I know that this won’t come as a shocker, but Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker is going to announce his bid for governor next week. I received a call from his campaign inviting me to the announcement, but I suspect that they won’t officially confirm anything until the actual announcement.
I admit that I’m struggling a bit here. As many of you know, it looks like Mark Neumann is also planning on getting into the race. Neumann was a congressman a decade ago and was defeated by Russ Feingold. He has a good conservative record and is independently wealthy due to his hard work and ingenuity.
Normally, I am a strong supporter of rigorous primaries (much to the lament of many of my cohorts), but in this case, I’m not so sure. Walker doesn’t have anything to prove. He has walked the walk in the belly of the beast of liberal Milwaukee County. He’s proposed flat budgets and vetoed tax increases (although he’s been overridden a number of times). This year, it looks like Milwaukee County will end the year with a surplus - even in this economy. He’s been reelected twice. Walker provides a welcome contrast to Doyle’s massive budget deficits and tax increases.
At the same time, Neumann is not a bad guy. As I said, he has a good record. The problem is that he hasn’t been in office for a decade. It was easy to be a conservative in Congress during the 90s, but we haven’t seen what he would do in this kind of environment. On the other hand, he has a lot of money and access to a lot of money. The reality is that it will take a LOT of money to defeat
Doyle
WEAC, trial lawyers, labor unions, etc…
I’m a big fan of both Walker and Neumann, but I’m also a big fan of ousting Doyle. I’ll be attending the Republican Convention as both a delegate and member of the media. It will be interesting to see the mood of the party faithful. Also, I’ll be a panelist on the Sunday media panel. Hope to see some of you there!
I wonder if Neumann will become the candidate of “Outstate” republicans like Mark Green. I really hope Neumann reconsiders and does not run that would give us the whole primary season to marshal our forces and money to make a serious run at defeating Gov. Doyle.
Lets not make the same mistake we made last time and waste our efforts in a contested primary.
The Republicans have secured the minority position by valuing ideology over competence. It’s time to stop. Walker is the only choice here. He should have run last time but like a good soldier stepped aside when the foolish powers that be opted for Green. The result was entirely predictable. Neumann also wouldn’t stand a chance. Walker is the guy. He is not only competent and fiscally conservative, but pulls it off without seeming to hate government. GOP - get a clue, help us to elect a good governor. Aside from amusing a wonk like Owen, a primary battle would just help Doyle.
I think the key to Neumann is that he’s certainly proven himself to be sufficiently conservative on fiscal issues, but will be a palatable candidate to outstate voters. I think anyone would be hard-pressed to call Mark Neumann a RINO. As I said on my own blog, Walker comes from the Death Star. A lot of outstate voters have no desire to be governed by Milwaukee, a place that is seen as siphoning off and wasting their hard-earned and reluctantly-paid tax dollars. Walker’s guilty by association.
For all of Walker’s virtues in the eyes of conservatives, he also comes with a lengthy record and a ton of baggage as a result. There’s not a whole lot of downside to Neumann unless you want to try and dig up a decade-old Congressional record.
The other major factor is that the money will line up behind Neumann. Why? Because simply put, money tends to follow the power players, and the heavy hitters behind the scenes are going to be pushing Neumann. One can presume that where Klauser goes, the rest of Team Tommy will go too. And there’s already a lot of speculation that the skills and talents of Scott Jensen and his loyalists will be quietly pushing Neumann as well.
The real question is what Scott Walker does if he fails to win the nomination again. He’s clearly bored with his job, and two failed gubernatorial runs would make him the Kathy Falk of the GOP - the person who’s been rejected so many times that it’s impossible to consider him seriously ever again.
It’ll be an interesting primary, to say the least.
The Republicans have secured the minority position by valuing ideology over competence. It’s time to stop.
I disagree with that a bit. The Republicans abandoned principle in favor of expediency and power. The ideology of smaller government, spending restraint, etc. are still very valid and relevant. I make no excuses for the Republicans when they were in the majority, but principles still matter.
First, I hate the word “outstate.” For those of us who grew up north of Lake Winnebago, Milwaukee is “outstate.”
But I do agree that people who live outside of the Milwaukee dump will be leery of Walker, but I like him.
That’s the problem with Neumann…“the money will line up behind Neumann”. He’s the country club republican’s candidate….not the average conservative’s candidate. Neumann can’t (shouldn’t) just come in and buy his way in after being gone for years. I think Walker has built up enough of a state wide grass roots organization that he can win in a primary and a general. As Walker did in the last election, Neumann should step aside for the good of the party so Walker doesn’t have to waste resources in a primary.
