Curmudgeon's Corner

Will They or Won't They?

Posted by Al Campbell on May 24, 2010

Political, Wisconsin

Will the Republican Party coalesce around its favored candidates or will it operate in a state of disarray between now and the fall elections?

There is a lot of grousing today as the result of the happenings over this past week-end where the Republicans gathered and plotted their strategy.  The supporters of those who didn’t receive the endorsement of those assembled are understandably upset.  The people who get into politics at this level are passionate about the person or people they support.

Questions surround the choice of Scott Walker as the ‘preferred’ candidate for the Governor’s race and the choice of newcomer Ron Johnson as the ‘preferred’ candidate to unseat Russ Feingold.  Supporters of Mark Neumann should’ve known that Walker would carry the week-end and carry it big.  He has been diligently working the state for years and party regulars felt that it was his time.

Neumann shows signs of being the disrupter rather than the uniter.  He has been playing hardball and there is no indication that will change.  This will likely take money away from Walker that could’ve been sequestered for use against Feingold.

Ron Johnson, the politically unknown businessman from Oshkosh, by his own admission, came to Milwaukee thinking he had little chance to gather the votes required for anything other than a ‘no endorsement’ from his fellow Republicans.  Terrence Wall has not seemed particularly amenable to this outcome.  He makes noises that suggest that he will be on the stump for some time to come.  Westlake’s supporters are true to the end, even though they all should’ve been able to read the writing on the wall.  Their preferred candidate had little chance but worked hard to get his points across using the color “orange” to set him apart.

Beyond these personal issues between political rivals, there seems a deeper potential schism and it is that which could bring the Republicans into disarray.  There is a battle between the moderate Republicans and those who call themselves conservative Republicans.  The conservative wing sees this as the opportunity of a political lifetime.

The Democratic Party has always seemed better at putting the infighting behind it and moving into the battle against the ‘true’ opposition.  Some would call that political opportunism and some would call it good politics.

Only time will tell if this is the election that Republicans have hungered for or if that party will remain in disarray for too long and blow its chances.  As an independent conservative, I make no secret of my hope the Republicans can get it together…but I have this nagging fear that infighting may take too big a toll.  I also remember too vividly when people who professed to be conservative revealed they were not really conservative.