Posted on 01/18/2010 9:06:11 AM PST by milwguy
If Scott Brown can win in Mass, anything is possible this year.
Senator Russ Feingold was elected our US Senator in 1992. He has served three terms and perfect personifies what is wrong in Wash DC. Elected as a 'maverick', his signature legislative accomplishment in 18 years is 'McCain/Feingold' campaign finance 'reform'. Totally ineffective, it has done nothing to stop special interests from infecting our political campaigns.
This election cycle, no 'establishment' Republican has dared to challenge Feingold. Feingold currently has raised over 9 million $ for his campaign, and has over $3 million 'cash' on hand, according to 'open secrets'.
The one person who was brave enough to run against the 'Democratic machine' here in Wisconsin is Dave Westlake. I urge fellow FReepers to check out his biography, his positions, and support him. Just like the insurgent Scott Brown, Westlake and his 'balze orange army' are out to take back our state, and then take back our country.
http://www.davewestlake.org/index.html
(Excerpt) Read more at davewestlake.org ...
Westlake's campaign is being viewed by the media 'elite' here in much the same way as Scott Brown's was. His 'Quixotic' travels around the state are generating no press, his blaze orange t-shirted supporters are derided as 'tea baggers', and he is given no chance of winning in November.
This past weekend, over 3,000 'tea baggers' showed up in cold weather on a farm in Franksville to send a message to our gov't. Electing Dave Westlake to the US Senate will send another message to our elites that the 'people' are coming to take their gov't back!
Sounds like a tremor in another potential political earth quake.
Too bad Dave has not raised much money. The Franksville Tea Party bonfire featured a variety of popular speakers and attracted 3000+ people. However, I would not necessarily conclude that the majority were there to cheer on Dave.
Scott Brown is a charismatic and articulate figure. He also has the advantage significant political experience in the Mass Senate.
If we could find a Scott Brown in WI, we might have a chance to beat Feingold. I believe in IN Pence is running against Bayh. ND will be won by the Rep governor. Wisconsin, can’t we get a candidate with more experience and proven money-raising ability for the US Senate! The Senate is not exactly an entry level job. Money is still the mother’s milk of politics and you have to have at least SOME money to win.
If not we will have to hope that Dave will make up the money deficit with the T-shirt sales.
He’s not a serious candidate. Kind of like Manitowoc’s child mayor - a guy that wants to get his name on the ballot but otherwise doesn’t have a clue.
He’s selling t-shirts as his main fundraiser. I rest my case.
In any other election year I would agree with you. This may be the once in a lifetime election cycle where the less tied you are to a political party (R or D), the more electable you may be.
Judging from the heated reactions Feingold is getting at his ‘listening sessions’, there is a lot of anger out there. Tapping into that anger and mobilizing otherwise non-political citizens is the key. Feingold is vulnerable, and Westlake has a pretty good bio to take him on. I just hope he de-emphasizes the family values/religous aspects, because this election will not turn on social issues, it will turn on the economy, national security, and smaller and less intrusive gov’t.
Funny how Manty’s ‘child mayor’ actually won.
Anyone who graduated from West Point, has his MBA, and is has real world business experience is ‘serious’ in my mind.
I would love to see Paul Ryan run against Feingold, but I think he has his sights set higher than US Senate, judging from his upcoming trip to New Hampshire.
With a popular top of the ticket candidate in Scott Walker for Gov., a credible opponent to Feingold has a golden opportunity this year.
Agree. See above post. We need a serious candidate or we will not attract any national money. This is the golden opportunity to get rid of that fools gold: Russ Feingold
Politics 101:
Nice guys without money finish last.
Third parties always fail.
Promoting a lack of experience as a strength will only get you so far but not all the way.
T-shirts should not be the mainstay of fundraising.
Rule number one would have disqualified Scott Brown, because two months ago he was 30pts down and had no money. It was his sheer force of personality and traveling the state in his truck that turned things around. Once was seen as a viable candidate, the money followed him.
Good article on how Scott Brown took his campaign on the ground and overtook the ‘machine’ in Mass. He started with only his truck and the people’s anger at Washington and turned it into a possible winning campaign. If it can be done in Mass., a state with even more of a pathetic Republican Party establishment than Wisconsin, it can be done here.
But Scott Brown is, hate to say, a state Republican senator. He has political experience. And Dave Westlake is just so good that without any political experience or other high profile private sector position he will most definitely overwhelm Feingold and everyone will give him money. Dave Westlake is so articulate, so charismatic that he needs no experience. After all Ghandi brought down the British in India but never held public office!
Outstanding! Put another US senate seat in the R column!
Never say never. Feingold’s unpopularity will be the issue that defines the race this fall. I heard Westlake on a milwaukee talk radio show and he did sound articulate enough, but of course he has a huge hill to climb to get into the credible opponent realm.
“3,000 ‘tea baggers’”
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=teabagging
Your use of the phrase is a repulsive insult to patriots. I hope it was unintentional, sir.
I met Mr. Westlake recently, as our children attend the same Elementary school. I approached to mention that Mark Belling, of WISN 1130am, was discussing the Feingold senate race and maybe he would want to listen. Which, to his credit, he already had tuned in.
However in the few moments we spoke, he said:
1) that he doesn’t much like Mr. Belling or his opinions (to be fair, Belling hasn’t been very positive towards Westlake). Mark has some excellent insight into state politics and is a very effective communicator with ideas that should be adopted by ANY candidate running against Russ. To discount Mark’s ideas because of his obvious support for Tommy is foolish, IMO.
2) Westlake “Guarantees that money will not win this race” which seriously discredits him in my opinion. I don’t know how much he’s raised, but he’s going against the media, $7-10 MILLION from Russ’s own campaign, and all the lefty unions and out of state money. An SUV with his name on it and some posts on F.R. will not carry him statewide.
and 3) That Tommy Thompson was not that popular in Wisconsin. (This was the part of Belling’s point that day, that Tommy not ruling out running for Senate.) Thompson was an extremely popular statewide candidate, and the contrast between his governorship years and the current governor only make him seem MORE popular. On stat I heard was that Tommy’s SMALLEST margin of victory was nearly the same as Feingold’s LARGEST margin.
I have no doubt that Westlake would be an infinite improvement in Senator over Feingold, or even Kohl, or half of our congressional delegation. I just don’t want another half-stepping candidate like Michaels. Given our short exchange, and those 3 comments, I’d have to say he’s not really serious about his campaign. That’s just my opinion, but he has lost my primary vote.
I’ll be praying Mark Neumann decides to drop the Governor challenge to Walker and take the Senate gimmie, with Thompson being my second choice. However, if somehow Westlake survives to the General election, and its just him against Feingold, he will have my vote, I will NOT be voting Democrat or 3rd party.
we will have some more recognizable candidates declaring soon, and the climate if perfect to dump Feingold
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