Ah yes, we are counting the hours until hundreds of rabid, poorly-dressed conservatives descend on Appleton, like a plague out of Revelation. They'll be bringing with them stupid hats, terrible lapel pins, and sequined American flag vests that look like something out of a high school show choir's back closet. They'll drink, they'll eat, and they'll pass a ridiculous platform that every Republican candidate will push away from, like a boat pushing away from an oversized party dock desperately in need of DNR regulation.
According to RPW Chairman Rick Wiley, the importance of Mark Green winning the governor's office is "...huge. That's why the RNC is so interested and focused on the race itself... Having Mark Green in the governor's office and the Mark Green/RPW structure in place as the presidential race starts in 2008 is huge."
But is it really important? Or is this just Rick Wiley trying to spin the relevance of his little organization and justify the enormous salary he pulls down? Let's take an historical look at the importance of the governor's office, and more importantly, RPW, when it comes to success in statewide races.
Even with King Tommy at the helm, RPW never once managed to deliver Wisconsin for a Republican presidential candidate. Bush 41 lost in '88. He lost again in '92. Dole lost in '96. Bush 43 lost in 2000 and '04. It's foolish for anyone to assume that Mark Green, with a far more limited appeal, will ever be able to do better. Unless the Republicans nominate a guy like John McCain or Rudy Giuliani in 2008, just save yourself the anguish and color Wisconsin blue already.
But now, the real point. Anyone who donates money to the RPW should just stop. Or flush it down the toilet. Flushing it isn't tax deductible either but at least you know where's it going. What's RPW done for anyone lately? Bueller? Bueller?
Let's hop in the wayback machine for a bit. Other than Tommy, what's the last statewide race of importance that RPW helped to nail down? Sorry, Jack Voight is not an acceptable answer. No offense Jack, but you hand out unclaimed property and administer EdVest and that's about it.
Guess what? Don Hanaway was elected Attorney General back in 1986. And Bob Kasten was elected to the U.S. Senate. That's your answer. Other than Tommy, it's been 20 years since a Republican won a prominent statewide race in Wisconsin. Since then it's been an endless reign of Kohl, Feingold, Doyle, Lautenschlager, Grover, Benson, and Burmaster. With a record like that, why in God's name should anyone have any faith in RPW to do anything other than screw s@#% up?
So everyone can go off to Appleton this weekend, hobnob with the candidates, get blasted at the hospitality suites, and act like there's reason to celebrate. Sure, RPW throws a mean party. That's nice. But perhaps attendees, instead of bashing Democrats for three days, should put Rick Wiley on the hot seat. Ask him the tough questions about why RPW's got virtually nothing to show for all of the money it's gotten in the last 20 years. Ask him what they plan to do this year to be more effective than they've been in the past. Ask him why you should keep sending him money when you could just as easily steer it directly to candidates or to other causes. It's better to ask these questions now than the day after the election, when you're staring at the ceiling and trying to figure out how Jim Doyle and Peg Lautenschlager both managed to get reelected. On that day, it'll be too late.
Then on Sunday you should all sober up and take a long, hard look in the mirror. Maybe that morning, when Mike Huebsch leads the prayer breakfast, you should bow your heads and pray for some divine guidance. Perhaps you should reflect quietly on why Republicans have had virtually no statewide success in a place everyone says is a swing state. Is it the organization? Is it the candidates? Is it the message? It's gotta be something, right? After all, RACC and CERS have done fine for themselves all this time. For Democrats to clean up for 20 years in non-Tommy statewide races, RPW must be doing something wrong. Maybe you should just pray for RPW to stay the hell out of the way.
Here's hoping you'll figure it out. After all, democracy is always best served by a balance of power.
According to RPW Chairman Rick Wiley, the importance of Mark Green winning the governor's office is "...huge. That's why the RNC is so interested and focused on the race itself... Having Mark Green in the governor's office and the Mark Green/RPW structure in place as the presidential race starts in 2008 is huge."
But is it really important? Or is this just Rick Wiley trying to spin the relevance of his little organization and justify the enormous salary he pulls down? Let's take an historical look at the importance of the governor's office, and more importantly, RPW, when it comes to success in statewide races.
Even with King Tommy at the helm, RPW never once managed to deliver Wisconsin for a Republican presidential candidate. Bush 41 lost in '88. He lost again in '92. Dole lost in '96. Bush 43 lost in 2000 and '04. It's foolish for anyone to assume that Mark Green, with a far more limited appeal, will ever be able to do better. Unless the Republicans nominate a guy like John McCain or Rudy Giuliani in 2008, just save yourself the anguish and color Wisconsin blue already.
But now, the real point. Anyone who donates money to the RPW should just stop. Or flush it down the toilet. Flushing it isn't tax deductible either but at least you know where's it going. What's RPW done for anyone lately? Bueller? Bueller?
Let's hop in the wayback machine for a bit. Other than Tommy, what's the last statewide race of importance that RPW helped to nail down? Sorry, Jack Voight is not an acceptable answer. No offense Jack, but you hand out unclaimed property and administer EdVest and that's about it.
Guess what? Don Hanaway was elected Attorney General back in 1986. And Bob Kasten was elected to the U.S. Senate. That's your answer. Other than Tommy, it's been 20 years since a Republican won a prominent statewide race in Wisconsin. Since then it's been an endless reign of Kohl, Feingold, Doyle, Lautenschlager, Grover, Benson, and Burmaster. With a record like that, why in God's name should anyone have any faith in RPW to do anything other than screw s@#% up?
So everyone can go off to Appleton this weekend, hobnob with the candidates, get blasted at the hospitality suites, and act like there's reason to celebrate. Sure, RPW throws a mean party. That's nice. But perhaps attendees, instead of bashing Democrats for three days, should put Rick Wiley on the hot seat. Ask him the tough questions about why RPW's got virtually nothing to show for all of the money it's gotten in the last 20 years. Ask him what they plan to do this year to be more effective than they've been in the past. Ask him why you should keep sending him money when you could just as easily steer it directly to candidates or to other causes. It's better to ask these questions now than the day after the election, when you're staring at the ceiling and trying to figure out how Jim Doyle and Peg Lautenschlager both managed to get reelected. On that day, it'll be too late.
Then on Sunday you should all sober up and take a long, hard look in the mirror. Maybe that morning, when Mike Huebsch leads the prayer breakfast, you should bow your heads and pray for some divine guidance. Perhaps you should reflect quietly on why Republicans have had virtually no statewide success in a place everyone says is a swing state. Is it the organization? Is it the candidates? Is it the message? It's gotta be something, right? After all, RACC and CERS have done fine for themselves all this time. For Democrats to clean up for 20 years in non-Tommy statewide races, RPW must be doing something wrong. Maybe you should just pray for RPW to stay the hell out of the way.
Here's hoping you'll figure it out. After all, democracy is always best served by a balance of power.
3 comments:
Name calling is the lowest form of public debate. Why do you insist on calling those who disagree with you "wingnuts"? It really shows that whoever you are you have no real ideas and must resort to silly junior high level rhetoric to make a "point". How about arguing issues instead?
Oh, cry me a river. There are lots of great points in this post. Perhaps you would like to argue those instead of nitpicking at semantics.
I call the right-wing extremists of the Republican Party wingnuts because that is the term du jour for those who inhabit the right wing of the right wing. Would you prefer "right-wing extremists" to "wingnuts"? I'll use that if you'd like. Because that's not name calling. That's just the truth.
just as long as your willing to wear the Moonbat label fire away asshat
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