Mark Neumann is a great guy and I wish him well in other endeavors.
Charlies Hillman said all there is to be said on this subject.
The Republicans have secured the minority position by valuing ideology over competence. It’s time to stop
No truer words were written on this blog. The elections of the last 4 years quantify it as truth. Of course principles matter but they are worthless without action. Republicans haven’t even been principled loosers. Just loosers-period.
Neumanns nomination will prove to me that the GOP is officially dead. If Walker can convince Milwaukee to vote for him, there is not a place in this state that he cannot win.
Recess, unfortunately is correct. I hangout with a lot of Fox Valley people and they want NOTHING to do with Milwaukee (read Walker) politics - rightly or wrongly. If Mark can find a way around that stigma, he should have an easy win.
If you are going to be arrogant enough to use the name John Galt please learn how to spell LOSERS.
Why don’t you just call yourself “The Second Coming of Reagan” or something? Sheesh!
Oh god, I can just see the lameass ad for Neumann now: (cue elevator music) “Hi, I’m Mark Neumann and this is my lovely bride and family (camera pans over family, dog)......vote for me, I won’t raise your taxes. Thanks for your time.” Yeah, that will stand up to the Doyle political machine.
We don’t need to repeat what happened last time with Mark Green. Walker’s money needs to be spent kicking JimBingo’s ass out of the governor’s mansion, not trying to fight against another candidate who ultimately is no competition for Doyle.
“WOW”- Sorry for spelling your personality type wrong. Not too happy about how this thread is going are you Neumann hack?
“That’s the problem with Neumann…“the money will line up behind Neumann”. He’s the country club republican’s candidate….not the average conservative’s candidate.”
This could not be more wrong. Just because he has money doesn’t mean he doesn’t share the values of the conservative movement. This reactionary attitude against money and/or intellect is driving an unnatural wedge in the movement. I agree that the GOP often picks money or policy/ideals (see Tim Michels) but that does not mean that everyone with money is automatically some kind of a sell out. Was Buckley only the “country club” leader of the conservative movement? Was Regan the country club candidate? Come on. At least debate the merits of the man’s record and positions.
Neumann is in no way a sell out. In fact, you could make a very strong case that the biggest knock against Neumann is that he may be too conservative for this state.
I disagree, Joe. The only reason Neumann is going to get in is because Klauser doesn’t like the fact that Walker doesn’t kiss his ring and come running to him for his approval of everything he does. Graber didn’t work out…so now Klauser rolls out Neumann. Klauser, Neumann ,et al. represent the country club republicans and they are the reason we have Doyle in the Governor’s residence. It’s not just about money, it is also about their attitude. They know better than anyone else what needs to be done and God help those that don’t do what they think should be done.
Btw…I don’t know what Neumann’s current positions are…he’s been out of public life for so long. He hasn’t even announced that he’s running, let alone provide a platform. In contrast, Walker has been fighting the good fight, we know what he stands for and deserves to be the GOP candidate.
the biggest knock against Neumann is that he may be too conservative for this state.
That is my thought also. My brother knows him from when his children went to the same high school. He may turn off the people in the middle who would either stay home or vote third party.
How about Lt. Governor? Maybe then I could finally remember who it is. ![]()
I like that! Walker/Neuman vs. Doyle/Taxes
I’m struggling to think of an example of an unsuccessful attempt to place ideology ahead of competence with regard to conservatism. I’m not saying it’s not out there, I just can’t think of it. I would say Walker and Grothman were both examples of ideologues that are very successful. McCain and Green were examples of politicians that were not exactly idealistic.
Over analysis of the Republican slump is now the hip extrospective reaction by the lefties. Keep it simple…there is no complicated formula…
#
“WOW”- Sorry for spelling your personality type wrong. Not too happy about how this thread is going are you Neumann hack?
Actually I’m a huge Walker supporter. I just can’t stand ignorant people.
Ayn Rand wouldn’t think you were worthy of using that moniker.
A lot of outstate voters have no desire to be governed by Milwaukee, a place that is seen as siphoning off and wasting their hard-earned and reluctantly-paid tax dollars. Walker’s guilty by association.
