supervisors who went down in recalls.

• The election of Tom Barrett as mayor. Talk radio opposition to Marvin Pratt may have helped boost Barrett into the Milwaukee mayoral seat. However, the mayoral race also showed that talk radio may have its limits as Sheriff David Clarke's campaign failed.

• Skepticism about Miller Park and the Brewers. Talk radio's constant opposition to Selig management of the Milwaukee Brewers may have helped drive the decision to sell the team. Had talk radio mobilized against the financing of the new stadium years ago, that story might have had a very different ending.

Even if you don't agree with what the radio talkers are saying, the April elections and the episodes above show it's important to listen.

--McBride, a former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter, teaches journalism at UW-Milwaukee. She's married to Waukesha County DA Paul Bucher.

The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of OnMilwaukee.com, its advertisers or editorial staff.

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