Editorial: Childish antics won't win votes

Be grateful you don't live in the southern part of the state, particularly in the Milwaukee and Madison areas.

Mudslinging already is in high gear there and the election is still months away.

Both major contenders for governor are thick with accusations about which camp is slinging the most mud.

We don't care where it's coming from -- it's time to clean up the mess

There's only thing gubernatorial candidates seem to agree on: It's his fault.

Republican candidate Mark Green claims Gov. Jim Doyle and his cronies have already spent $2 million on negative attack ads to distract voters from his record.

Doyle's claims aren't nearly as bold about his Republican opponent. Doyle claims the Green's cronies -- the Republican Governors Association -- started hurling hundreds of thousands dollars his way via negative campaign ads.

"Mark Green's campaign blueprint: Play some $25,000 rounds of golf with your special interest pals to fund attack ads against the governor by your special interest pals," Anson Kaye, communications director for the Doyle campaign, said in a prepared statement. "That's the Green campaign in a nutshell. And that's just about all Mark Green has to offer the people of Wisconsin."

But Green's camp doesn't sound any different.

"Jim Doyle hopes that by slinging enough mud, he'll be able to distract voters from his dismal record on the real issues facing our state -- issues like our overwhelming tax burden, the flight of good paying jobs from our communities and the affordability of our UW schools," said Green campaign manager Mark Graul. "But Wisconsinites aren't being fooled."

Let's hope not.

One has to wonder if either is a viable candidate when they sound like bickering siblings fighting over a prized toy.

The only interest that's visible is one's own gain in this race, irrespective of which major party you're talking about.

It's time to get to the issues, kids.

People want substance, ideas -- their concerns addressed -- not banter and political finger-pointing. But so far, that not what Wisconsin voters are getting.

So tell us: Why shouldn't vote for "none of the above."