Marlin Schneider Featured On Drudge Report

Congrats to Rep. Marlin Schneider, whose bill to ban mandatory microchip implants has landed him prime real estate on the Drudge Report website.

In staking out this anti-implant position, Schneider is holding his ground in a fierce battle against the end-time prophecies of the crazy wingnut evangelicals. Thanks Marlin for leading the fight.

The headine on Drudge, WISCONSIN LAW WOULD OUTLAW MANDATORY MICROCHIP IMPLANTS , is just the kind of headline that only Bob Delaporte or Screamin' Scott Suder could love. Drudge apparently has a sticky caps lock key too.

This just in: Playground confounds political labeling quiz

This blog has received many labels out there. I'm a Republican, a moderate Republican, a centrist, an independent. It's all quite confusing. So, with a hat tip to Jenna, I took a quiz that has caused much ado on her website as she has discovered her hidden socialist tendencies. I thought it might shed some light on which way the winds on the playground are blowing these days.

Anarchism 75% Republican 42% Fascism 42% Democrat 42% Communism 42% Green 33% Socialist 33% Nazi 0% What Political Party Do Your Beliefs Put You In? created with QuizFarm.com

So bearing that in mind, I guess I'd like to be called a Anarchipublidemofascicommunist, with green and socialist tendencies.

Glad we cleared that up.

Freester Bunny Leaves Rotten Eggs For Assembly Leadership

If Easter is all about the celebration of resurrection, well, someone's not going to let Assembly leadership nail campaign finance reform to the cross without a fight.

Majority Leader Mike Huebsch (R - La Crosse) and Speaker John Gard (R - Sun Prairie) were surely delighted to see themselves ripped apart on the editorial pages of their hometown newspapers this Easter weekend. The agent in this dressing down? A scathing letter and press release late last week by fellow leadership member, Speaker Pro Tempore Steve Freese (R - Dodgeville). In them, Freese all but accuses leadership of once again trying to hide SB 1 and AB 226, the bipartisan campaign finance reform and ethics (CFR) bills, behind a file cabinet in the speaker's office like Easter eggs.

Me, I'm not taking a position on the bills. Like any compromise on CFR, parts of the bills will be unattractive to both parties. Considering that many Democrats prefer public financing and many Republicans prefer a free-wheeling democracy bought and paid for by wealthy contributors and big businesses, compromise can be difficult to attain. But these bills are a good effort and deserve consideration by the full Assembly.

Contrary to what some in the majority seem to believe, we actually elect public officials to debate and vote on important legislation. We don't elect them to bottle bills up in the Rules Committee. Just like with other contentious legislation, this has unfortunately become a preferred tactic of Gard and Huebsch, who can't seem to figure out that their army isn't exactly united behind their brand of zealous conservatism. In fact, if they'd just turn around occasionally, they'd see that most of their army has long since gone off doing its own thing. Gone are the days of discipline under Scott Jensen. In just 3 1/2 years, the Assembly Republicans have gone from a well-oiled machine to a dead-on impersonation of a preschool field trip. Perhaps Gard and Huebsch should consider investing in those rope chains to keep the kiddies together.


Huebsch woke up this Easter weekend to see the La Crosse Tribune say that

Wisconsin used to be a leader in open and clean government. Cynical and opportunistic legislators of both parties have made a mockery of Wisconsin's past reputation. It's time to reclaim that.

Gard, on the other hand, arose on Saturday morning to read the following in his hometown tabloid, the Wisconsin State Journal:

Republicans have... taken control of the Senate and tried their best to push reforms.

In sharp contrast, Gard and Huebsch are running the state Assembly as if it's business-as-usual - something Democrats will be sure to exploit. Gard and Huebsch don't have time for clean government, it appears, but they do have time to schedule votes on gimmicky tax caps.

