Mark Neumann Stops in West Bend
There’s a story in the West Bend Daily News that illustrates some of the problems the Neumann campaign is having.
While walking downtown, Republican candidate for governor Mark Neumann decided to pay an impromptu visit to the GOP office in West Bend Thursday.
He was greeted by a locked door and a sign for his opponent.
Instead, he left his calling card.
He and an aide taped a Mark Neumann sign below one for Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2006.
“ T h at ’ s one of the problems we’re up against,” Neumann said. “He’s been basically running for governor for five years.”
Jim Geldreich, Washington County Republican Party chairman, said the sign is fine. The Neumann camp hasn’t been in touch since a call in August, but they would gladly distribute his campaign material as well, he said.
Jim Geldreich emailed me his story. Here it is:
I received a call from Dan Muckelbauer from the WB Daily News this afternoon telling me he was with Mark Neumann at our campaign office in WB just a few minutes ago. Our office was closed, but Neumann noted how we had a Walker sign on the door and not a Neumann sign. He apparently went out to his car to obtain one and had Muckelbauer take a photo of him taping it to the door of our office (without our permission of course).
At the time of this phone call, I was at the WB Post Office, so I drove over to the GOP office (only two blocks away) while staying on the phone with Muckelbauer. Neumann was not there, but I did see the sign on our door. Muckelbauer asked me if it would be OK for him to come over to the office to speak with me. I said sure.
Muckelbauer interviewed me for about 20 minutes and asked me several questions about the two candidates. To start with, I disclosed that I had formally endorsed Scott Walker for Governor, but that that the Washington County Republican Party as an organization does not endorse candidates in an open primary. Secondly, I told him that I had only been contacted by the Neumann campaign one time, back in August, 2009. In the three months since, I have not heard anything from their campaign, nor have they contacted our office in West Bend.. They never asked me if they could drop off any of their campaign literature, or if I needed any Neumann signs. Furthermore, I told Muckelbauer that Neumann has not attended any of our Washington County GOP events, while Scott Walker has attended numerous events the past few years and has made serious efforts to get to know the Washington County Republicans. And lastly, I would’ve been willing to meet with Mark Neumann and/or his staff today had I known they were in West Bend, rather than have to deal with this publicity stunt.
Neumann hasn’t been in contact with anyone at the Washington County GOP for months and then shows up unannounced and complains about the lack of support? So what has Neumann accomplished? He got a story in the paper, but managed to tick off a lot of the GOP loyalists in West Bend in the process. Not a good move.
Considering Geldreich endorsed Walker back in May, maybe Neumann figured spending his time calling Geldreich was worthless.
He apparently went out to his car to obtain one and had Muckelbauer take a photo of him taping it to the door of our office (without our permission of course).
I think that statement shows just how helpful and accommodating Geldreich will be to Neumann.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 04, 2009 at 1106 hrs
That is why Neumann is a has been. No organization. You have to want it bad enough to spend every moment working toward it. You have to spend years building up goodwill and getting to know people. I have met the other major candidate, lets call him S.W., on several occasions. The second time he remembered my name. Got my support.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 04, 2009 at 1108 hrs
Mark, for the sake of this race, please drop out.
Posted by hsgbdmama on December 04, 2009 at 1110 hrs
What a show by the Neumann campaign! Is this what we are in store for until the primary from him? We better prepare for dirty campaigning and ‘innocent’ innuendo from the Neumann camp. This slam to the Washington County Republican Party is pathetic… and so is the campaign path this rich man is choosing.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 04, 2009 at 1115 hrs
How very unprofessional of the Neumann campaign. I’m on our Washington County Party executive board, and other than one phone call from the Neumann campaign to inquire about the county fair (a week after it was over), we’ve not received anything from them. Our office is open on Wednesday and Saturday and is staffed by unpaid volunteers. Our website has this information plus all our contact information and all our events posted. We have an official office phone with our office hours announced and besides ...you can leave a voice message. So, as for hearing from the Neumann campaign….all I hear is crickets!
Kathy Kiernan, WCRP - Vice ChairmanPosted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 04, 2009 at 1138 hrs
The comment from “adamski” is unfair. We at the Washington County Republican Party are accomodating to all candidates, especially so in an open primary such as this. Mark Neumann is welcome to bring us some of his campaign literature and attend our political events. The fact that he has chosen not to should not reflect negatively upon our organization or myself.