Doesn’t the fact that Scott Walker can do what he’s done in Milwaukee county. Which is do what he SAID he was going to do amongst the typical bastions of big-city entitlement promising money wasting government dependents earn him credibility with “outsiders”
? Scott Walker and the Mayor get along about as well as OJ and Fred Goldman. Polar opposite. If Scott Walker can “walk the walk” in Milwaukee county I have no doubt he’s far more capable of standing his ground against the madison lobby.
Mayor Barrett is “typical Milwaukee politics” Scott Walker is the exact opposite. He goes toe to toe with the media. He is the hammer not the nail. I think he’ll do VERY well against Neumann and Doyle. And I like Mark Neumann personally, but don’t trust him to make hard choices in Madison. I KNOW Scott Walker will make hard choices in Madison.
Shouldn’t Walker at least finish his college education before running for governor?
It doesn’t matter who runs - Doyle wins. He has too much money and too many groups with even more money to support him.
I think Ryan has the strongest shot - but he’s not interested in state - he wants to be a senator.
Shouldn’t Walker at least finish his college education before running for governor?
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Snipe elsewhere
Joe Mamma,
Does the degree really matter? Or is that what Margaret Farrow told you to say?
Neuman should clean up his loose business ends - that may not play out too well for him.
If Neuman wants a blood letting, he should know it will be a two-way street.
Thank you very much xx.
Maybe Joe Mamma is really Ryan Gruber?
We’re going to blow this, just like we blew our chance to knock off Russ Feingold in 2004. There we had a shot at Feingold given his stance against war on terror at the time. Instead Tim Michels and Russ Darrow each blew their wad going up against the other, while Bob Welch just tossed hack bombs in there to confuse things.
We need one and only one guy to run against Doyle. And EVERY single dollar needs to be spent against Doyle and not another GOP candidate.
Scott Walker needs to stay in Milwaukee, where he is doing a GREAT job. A conservative will NEVER retain that position once Walker leaves.
Someone needs to call in Tommy Thompson and have him run for the good of the State. He’s the only one who will knock off Diamond Jim.
It’s a tough call, really. I’ll probably support Walker b/c I love what he’s done here, but the one thing that gives me pause is he hasn’t always shown he can rake in the big money. Whoever runs against Doyle will need it and Neumann has shown he can do it.
That said, I’d rather have Walker as my governor. *Sigh*
My hope is that Walker and Neumann hash this out behind closed doors before it gets messy, much like Ryan and Petak did over the 1st congressional seat in ‘98.
Steve: I think Michels was just the wrong candidate and never really gave it a good shot after the primary. Whether this was a money issue or personal we may never know. I regret voting for him.
I do know this, I am tired of Tommy the Spender and I voted for him 3 times. He, maybe, could have beat Kohl but was too cowardly to try. Scott Walker will win if he stays the course and remains true to himself.
John, I don’t really like Tommy Thompson that much and agree with his free spending. But I do know he would have signed the voter ID bill.
Both Neumann and Walker are too dour personalities to win in this State. While I’ve met both and they are both good guys and do the right thing, neither has media star power. This is a blue State by virtue of all the government employees along with blue-collar manufacturing based voters. The only way a GOP guy wins is if he has enough personality to make the blue collar guys like him more than the Democrat. Tommy has that.
I agree with Steve Austin. Walker doesn’t have enough gumption to win a primary let alone take on Doyle. I introduced myself to Walker at Target (the one that’s a pile of rubble) many years ago and I was terribly unimpressed.
Granted… maybe he’s matured over the past years but I haven’t seen it in the State of the County addresses.
@Preston: Haha, while I agree with Joe Momma, I don’t need to post under other names. I think that’s something our kind hosts discourage anyway.
@Cate: There’s no way this is getting hashed out behind closed doors unless it means Walker pulling out. The whole reason Neumann is getting in is because GOP power brokers don’t have any faith in Walker to put up a decent challenge against Doyle. That has to do with a lot of things, including his lackluster showing in the ‘06 primary.
@Calvin: You’re deluding yourself if you think Walker pulled out in ‘06 for the good of the party. He pulled out because he was way back in the polls, couldn’t raise money, and knew he’d get crushed in the primary, which would deal an enormous blow to any future opportunities for higher office. Walker got out to avoid embarrassing himself.
@Steve Austin: You don’t think that TGT wasn’t the first choice of a lot of these guys? I’m guessing Neumann is getting in precisely because Tommy wouldn’t. But you’re exactly right - TGT runs and Doyle is down 5-8 points in the polls straight off. What’s Doyle going to say? “Are you better off now then you were ten years ago?” For lots of people, that answer is “um, no.”