Republicans have far more to lose by killing the bill softly than they do by putting the bill on the floor for a vote. In the last four years, we've seen Brian Burke, Gary George, Chuck Chvala, Mickey Foti, Bonnie Ladwig, and Scott Jensen all admit to (or be found guilty of) misuse of public office. If you guys wonder why it is that the public thinks you're all crooks, you're turning a blind eye to the obvious. The public also, for the most part, thinks that you are all decent people who are basically ruined by a system that breeds corruption.

Gard and Huebsch should commit to bringing the CFR bills to the floor for debate and a vote, regardless of their fear that their own votes may end up in the minority. Gard and Huebsch are unwilling to lead on CFR, and they're unwilling to follow. That leaves only one option, boys.

Get out of the way.

I don't have much faith in democracy, but...

apparently I've been nominated for Blog of the Week at mkeonline.com. Perhaps you, my loyal readers, would consider voting for me. You can do so here.

I don't really care personally if I win or not. But I do like to think that it would annoy legislators if I received any kind of honor. And really, that alone should be reason enough for you to vote for me twice.

Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name...

but they're not always glad you came.

So Tommy Thompson reportedly has some kind of an announcement that he intends to make at the RPW convention next month. This rumbling has terrified red meat conservatives, who are now pleading with the former four-term governor to continue his ride into the sunset.

They might be zealots, but they're not all stupid. Clearly, they realize that Tommy Thompson would singlehandedly prove where most Republicans are in this state, and that's to the left of where they are. Of course, that's not hard. Attila the Hun is to the left of Glenn Grothman's district.

The question then is which race, if any, Thompson is mulling over? Is he pondering a run for a fifth term as governor, or would he consider targeting Senate wallflower Herb Kohl? Either would have captivating implications for Republican prospects this fall.

For the record, I've never been a Tommy worshipper. I admire his political acumen, the clever way in which he positioned himself as, for all intents and purposes, an outstate populist. Yet through misguided policies like truth-in-sentencing and a gung-ho attitude about using prisons as economic development for downtrodden rural communities, Thompson turned the Department of Corrections into a bloated, cash sucking pig. We're not any safer than neighboring states but we spend hundreds of millions more annually on corrections. However, Tommy knew that by talking like a conservative and spending like a liberal, he'd be golden. Wisconsin hasn't changed since he left. Neither has the magic formula.

Let's look at both options.

Governor:

A Tommy run for governor, in terms of the party's chances of winning, is a very good thing. I have great difficulty thinking of any scenario in which Jim Doyle can beat Tommy Thompson. Thompson picks up most of the base on populist fervor alone and can easily outmaneuver Doyle in the middle. I'm sure Xoff will disagree with me, but I think Tommy could hit 55 in a matchup with our personality-free Governor, and I'm a Republican who thinks that Jim Doyle has generally done an okay job.

I have no problems with Mark Green. I think he'd be a good governor. However, Green lacks that ability to get the "average guy" interested in politics. Walker didn't have it either. He only had the venom that tapped into angry white suburbanites. Thankfully for Green, Doyle doesn't have it either.

Tommy, on the other hand, is brilliant when it comes to inspiring and engaging those who are generally non-political creatures. Anybody who has ever seen Tommy Thompson work a crowd or give a campaign speech knows just what I mean. His is an extroverted, over the top love of all things Wisconsin. But people believe it's sincere. I really believe that Tommy Thompson thinks that Wisconsin is the greatest place to live on earth, perhaps even in the entire universe. That excitement is infectious.

Here's what your average, middle-of-the-road Wisconsinite says to himself on the issues. He says, gee, I'm uncomfortable with abortion, but stem cell research just involves a bunch of frozen embryos that aren't going anywhere anyway. It'd be stupid to leave them in the freezer forever. We might be able to help others live if we used them. He says, I wish my taxes weren't so high, but I'm also glad that we have nice roads and garbage pickup and good parks and I'm glad my kids go to good schools. He says, man, I don't know that I support gay marriage, but I don't know that it's my place to tell my neighbors what they can or cannot do either. He's okay with guns, but the notion of concealed carry makes him just the tiniest bit nervous.

