My column for the Washington County Daily News is online and in print. Note that I wrote it on Sunday before Michels released his media campaign and before his interview with Jay Weber on WISN1130 yesterday morning. I can’t say that I’ve seen anything to change my mind yet. Here’s a part:
I am firmly in the Kleefisch camp, but an open mind is a healthy mind, but as the old sales saying goes, Michels needs to offer a compelling reason to change. Going back to the Buckley rubric, Michels is definitely viable as a rich candidate who can self-finance his campaign. He has not proven that he can win a statewide election, but in a red wave year, it is probable that he would. The real questions are about his ideology and grit.
No doubt that Michels is conservative with a stellar pedigree. A veteran and businessman who has supported conservatives for decades, there is no doubt as to his core conservatism. But his family business is also one of the largest government contractors in the world. Will he be a champion for restraining government spending even when that spending flows into his family fortune? Perhaps.
Also, with the whirls of proverbial cigar smoke still wafting about him from the Republican backrooms, will Michels be the kind of conservative crusader Wisconsin had in Walker or Florida has in DeSantis? Perhaps. If Kleefisch was not in the race, Michels might be the best choice. But Kleefisch is in the race, so why should conservatives take a chance on Michels when they have a sure bet with Kleefisch?
I wish I could share your enthusiasm about Kleefisch, but I’m still not ready to gift her Scott Walker’s accomplishments just because she was there. She has won statewide elections, but yet again, was it because she was on the ballots as Walker’s second? I suspect people voted for Walker and the Lt. could have been literally anybody else with a -R after their name. There’s nothing wrong about Kleefisch. She does have name recognition. I can certainly vote for her, but I’ve been uncomfortable with her seeming to be a default candidate. Let’s see what Michels can do.
Procopis published a column stating that Michels is NOT an insider, or he would not run against Kleefisch.
That makes sense. He also mentions that Michels got more votes back in ’04 than Walker/Kleefisch (except for their recall total.)
I’m in the same position as Merlin. ANY of them would be better than the spectre now in the chair, of course.