Life — February 15, 1912 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Political Commentary on Wisconsin Politics (1912) This page criticizes **Senator La Follette** (a prominent Wisconsin Progressive politician) through text and cartoons. The article defends La Follette as a "mighty able man" who fought against political machines, but argues his machine for beating opponent Sawyer was equally powerful. The central point: La Follette built an effective political organization using his own "brains and energy" rather than money, which ironically made him *as dominant* as the traditional machines he opposed. The cartoon (bottom right) illustrates how political improvements occur—through competition and voter choice, not by replacing one machine with another. The piece suggests reformers often become the very thing they fight against, a recurring theme in Progressive Era satire.