In other words, on the big issues, he's pretty confused. So many in politics forget that a lot of Wisconsinites - the ones in the middle who usually decide elections - don't feel strongly on any of the issues just mentioned. They aren't holding family fireside chats to figure them out, they just know that they're complicated, and they're turned off by politicians who try to make it seem like the answers are all black and white. That's why so many people stay home or complain about their electoral options. To them, the two-party system guarantees only that they'll get one candidate who is too liberal and another who is too conservative.

Tommy is the master of finding that voter that telling him that he's their guy. How else does a guy run up 58, 67, and 60 percent in his reelection campaigns? It's sure as hell not by turning out more voters on the right.

Tommy won't need endorsements to win a gubernatorial primary. He won't even need to spend a lot of money. Tommy would win the primary just by being Tommy Thompson, a guy that roughly half of all current voters in Wisconsin have already cast a ballot for at one point in their lives. People don't like being wrong, which is one of the reasons that incumbency is such a powerful advantage. It's not just that the incumbent usually has more money. It's that once a person has cast a ballot for someone, it's extremely difficult to get them to cast a ballot against that person. It's the political equivalent of admitting a bad choice. People don't like to do that, even in the privacy of a voting booth.

Additionally, a Tommy run for governor would put Mark Green in the terribly awkward position of having to attack the record of someone who enjoyed unprecedented popularity in his 14 years in the East Wing. And it gets worse. Tommy's record is Green's record. Green voted for one Tommy initiative after another during his six years in the Assembly. Mark Green has no line of attack other than "Tommy's time has past," and that just ends up looking mean-spirited. Anyone remember what happened when Walter Mondale tried that? Reagan turned it against him and made him look like an idiot. "Time for change" isn't gonna fly in Green/Tommy primary.

If Tommy decides to run for governor, Green would be smart to pull a Walker and just get out of the way. Green would still have options. Remember, he's a lawyer. He would trample either of our two very mediocre candidates for Attorney General, the guy who lost the Chmura case and "Paul's opponent," as Jessica McBride derisively refers to him on her blog. By the way Jess, he has a name. Why don't you at least show him the respect of using it on your highly objective, down the middle website? Isn't that what a good journalist would do? But I digress...

Senate:

This is truly where a Tommy candidacy could end up causing real problems for the GOP.

Unless Thompson has stumbled into a money tree, he's going to need enormous cash infusions in order to compete with Herb Kohl and his self-financed campaign. Where's that money going to come from? The same pockets that Mark Green will be trying to pick in the governor's race.

Herb Kohl is a hard target to hit. He's maintained a pretty low profile during his time in the Senate, but has quietly developed a reputation as someone who will work hard to represent Wisconsin's interests in the body. He's easily our state's most effective Senator. For that matter, he's the best Democratic legislator we've got in Washington.

Kohl hasn't taken positions on high profile issues. He's left that to Russ Feingold. If someone wants to scale Herb's mountain of cash and try to plant a GOP flag at the top, well, Herb hasn't left a lot of handholds or footholds to help Republicans.

Here's a basic lesson in politics: it's incredibly stupid to ever bet against a rich guy who can self-finance. Every now and then someone goes Michael Huffington and spends $28 million of his own money to lose a Senate race. But that's rare. Really rare.

Herb Kohl is the second wealthiest person in the U.S. Senate and has a nearly limitless stockpile of personal cash with which to shield himself from attacks. Republicans will have to spend millions upon millions just trying to get Wisconsin to have a negative opinion of Herb Kohl. The Democrats won't have to spend a dime on Kohl. They'll be giving all their money to Doyle - and that money differential will be more than enough to torpedo the Green campaign.

