After catching the maximum allowed limit of flack from the purist demagogues on the left over his Foxconn vote, Wisconsin State Representative Peter Barca stepped down from his minority leadership position in the state assembly:
Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, will step down as minority leader of the Wisconsin Assembly at the end of the month, he announced in a statement Thursday evening.
Barca, 62, was first chosen to lead Assembly Democrats in 2011, following the conservative wave that ushered in Gov. Scott Walker and a strong Republican majority in both legislative chambers.
The minority party re-elected him to the post in November, but not without some evident tension. No Democrats challenged him at the time, but Rep. Jonathan Brostoff, D-Milwaukee, objected to electing him by unanimous consent.
“This afternoon I made the very difficult decision to step down as leader of the Assembly Democrats following deliberate, thoughtful discussions. I am grateful to my colleagues for their support over the last seven years,” Barca said in a statement.
Barca said he will continue his effort to “do what is right for Wisconsin families and workers,” with greater focus on his district in southeastern Wisconsin.
So which young turk is going to toss their fedora into the ring?
I agree with your tone, Ed. I knew and worked with Barca at the statehouse when he was in the assembly prior to his time as a congressman. Then and now he is a smart man, has a grasp of policy details, and made the right call on Foxconn. The same ones without pragmatism who beat on Barca are the same types–just from the other end of the divide–who voted for Trump. The workplace is changing, technology is advancing, and the ways and means to attract new business is being played in a new and more dynamic way. Hillary did not explain it well, Trump confused the whole matter, and the nation from both ends seem at a loss of understanding and sometimes willfully so.. Barca should be applauded and in time he will be proven to be correct about Foxconn. I am sorry to see him leave his post and most likely this will be his last term. All the same I want to say thanks to Peter for being a classy and smart man. I only wish we had about 20 more like him in Madison.
It is a difficult decision to resign but Barca made the right decision here. When Chris Larson stepped down from leadership in the Senate that was the right decision too.
This Foxconn deal is going to screw people all over the state for years to come and it is important for Democrats to have a leader that said No to Foxconn. If the new leader supports legal homegrown marijuana that would be good too.
If by Barca resigning from leadership Democrats can avoid major primary battles and focus on winning back dozens of Republican seats that is a good thing. Barca is one of the nicest people you can ever meet and was a good leader during Act 10.