GOP Rallies Behind Green's Bid to Oust (Governor) Doyle (D, WI)

APPLETON, WI (AP) -- Gov. Jim Doyle is the most vulnerable Democratic governor up for re-election this fall, Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman said Friday as he sought to energize GOP activists.

"I think if you look around the country, I can't think of a single state where there's a greater likelihood that a Democratic governor will be replaced by a Republican governor," Mehlman told reporters as the state Republican convention got underway in Appleton.

Mehlman and other Republican leaders said they would use the weekend convention to make the case that U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Green Bay, should replace Doyle as governor.

Mehlman criticized Doyle's vetoes of bills that would require voters to show photo identification, labeled Doyle a big spender and noted questions about whether his campaign donors have received state contracts.

"Voters clearly want reform. The polls have shown it for a long time and I think Mark Green will offer real reform," Mehlman said.

He framed the election as a "choice between pay to play and honest reform, a choice between a man who is committed to fair elections versus an incumbent governor who ... vetoes legislation to protect voters."

Doyle campaign spokesman Anson Kaye dismissed the notion that Doyle's re-election was in jeopardy. Doyle is trying to become the first Democratic governor to win re-election in 32 years.

"The governor's in a very strong position," he said. "The more people learn about Mark Green, the less they are going to like him. He has a record far outside the mainstream."

Mehlman became the keynote speaker to hundreds of Republican party activists on the opening day of the convention after Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney canceled his scheduled speech due to flooding in his state.

The convention continues Saturday with speeches from top Republicans including Green, who was expected to make the case for his election as the state's chief executive.

Mehlman's trip to Wisconsin - his second in less than 60 days - underscores the importance of the governor's race to both national political parties.

Wisconsin is considered a swing state and both parties view control of the governor's office as crucial to winning the state in the 2008 presidential election.

Democrats believe Doyle helped U.S. Sen. John Kerry win Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes in 2004. Kerry edged out President Bush in Wisconsin by about 11,000 votes after an intense and expensive campaign.

Mehlman, who was Bush's political director at the White House before leaving to run his re-election campaign, called the 2006 governor's race critical. He acknowledged Republicans faced a "challenging year" in the face of low approval ratings for Bush and the GOP-controlled Congress.

Green, who was elected to U.S. Congress in 1998 after serving as a state representative, emerged as the party's sole candidate for governor earlier this year after Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker dropped out of the race.

But former four-term governor Tommy Thompson stole the spotlight as he considered whether to run for his old job, ultimately announcing Sunday he would not run and would endorse Green's campaign.

With the path clear, Green is hoping to start getting his message of change to voters. Polls already show he and Doyle are locked in a tight race even though many voters do not know Green.

"This is Mark Green's convention and Mark Green is our candidate going forward," state GOP executive director Rick Wiley said in an interview.

Additional info on what Mehlman had to say:

GOP chair: '06 vote is key
'Our values versus liberal interests'
By Anita Weier
May 20, 2006

APPLETON, WI - The November election will be a crucial turning point for Wisconsin and the nation, the chairman of the Republican National Committee told more than 600 Wisconsin Republicans at their state convention here Friday night.

Chairman Ken Mehlman, campaign manager for Bush/Cheney in 2004, told the GOP faithful at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel that this election will rank with turning points in history such as the civil rights movement and the defeat of communism.

The vital issues this time are the war on terrorism, the global economy and the prospect of activist judges deciding people's lives, he said, adding that it will be "our values versus liberal interests."

"Our nation is at war, and we need leaders who understand war," Mehlman said. "Our nation faces competition, and we need leaders who understand that the way to win that competition is to keep our nation and state competitive. We need to make sure we elect leaders who understand the job of legislators and the job of judges and know the difference."

He praised President Bush for taking the war on terror to the enemy and criticized former presidents for taking little action against terrorist attacks before 9/11, such as the taking of hostages in Iran in 1979 and the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993.

The direction that the nation turns in the November election - in Wisconsin and nationally - will hinge on grass-roots networks as never before, he added. Grass-roots connections are key in a world where communications have changed so that mainstream Americans can spread the word electronically as well as the formerly great broadcast TV networks, Mehlman added.

Noting that experts had spent the afternoon training state campaign workers in technology and turning out the vote, he also gave some advice from a Republican in 1840.

Abraham Lincoln said at that time that an election could be won by organizing the whole state, dividing counties into small districts with a subcommittee in each, making a perfect list of voters, ascertaining for whom they would vote, keeping watch on doubtful voters and talking to them, and making sure every party member went to the polls on Election Day.

Such dedicated effort will result in a historic victory in Wisconsin and throughout the nation, Mehlman predicted.

"When there are so many sources of information, the power of you - the power to spread the word, the power of grass roots - is power that has never been before. We need to take that power. Reach out. Use e-mail, use the blogs, visit Web sites, make calls, write letters to the editor, call talk radio, use every tool to expand our party," he advised.

"Reach out to people who are Republicans today and people who are Republicans and don't know it yet. It's your values versus liberal interests."

Later, talking to reporters, Mehlman said that the Wisconsin governor's race between incumbent Gov. Jim Doyle and Congressman Mark Green, R-Green Bay, is hugely important.

"I can't think of a single state where there is a greater likelihood that a Democratic governor will be replaced by a Republican governor," Mehlman said. "If you look at the deficit spending of this administration, if you look at the tax burden, if you look at the pay to play, voters clearly want reform. The polls have shown it for a long time."

Democrats deny that Doyle is in trouble and say that Green has problems of his own, such as staff links to corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

"Governor Doyle balanced a budget that had a $3.2 billion deficit without raising taxes," Doyle campaign spokesman Anson Kaye said Friday night in response to the GOP allegations. Doyle also is emphasizing his support of stem cell research as a counter to Republican emphasis on other subjects.

Mehlman also was asked about a poll showing that the GOP's 8th Congressional District candidate, state Rep. John Gard of Peshtigo, was lagging. Mehlman conceded that the district was challenging but that it's a district that tends to vote Republican.

"The sixth year of a presidential term is a challenging time, and we are in a difficult war. It will be a very challenging year," Mehlman said.

He said he wants a strong candidate to take on Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., but it would be a huge mistake to lean on somebody who doesn't really want to run. Former Gov. Tommy Thompson has been urged to run and is expected to announce today whether he will do so, but his family has pressed him not to run and Thompson already ruled out a run for governor.

The Senate is important because of its role in confirming judicial appointments, so that judges will interpret the law instead of legislating from the bench, Mehlman said.

A measure on the November ballot to ban same-sex marriage and similar arrangements, as well as a referendum on the death penalty, will affect voter turnout, Mehlman said.

"But ultimately the biggest effect will be the candidates," particularly the Doyle vs. Green race, he said.

Some Republicans attending the convention agreed.

"Doyle's got to go," said Charlie Balts, 57, an apartment manager from Eau Claire. "I'm tired of paying for his debts, and my kids will be paying for them. He borrows from Peter to pay Paul."

Larry Smith, 60, of Neenah, said he also wanted to get rid of Doyle. "Mark Green will make a good governor," Smith said, though "I would have preferred Scott Walker," the Milwaukee County executive who dropped out of the race.

Lillian Wales, 52, of DeForest, said she is very optimistic about the results of the November election. "We've got a lot of good people running," she said. "We need to go forward."

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/index.php?ntid=84619&ntpid=2

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