Jim Geldreich, Chairman, WCRPPosted by jgeld on December 04, 2009 at 1243 hrs
I am on the BOD for the GOP Green Lake Party and a member of the FDL GOP. Mr. Neumann has not, to my knowledge, contacted either party for any reason. We would, I believe, be willing to meet with him.
Doug Iverson
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 04, 2009 at 1329 hrs
As long as Neumann is pro ethanol, he’s landfill…not to mention in the way. Mark, quit now and give Walker a chance.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 04, 2009 at 1338 hrs
Any respect I had for Neumann is gone. Not only for this pathetic attempt for attention, but also for his Busch-league campaign tactics. He must have some real geniuses working the strategic gameplan: “Hey Mark, as part of our grassroots campaigning effort, and instead of you spending some of your millions on a competent campaign, let’s instead go up to WB, talk to some folks at McD’s, and then go unannounced to the county GOP HQ and have our picture taken while we tape a sign to the locked door and call it our ‘calling card’! And then throw the county GOP under the bus b/c they have a Walker sign on their door.” How pathetic and how embarrassing . Reminds me of something you’d see in a high school Sophomore class president campaign. Actually, the class president campaign would be more organized, so maybe that’s not the right comparison. Neumann needs to let it go before he loses any more potential supporters (and respect). Or maybe that’s irrelevant b/c no one knows he’s running for governor anyway. I say good for Geldreich for taking the high road on behalf of all the county members!
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 04, 2009 at 1753 hrs
I written before on this blog that I hope Neumann will drop out to give Walker the best chance. That said, he is a former Republican congressman and deserves a little more respect than I am seeing here. Walker is going to need Neumann supporters to succeed. Big picture folks.
Posted by Charlie Hillman on December 05, 2009 at 0007 hrs
Respect is earned, not by cheap stunts. Big picture is Nuemann is burning his own bridges.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 05, 2009 at 0032 hrs
What’s up with the attacks on Mark for being a ‘rich guy’ and ‘spending his millions’?? Is making money in the private sector supposed to now be a liability? Perhaps everyone has been listening to the Democrats too much…
When I was contacted earlier this year by the Walker campaign to support Scott, I agreed to do so but also pointed out the reason I supported Mark Green in 2006 was partially because I so disliked the Walker Team’s ‘with us or against us’ mentality. Comments like these here are going to do nothing but drive a wedge in the GOP and make it harder to beat a unified Democratic Party.
Primaries are good for political parties, folks…we should be embracing the fact that while the Democrats had to struggle and beg to find just one credible candidate, the GOP has two worthy challengers who together, will increase awareness and enthusiasm across the state.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 05, 2009 at 0035 hrs
I’m not a big fan of S.W.. I guess I have seen the side some haven’t. However, there is a reason Neumann lost his congressional seat. Focus had alot to do with it. Many times he’s on a different page than everyone else.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 05, 2009 at 0158 hrs
Troy, we aren’t attacking him because he’s rich.
Mark Neumann has not run a focused campaign (good word, spotter) and at this point has become a distraction.
We do need a good primary, I agree, but it also needs to be productive and not a time and money drain. Remember too that Mark Todd is also running for governor:
http://www.marktoddforgovernor.com/
and he appears to be focused as well. Why can’t it be primarily between Walker and Todd?
The reality is that regardless of Mayor Barrett’s desire and enthusiasm for running, he still has well-monied and well-organized supporters (WEAC, lawyers, etc) behind him, and whoever the GOP candidate might be cannot afford to spend a ton of money during the primary—they will need it for the general election campaign.
Posted by hsgbdmama on December 05, 2009 at 0719 hrs
Troy, I think it’s more Mr. Neumann’s effort to make the county party look bad that rubs people the wrong way. It seems as if he expected to announce his candidacy and thought everyone would jump in and help him. It doesn’t work that way—he needs to do the work.
The reason the county party didn’t have Neumann’s sign up is because they didn’t HAVE any. Because Neumann’s people never GAVE them any. Because Walker’s people DID. Walker is making the effort. Neumann hasn’t yet.
But by dragging media along and taking that photo as if the whole world is against him, he created his own self-fulfilling prophecy.
