There is a sad reality we must confront.  We have less than 10 reliable conservatives in the Senate.  If we ever hope to improve our fortunes in the “House of Lords,” we cannot become complacent and squander even a single opportunity to grow our numbers.  We’ve enjoyed successes in Texas and Indiana this year, as well as Nebraska (to a certain extent).  The next battle is in just 6 days when we will have the opportunity to add Mark Neumann to the DeMint caucus in the Senate.

As Erick noted yesterday, it’s time to discard the sense of ambivalence in the race between Mark Neumann and Eric Hovde.  In recent months, it appeared that Hovde was the only horse to ride in order to save us from Tommy Thompson.  However, the latest polls show Hovde stalling and Neumann surging, especially among Tea Party voters.  Now is the time to go with the man who has a solid conservative voting record as oppose to a blank slate who has donated money to a leftist governor.

Erick has already detailed Hovde’s willingness to pay higher taxes and his support for green energy, bailouts, and stimulus.  What I find most disconcerting is his tortured explanation for donating to Democrat Governor Jim Doyle.

On March 9, Hovde told a local TV station that his donation to Doyle was “a total mistake” and that he wanted his money back because Doyle “was a lousy governor.”

Four months later, he couldn’t even remember the mistake.  He complained to the Daily Caller that “they’re hitting me for one $500 check that I gave to a governor of the state back in 2005 that, frankly, I can’t even remember.”

Finally, just several days after failing to remember the donation that he once deemed a mistake, Hovde told a local radio host Charlie Sykes (starting at the 15:30 mark) that “Yes, I made a contribution back in 2005…probably done because of being hit up and strong-armed by Doyle…one year I capitulated.”

What??!!

Who are these Democrats that are strong-arming him?  And how do we know that these same hooligans won’t strong-arm him into supporting things like…bailouts, green energy, and stimulus.  This is not the sort of courage that we would expect from a self-described outsider who wants to crusade against the ways of Washington.

With Mark Neumann surging in the polls, we don’t need to settle anymore.  Yes, I’ll take a man with a tortured memory or even Tommy Thompson over Tammy Baldwin.  Fortunately, we have 6 days to ensure that we won’t be forced to make that choice in November.