STATE CAPITOL NEWSLETTER: Republican politics
Republicans select their gubernatorial candidate next week, and the favorite is Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker.
Walker is favored over former Congressman Mark Neumann because Walker won the endorsement of the Republican State Convention in the spring. That endorsement allows the party resources to flow to Walker, including the mailing lists of party members.
State law requires a primary election to select candidates for elective office, but the GOP convention endorsement allows the party’s establishment to give chosen candidates seemingly a huge lead.
Early in the election year, veteran Republican insider Jim Klauser endorsed Neumann for governor. But he changed his mind as spring unfolded, and after the convention Klauser tried to convince Neumann to withdraw. Neumann declined, thus setting up whatever drama is available in next week’s voting.
Newspaper accounts of joint appearances with Walker and Neumann show only minor policy differences. The primary race may come down to which candidate generates enthusiasm and gets his people to the polling places on Tuesday.
The only major upset in convention endorsement politics came in 1978 when Lee Dreyfus upset Bob Kasten in the September primary. Two things are different between 1978 and 2010.
Kasten thought his primary election victory was a slam-dunk. Much of his campaign materials such as yard signs were left in storage awaiting the general election. Perhaps more important was the genuine enthusiasm Dreyfus created during the summer run-up to the primary.
A group of high school and college-age musicians appeared as the “Rag Tag Band” and with new words for the Budweiser-Wisconsin tune. The lyrics ended with, “…when you’ve said `Lee Dreyfus,’ you’ve said it all.”
Dreyfus, who had resigned as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point to make the race, scored easy victories in the primary and general elections.
Neumann’s campaign seems to have two themes. He likes to talk about his teaching experience, allowing the print press to point out Walker lacks a college degree. Neumann also likes to paint Walker as a “career politician.”
But the best answer to the “career politician” issue was made early in 1983, also a time of economic downturn, when the late state Sen. Clifford “Tiny” Krueger, R-Merrill, resigned after serving over 30 years in the Legislature. He told his colleagues in a farewell speech:
“Be proud of what you are. Elected office is a noble calling. There is nothing lazy, immoral, or selfish about being a career politician. The giants of our Republic were political animals. They spent their lives at politics because being good at it demands a great deal.
“The career politicians – the Adams, the Jeffersons, the Clays, the Websters, the Lincolns, and the La Follettes – of our system have kept us together in times of crisis. They put party interests aside when the going got tough.”
Words to remember in another economic recession.