Besides, would Tommy's heart really be in a Senate run? Didn't we hear one media account after another talking about how frustrated Tommy was as HHS Secretary because his job was ultimately to peddle someone else's agenda? Tommy likes to run things. He spent 14 years as the man here in Wisconsin. Why would he want to be one of 100? So if he runs, the GOP should be concerned that they might get a guy who's only going into it because the party begged him to.

So here's the executive summary:

Thompson runs for governor: Tommy wins, Kohl wins, wingnuts to focus on losing both houses of the Legislature in 2008.
Thompson runs for Senate: Green definitely loses, a Tommy/Kohl matchup is a straight-up defeat for wingnuts either way. Wingnuts to focus on losing both houses of the Legislature in 2008.
Thompson stays home: Green might win, Kohl wins, wingnuts in despair after realizing a guy from Green Bay will never be beholden to anyone in southeast Wisconsin. Wingnuts to focus on losing both houses of the Legislature in 2008.

Either way, the next month will be very interesting. In the meantime, the Playground wishes everyone safe travels and a happy and peaceful Easter holiday.

Waukesha County Introduces New Mascot

The Direction of Republicanism, Part Deux

Rick over at Shark and Shepherd has posted a thoughtful response to my previous post. I would encourage all of you to check it out. I agree with most of what Rick has posted, and I would offer only the following response to his well-written commentary:

• I think many conservatives forget that they need moderate Republicans to accomplish most anything legislatively. Moderate Republicans, conversely, can make bedfellows with moderate Democrats as easily as they can shack up with conservatives.

• Has anyone looked at Mark Green's track record in Washington? The guy's hardly a fiscal conservative. Votes for one bloated budget bill after another in spite of record deficits, works to bring home unneeded pork for dairy farmers, votes to create the largest entitlement program since the Johnson administration. Heck, here's an article from The Hill that refers to Green as a "centrist." Green's a lot more like Tommy Thompson than he is like Scott Walker. Don't hold your breath looking for hard-nosed fiscal restraint from Mark Green. If history is any guide, you're not going to get it.
  

Ann Nischke and the Direction of Republicanism

There are lessons to be learned at the state level regarding Ann Nischke's loss to Larry Nelson in Waukesha's mayoral election this past Tuesday.

According to Jessica McBride...

Only [Laurel Walker], who sees Waukesha through Lefty colored glasses would interpret the race this way. Nischke lost because she didn't highlight Vrakas, Kanavas and similar conservative supporters enough (although Vrakas' conservative credentials need burnishing himself right now). She lost because she didn't talk about her opponent's opposition to the TPA and tax freeze enough.

This, of course, is the usual answer from the right wing of the party. When Republicans lose, it's always because they aren't conservative enough. If they just pandered more to the extremists, they'd find a near-limitless supply of votes with which to overwhelm liberals and moderates.

Here's the thing. Who didn't know in that race that Ann Nischke was the Republican and Larry Nelson was the Democrat? Come on, Jessica. I enjoy your blog, but you've got to be kidding. Ann Nischke was practically cloaked in the Sykes/Belling agenda. Everyone in Waukesha knew who the Republican was and who the Democrat was. Besides, Ann Nischke shouldn't have had to have done a damn thing to win a race in a part of the state that is overwhelmingly conservative. The fact that she was the Republican should've been enough. And guess what? It wasn't.

Do you really think saying something twenty times instead of five times would've made a difference? Do you believe that the generally well-educated voters of Waukesha need everything repeated to them twenty times in order for it to stick? Your argument basically assumes that Waukesha voters are too stupid to get it the first time. I don't buy that.

Somewhere Joe Wineke is smiling right now. The Nischke debacle forces Republicans to contemplate the very issue that Jessica stakes out a position on: when Republicans start losing, should the party move to the middle or to the right? And the wrong answer could be catastrophic.

Scott Jensen was successful in picking up just about every Assembly seat a Republican could possibly pick up given the lines on the map. The Gronemus seat will be competitive, but only after she retires. Molepske, Seidel, and Nelson are all safe. Republicans couldn't beat Gary Sherman two years ago with a Democrat in sheep's clothing. David Cullen will be fine. There's just no fruit left on the tree.