Three other things to remember:
1. Neumann doesn’t really have any less statewide recognition now than when he began his run against Feingold in 1998 and he still came within a point or two in what was otherwise a Democratic year.
2. Feingold is a way better candidate than Doyle.
3. According to that MacIver poll, Walker and Neumann do equally well against Doyle, even though Walker’s basically been running for governor for the last four years and Neumann’s been off the radar. What does that say about Walker’s ability to draw support? It says that he can’t expand upon the 42-43% that every GOP candidate is going to start with. If that’s the case, why would anyone think he’d be more successful in the next year?
Would all of the Tommy hacks please go away now?
Tommy is as appealing to us as governor as he was as a presidential contender.
Those days are behind us, and they didn’t do very well for us.
I hangout with a lot of Fox Valley people and they want NOTHING to do with Milwaukee (read Walker) politics
This from an area that just re-elected Steve Kagen and couldn’t even come through for their “hometown” guy Mark Green. If that’s what passes for political savvy in what should be a solid, conservative part of the state, we’re all screwed.
I don’t like Tommy either. But again, Scott Walker, Neumann, Green, Gard, etc. None of these guys has ANY charisma.
Diamond Jim doesn’t have any either. But he’s got a built in patronage base of State workers, African Americans in Milwaukee (alive and deceased) and blue collar workers that starts out with about 55% of the vote.
We need a Paul Ryan type guy to pull this off. Instead we’ll watch the party spend $15 million to bash each other, lose the vital County Exec’s position to Karl Marx, Jr. and see Diamond Jim in there for another four years.
I like Scott, but Doyle will eat him alive.
Doyle is like Nixon, the most ruthless campaigner possible. I just don’t think Scott has the money or reputation to stand up to the kind of abuse Doyle will heap on him.
Neumann might actually have a chance, but I think Doyle will be almost impossible to beat. Like Thompson, he’s probably governor for as long as he wants to be.
Guys, lets all focus! The enemy is Doyle. The big money, the really BIG money is not in Walker or Neumann’s camp it is sitting in Doyl’e camp -that is undeniable. There is one sure way to cut the multi-million dollar Doyle smear machine down to size -It is the Doyle recall. The recall compresses the time frame down to a few short months vs 18 grueling months of attack ads (which he has already started against Scott Walker). The recall is not only doable but we are well on the way. WWW.RECALLDOYLE.COM
Vince Schmuki/Shorewood
Re #32 “alive & deceased” - too funny!
I am usually opposed to recalls unless they involve criminal like activity such as Ament and Company. Voters should be aware of the issues and vote for the person who will represent them best. Doyle is not surprising those who voted for him. Quite the contrary.
Just because we don’t like Jimbo doesn’t mean we should recall him. However, a recall of Jimbo may distract him from his tax raising binge for a while. Nothing wrong with that. It also may inspire him to give out more goodies to his constituencies. Nothing good about that.
In any event, who would have thought that an inarticulate, but lovable buffoon from Elroy would ever be Gov.? 3 times Gov? Not me. Scott Walker has fewer obstacles than Tommy.
Tommy, you stay classy, and retired. Mark, please join Tommy.
And unlike TGT, next year’s candidate won’t be running against a governor who raised both general income and sales tax rates on everyone in Wisconsin. That kinda helped in ‘86, just a little. Next year’s candidate has a lot more obstacles than Tommy ever did.
Say what you want about his speaking skills, but TGT was an excellent cheerleader and politician whose enthusiasm for the state struck voters as being extremely genuine. Scott Walker is none of that - he’s an obstinate “no” man whose idea for reducing government is usually to whine and complain about how someone else’s unit of government should be doing it instead of his. Wonder if he’ll be making his announcement in front of a freakin’ storm door like he did four years ago? Savvy politician, that Walker.
Walker’s been running for governor for four years and he still can’t do better than the all-but-forgotten Mark Neumann in a head-to-head poll against Doyle. That’s absolutely pathetic. So we should pick Walker because it’s his turn? Like we did with, uh, Bob Dole in 1996?
Republicans need to get over this “it’s his turn” crap and just learn to embrace contested primaries. Didn’t exactly hurt Obama or Clinton, did it? It certain wasn’t their turn when they won their respective nominations.
If Walker’s such a great candidate, he shouldn’t have any trouble dispensing of a forgotten Congressman and his handful of power brokers, should he?
