Thoughts on the U.S. Senate Race in Wisconsin

Two Republican candidates have emerged to vie for the GOP
nomination to challenge incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator
Tammy Baldwin for the seat she was elected to six years ago.
One time Democrat activist (now a newcomer to the Republican
Party), former Marine, and current businessman Kevin Nicholson
is challenging State Senator Leah Vukmir, who previously served
in the state assembly. Both candidates are strong conservatives;
Nicholson having previously been a Democrat and has stated
that he became a Republican during his time in the Marine Corps
in which he saw combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. As he explained
his leaving the Democrats and their liberalism for the Republicans
and conservatism, "I used to do nothing and know everything.
But since then we've had three kids, I fought in two wars, and I
worked in businesses around the world ... after you've been hit in
the face with that mush reality, you cannot help but become a
strong conservative." Indeed.

But in the meantime, State Sen. Vukmir has built a reputation as
a strong, principled, consistent conservative voice in both chambers
of the Wisconsin Legislature, earning the confidence and with it the
votes of her constituents and the praise of conservatives in the party
and throughout the state. She has been a key figure in crafting and
passing Gov. Scott Walker's conservative reform initiatives, including
the historic Act 10, which clamped down on the heavy influence of
the public sector workers' unions resulting in making more leeway
for school districts as well as municipalities and counties to create
budgets granting more money to, among other things, school programs
as well as providing income and property tax relief. During the
"Occupation" of the State Capitol by the public employee union
members along with sundry far-left wing sympathizers promoting
their own extremist agendae, where some of the occupiers threatened
some Republican legislators, in an effort to intimidate them into
backing down from helping Gov. Walker, Sen. Vukmir unflinchingly
cast her vote for each and every initiative, every bill designed
to assist Gov. Walker's reform efforts in making Wisconsin affordable
and livable for people, their families, and stable for their jobs and
their businesses. While Kevin Nicholson is to be thanked and honored
for his military service and sacrifice, he does not have the experience
and savvy that Leah Vukmir has; besides, Sen. Vukmir would take
away a very big rhetorical weapon from U.S. Sen. Baldwin: the
incumbent cannot play the Gender Card, and say things like "Well,
that's typical of my (male) opponent to say that. But he does not have
the woman's perspective on this issue ..." and then try to frame the
debate so as to make the Democrats (and with them the Left) more
in synch with female voters. The incumbent would have to fight
Sen. Vukmir on equal ground and footing, and would therefore have
a more difficult task.Leah could demonstrate that not all, or even
most, female voters in Wisconsin share Sen. Baldwin's views on
many of the political issues Wisconsin and the country faces, and in
fact prefer legislation which reflects a reliance on less statist ideas for
meeting these challenges.

Then there is the ad in support of the Club for Growth, a conservative
advocacy group which supports a less expansive and costly approach
to government, especially concerning taxation and business regulation.
In November 2017, they e-mailed a fundraising appeal to their backers
urging them to donate to Nicholson's campaign rather than Vukmir's,
because they claim that Sen. Vukmir is a RINO (Republican in Name
Only). Given her record in Madison, which your diligent Peasant has
illustrated in the last paragraph of this post, this is not only patently
dishonest, it is scurrilous, dirty, and rotten! When conservative radio
talker Dan O'Donnell asked Nicholson on his show if he would dis-
avow the ad, Nicholson did a little verbal soft shoe, resulting in neither
disavowing nor supporting the e-mail and the slur on Sen. Vukmir's
good name and reputation. Not very reassuring.

And what would be the fallout from the Republicans' senate primary?
Regardless of who would win, there would be hard feelings and
overspent campaign advertising monies. We cannot afford a repeat
of the fiasco that occurred six years ago, which gave us Sen.
Baldwin in the first place. This radical left-winger has truly been an
accidental senator, someone who does not truly represent Wisconsin
values and concerns.

So, your faithful Peasant stands by his endorsement of Leah Vukmir
for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. She has without
question been a tried and true, tested by fire, stalwart conservative and
a champion for the principles of limited government. Nicholson,
meanwhile, is coming off as a fly-by-night candidate, which could
result in a painful backlash when Wisconsin Republicans go to the
polls to decide on a nominee to send to the general election.
We'll wait and see what happens.


MEM