At this point, most everyone seems resigned to the fact that it will be nearly impossible for the Assembly GOP to hold all of its seats. In fact, the number of second-tier races - races that aren't among the most competitive but are still potential problem spots - is staggering.

I would love to see the zealots tell us how their agenda is good for Brett Davis. Or the open seats vacated by Andy Lamb and Gregg Underheim. The Pettis seat is always in play, and there are half a dozen other seats that could potentially be in play depending on what issues stick in the campaign and how hard the candidates are willing to work.

Senate Republicans, meanwhile, should consider breaking even a major victory. To do that, they have to hold Brown, Leibham, Zien, and Reynolds and get McReynolds elected to the Stepp seat. Once again, there's nothing competitive on the Democratic side of the board.

This year isn't about Republican gains. It's about Republicans weathering the storm. And you don't weather the storm by abandoning moderate voters. Pushing TPA, being way out in front in supporting the same-sex marriage amendment, well, that might be fine in southeast Wisconsin. Maybe it'll help Scott Newcomer break 70%. But on a statewide level, it does the Republicans no good to win safe seats by bigger margins if it means sacrificing people in swing districts.

If you're a Republican, this election shouldn't be about being a RINO or not being a RINO. It should be about making sure that Republicans still have a majority in the Legislature. All those RINOs are the reason that Republicans are in the majority in the first place.

Granted, there are some out there who would rather have an ideologically pure minority than a functioning majority that has to compromise with itself occasionally but is actually able to deliver on a lot of issues. I think those people are crazy, but they're entitled to their opinions. I'm just glad that they're not the ones with their hands on the wheel. I think most Republican legislators, staff, and lobbyists are also thankful for that.

The issues this fall already trend away from Republicans. As the economy improves, concerns almost always shift away from taxes and fiscal issues towards softer issues like health care and education - issues where polls usually show strength for Democrats.

On those two issues, Republicans are woefully short of high profile bills or high profile ideas. That school choice compromise does nothing for outstate Republicans. Believe it or not, voters in Mary Williams' or Gene Hahn's districts don't care about schools in Milwaukee. They care about what their legislators are doing to help their own school districts.

Things will only become more difficult for Legislative Republicans if Mark Green is elected in November. If Green is elected and gets a Republican Assembly and Senate, I can almost assure you that voters will return one of those bodies to Democratic hands in 2008 unless Green moves to the middle and saves the Legislature from itself. If you think Republicans can win in '08 after a bunch of tax cuts for businesses, greater restrictions on abortion, and concealed carry, you're nuts. Positively nuts.

One of the strengths the GOP has exploited in the last decade is that is has done a far better job in recruiting candidates for swing seats than Democrats. Joe Wineke is the guy who could start to change that. The fact that he actually has field experience makes him an immeasurable improvement over his predecessor. If politics is a pendulum, all signs are that it's starting to swing in the opposite direction.

Jessica seems to believe that the answer to Republican difficulties, at least in Nischke's case, is for Republicans to be more conservative. That's fine. She's a smart woman and is entitled to her opinion. I'm certain she's not alone in that belief.

I'm just here to remind those of you that agree with her that "more conservative" will almost certainly mean "fast track to the minority" in the state legislature. So be careful what you wish for. You might get it, only to find out that it sucks.

Walker Not King of Playground Jungle Gym, SE WI Bloggers Whine

The Playground is back from spring break. It was a nice, self-imposed vacation. Mostly, I've spent the last week or so basking in the response from southeast Wisconsin noisemakers to the withdrawal of their golden boy, Scott Walker, from the Republican gubernatorial primary. Of course, referring to Scott Walker as a golden boy is probably a bad choice of words, as Walker's inability to raise any kind of gold with his take on movement conservatism was the primary reason for his decline.