It’s fine and dandy to have Mark Todd in the race. He lost me, though, when he suggested we make the governor’s mansion a bed and breakfast for four years. At least he’s out there with ideas.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 05, 2009 at 1148 hrs
I respect Mark Neumann and believe he is a man of many good ideas, but it looks to me like he’s the Repub version of Tom Barrett. ” I want to run, but at my own pace and intensity” does not seem to be a resounding campaign theme.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 05, 2009 at 1508 hrs
” I want to run, but at my own pace and intensity” does not seem to be a resounding campaign theme.
It only works if you have lots and lots of special interest organization and money behind you, doing the heavy work for you.
Posted by hsgbdmama on December 05, 2009 at 1519 hrs
I am very new to the process that goes on for campaings, but this was easy to see that He, just wanted to see what kind of response he could get. How unprofessional of his campaign to just show up, wouldn’t you want to be on the good side of ‘one’ of the best counties in Wisconsin.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 05, 2009 at 1728 hrs
If Mark thought this was a good way to win support in the most conservative county, he has lost all of the political sense he once had.
It has been months since he “officially” announced he was running, then sort of re-announced recently, and still apparently has no effective campaign up and running. This state cannot afford that kind of stumbling - it needs decisive leadership.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 05, 2009 at 1852 hrs
hey Mark Neumann, remember the very loud round of applause that Scott Walker received at the Sarah Palin event at the State Fair Expo in Nov and no one seemed to notice you, even tho you were in attendance??? Didn’t you get the hint that we don’t want you in the WI Govenor GOP race?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 05, 2009 at 2102 hrs
I REALLY wish Neumann would take on Feingold and clear out of the Governor primary election like Scott did last time for Mark Green.
We need to get started on undoing all the socialism Diamond Jim instituted over his reign of error, and we Wisconsinites can’t afford a carbon copy like Barrett!
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 06, 2009 at 1323 hrs
We need someone fresh running against Feingold—look how well running against Kagen twice worked out for Gard.
Posted by hsgbdmama on December 06, 2009 at 2040 hrs
I watched a couple of the Gard/Kagen debates and, I’m sorry, but John Gard looked like an escaped mental patient next to the glib “Dr. Millionaire.” He came across like a stick of wood - a political apparatchik.
We need another Bill Stieger. Hmmm…, his son, Bill Jr. is still knocking around somewhere in the DC area (I think).
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 07, 2009 at 0935 hrs
I agree, Duke, but at least we have a decent list of GOP candidates to choose from for WI-08, and the best part? John Gard is not one of them!
Posted by hsgbdmama on December 07, 2009 at 1053 hrs
I just recieved a call to donate to NRP. Questions I asked were answered by blaiming the democrats. In otherwords ” no plan ” other than collect alot of donations and spend like crazy. Much to my surprise they said there was no candidate to run against Rusty. I suppose there isn’t anyone that will follow their orders like a mindless puppet. Neumann or Michaels would be the way to go. I think Michaels is to smart to go now unless he gets full support of the party. As I said, SW isn’t one of my favorites, but it may be the only way to get rid of Neumann. Neumann is just so unpredictable. Kind of like he does things when it’s convenient for him.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 07, 2009 at 1125 hrs
I have been interested in political activity for a number of years but only became active after the November election. Mr. Neumann’s stunt at the Washington County GOP office is one of the reasons I did not get involved.
Since I contacted/became a member of the Washington County Republican Women and the WCRP I have been made very welcome and have met some wonderful grassroots people, office holders and candidates. All literature sent to the GOP office by candidates is displayed and available to visitors.
A number of events have been held by the WCRW and the WCRP and Mr. Neumann has not attended any of them. Scott Walker has. The WFRW held it’s Convention in September and both Neumann and Walker spoke. Walker enthused the attendees with his plan for Wisconsin; while Neumann spoke about energy and his company’s energy house. Walker talked about his plan for Wisconsin, Neumann, in my opinion, promoted his business.
Mr. Neumann: If you care about Wisconsin and its people build your energy homes and support Scott Walker’s efforts to put Wisconsin fiscally back on track. Your attack on Chairman Jim Geldreich and the WCRP was not warranted. A public apology should be given.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 07, 2009 at 1148 hrs
How very unprofessional of someone who is campaigning. How can Mark expect any support when 1. he shows up
unannounced; 2. has made only one phone call; 3. has never attempted to supply Washington County with signs or literature and 4. has not requested to speak at any of the Washington County Events. Again, very unprofessional for someone who is supposedly running for an elected position.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 07, 2009 at 2115 hrs
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