Cheese now official state dairy product. No comment from butter or yogurt.

Congratulations cheese. You are now official. Cheese has been designated as Wisconsin’s official dairy product. Governor Walker has signed the bill into law, at the urging of some young Wisconsin students who wanted to learn more about the legislative process. Cheese now joins a long list of official state products, including milk as the official state beverage. That’s despite the fact that most Wisconsinites consumer more beer than milk. Governor Walker declared in his designation that we are giving cheese the recognition in deserves. Cheese must be so proud. No comment yet from butter or yogurt. While the children who pushed this idea are to be commended for wanting to learn about how laws are made, this effort doesn’t provide a very good example. The bill passed the Assembly by a vote of 96-0. That is not how most bills become law. Most are the subject of lobbyists who slip some cash into the politician’s hands, and have to work backroom deals to get lawmakers on board. This is simply a rubber stamp, which ultimately means nothing. We already have more than 20 official things, like the state fossil, state insect, even a state tartan, and its not even Badger colors. Lawmakers need to stop this trivial practice of declaring things official in Wisconsin, and get back to the things that really matter.