What annoys me the most is the self-important attitude that has taken hold in this little corner of the state. The message coming from most of the bloggers there seems to be "okay, we got our ass kicked, but hey, you better take us seriously or we'll... we'll... why, we'll just stay home or be unenthusiastic supporters."

To which I say: do it. Stay home. Green will win without you. And then where do you turn?

Here's the thing, talk radio acolytes. Your revolution doesn't exist. If you'd all take 12 steps back from that self-congratulatory circle jerk in the blogosphere, zip up your fly, turn 180 degrees, and look at the rest of Wisconsin, you'd know just what I mean.

We've had to listen to you blowhards gloat about killing ethanol and TPA and make stupid RINO jokes about anyone who dares so much as to disagree with you. Well, now it's time for you kids to sit down, shut the hell up, and take your medicine.

You might have a couple of loud yappers on the radio in Milwaukee, but when push comes to shove, there are still more of us out here than there are of you in that little bubble - the one completely removed from any sense of reality when it comes to what life is like in the rest of this state.

Most Republicans outside of your suburban Xanadu support ethanol. They're not nearly as zealous about TPA as you are. Oh, and by the way, any of you that think you can get 17 votes in the Senate for TPA are nuts. You didn't get it last session and you're not getting it this session. And if you're super smart you'll try to remove Dale Schultz as Majority Leader before the vote because then he won't vote for it either.

Some of us haven't forgotten that bloggers aren't the be all and end all of the political landscape. Hell, blogging is great, but in terms of real influence - the kind that wins elections - bloggers are barely a blip on the map. 99% of us have less stroke in the political world than a middle school PTA newsletter. We're writing for our own edification and that's about it.

But I'm not out here trying to affect change. I'm not out here trying to make a difference or purify the Republican Party.

I'm just out here laughing at it.

Two examples from presidential politics highlight the absurdity of this "pander to us or we'll stay home" logic.

First, let's rewind to the 2000 presidential campaign, when Al Gore may or may not have lost a heated bid for the presidency to George W. Bush. Does anyone actually think that Gore would've won Florida by moving to the left and peeling votes away from Ralph Nader? Truth be told, isn't it more likely than not that Gore would've lost two votes in the middle for every vote he picked up on the left? Or would some Walker supporters like to offer support for the argument that Al Gore lost because he didn't do enough to cater to the Nader crowd?

Mark Green has obviously employed a very successful strategy thus far, considering he was able to send his primary opponent running for the hills almost six months in advance of the primary. Why should Green divert from his plan and jeopardize his standing with mainstream Republicans and moderates in order to placate the whining of Republican extremists?

Yes, I said extremists. The conservative movement in southeast Wisconsin is about extremism, no different than the Howard Dean movement two years ago. And golly, wasn't that great? Howard Dean looked like a sure thing until he actually had to earn the support of regular people. Then it was all over.

And therein is the second point. Movement politics doesn't win elections. It is the sound and fury signifying nothing. Walker, Dean, McGovern, Goldwater. It's all the same campaign. A bunch of people on the fringe are angry and pissed off. They try to storm the castle and get mauled by the establishment. Then they slink back under their rock and plot their next unsuccessful coup attempt.

In a battle between movement conservatism and mainstream conservatism, middle-of-the-road Republicanism is where your money should always be. And that was the difference between Mark Green and Scott Walker. Mark Green soft-sells the tax and spend message. Scott Walker pushed it like an Amway salesman.

Want more proof? Tommy Thompson. If Mark Green is a RINO, he's got a pretty small horn compared to the King of the RINOs. Thompson's key to success? Spout the feel-good, pro-Wisconsin rhetoric that voters want to hear, but at the same time spend boatloads of money making everyone happy.

Southeast Wisconsin represents the vocal fringe of the Republican Party. It surely doesn't represent where this party needs to be if it has any hope of being in a position to win statewide races. And there will be more on that in my next post tomorrow.