I think I’m actually for this primary, although usually I’d like us to get behind our candidate early and save our powder. But this is a showdown between the Republican machine, and the core republican voter. I for one am getting sick and tired of the Republican party getting behind candidates that espouse few conservative views. (McCain, Bush,.....)
I’m sick of holding my nose and voting for the lessor of two evils. My first vote was for Reagan, and that has to be one of the last times I voted FOR someone, and not against someone else.
Hopefully some of the grassroots anger, like the tea parties, which was directed as much at the Republican party as the Dems, will get us behind a candidate that we actually trust and believe in, rather than one that we vote for just because someone said they were more electable.
With friends like Klauser and McCoshen, Neumman won’t need the left to remind people about his warts.
I hope he won’t be too upset when Klauser has an epiphany next year that Neumann really is not electable because he rubs too many people the wrong way, has taken too many bad votes in congress, has taken money from all the wrong people, and made comments about homosexuals he can neither live down or take back.
Good luck with your new friends Mark. You’re going to need it.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/29442174.html
Some Wisconsin donors have given to both Thompson and a second GOP candidate. Jim Klauser, Thompson’s closest adviser when he was governor, has given to Romney and hosted an early gathering of Wisconsin Republicans for Romney. Klauser was described in a Thompson press release earlier this year as chairing the candidate’s exploratory committee in Wisconsin, but in a recent interview he played down his role.
“I’m a friend of Tommy’s. I’m not really involved (in the campaign). I see Tommy as a potential favorite son, but as the situation unfolds, unless Tommy connects soon, this fall I will probably support one of the major candidates,” said Klauser.
http://www.ilcampaign.org/press/news/illinois/2006/04-13-06goldenboy.html
In the closing weeks of the campaign, Hurtgen organized a big Chicago fund-raiser for McCallum’s Democratic rival, Jim Doyle, which drew other former Thompsonites like McCoshen, who wanted to tie his fortunes to Doyle.
As Democratic strategist Bill Christofferson told the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel: Statehouse players want to tell winning candidates that “I was with you early, or late, or at least before the election.
In fact, less than two weeks after Doyle took office, Hurtgen was
sitting down for a “private meeting” with Marotta, according to
Marotta’s personal calendar.
His calendar lists more than a dozen sit-downs with Hurtgen in all, including:
o A July 22, 2003, meeting with Hurtgen, a second Bear Stearns
official and Frank Hoadley, the state’s capital finance chief, to talk about the governor’s proposed pension bond plan. A day earlier,Hurtgen and two colleagues met with Marotta at the exclusive Madison Club, and the group then had a scheduled sit-down with Doyle and Goodwin.
Bear Stearns later was named a co-senior manager on the $1.8 billion deal, meaning it got a chunk of the action but was not the lead underwriter. DOA officials estimate that Bear Stearns earned fees of
up to $856,000 on the sale. Loop Capital took a smaller slice, earning about $170,000.
Bear Stearns also won a contract to underwrite a $175 million deal in 2004.
o A dinner on Aug. 27, 2003, with Hurtgen and a contingent of former Thompson allies at Mo’s A Place for Steaks in Milwaukee. Among those listed as attendees were lobbyists Bill McCoshen and Nate Elias and fund-raiser Phil Prange.
Earlier, Hurtgen and Prange attended a Chicago fund-raiser for Doyle - Thompson’s longtime foe - just days before the November 2002 election, as it was becoming clear that the Democrat might win.
o An unspecified daylong event in Highland Park, Ill., on Sept. 11, 2003, with Hurtgen. A year later, on June 16, 2004, Marotta was scheduled to spend another day with Hurtgen in Illinois, this time to golf.
The number of meetings declined as Hurtgen was increasingly tied into the Illinois scandal. The calendar lists their final dinner on April 2005, with Hurtgen’s mentor, former Administration Secretary Jim Klauser, also in attendance.
Hurtgen was indicted two weeks later.
Mindgames: Re: Post 39. That is just a brilliant post.
It really gets to the heart of the matter regarding Republicans in this state. Walker is not part of that Klan. Neuman may not be as well but he will be guilty by association.
Sparky: Shame on you for putting that Neumann campaign commercial image in my head. I now have an eye worm every time I hear Neumann’s name. Que the dog dog waging the tale, friendly bark, “I am Mark Neumann and I approved this pointless but positive message. ![]()
I think I am going to work my ass off for Scott…