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Conservatives Rally for Ron Johnson in Wisconsin

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  July 14th, 2010 at 09:46 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

A friend of mine pointed out the other day that while I endorsed Ron Johnson for the Senate in Wisconsin several weeks ago on Twitter, I never wrote about it here.

Let me remedy that today by pointing out Jim DeMint, the NRSC, and me are all on the same side on this one.

DeMint will be making his endorsement today. Later today and this week I hear other conservative organizations will also be coming out for Johnson.

Polls in Wisconsin show Ron Johnson giving Russ Feingold a serious run for his money in the polls. Some polls have Johnson ahead and some just behind.

Johnson is a solid conservative businessman. I hear he has already ruffled a few Republican feathers in Washington with some of his anti-spending, pro-growth ideas.

He’s the type of guy we need in Washington working with Jim DeMint.

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COMMENTS

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  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    Republican activists got together and backed Ron Johnson as our guy to beat Feingold.

    This isn’t a top down thing. Johnson has the backing of party activists in exactly the same way that outgoing Senator Bennett did not.

  • proudgop

    Wisconsin has way too late of primary ( I don’t think any should happen past August)

    so hopefully this solidifies this race and I hope same happens in Gov Race for Walker

  • E Pluribus Unum

    The case has been made here for the endorsement you should have made. But hey, it’s your bar-b-que, boss. I’m standing down, because I can’t compete with your own influence in this matter.

  • E Pluribus Unum

    The case has been made here for the endorsement you should have made. But hey, it’s your bar-b-que, boss. I’m standing down, because I can’t compete with your own influence in this matter.

  • proudgop

    Feingold has a new ad up attacking Johnson already

    http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2010/07/feingold-senate-wisconsin-dril.html

    someone is running scared already

  • handprop

    The TEA parties are doing polling with members in Wisconsin right now and support Dave Westlake 95 sometimes 98%

    Please explain.

    handprop

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    Party activists are people who take the step beyond waving signs and then start putting their principles into action.

  • tapout

    What I saw there was that money talks, and people listen. Politics as usual. This is how we got here in the first place. More of the same while expecting different results.

    I still believe that a Senator’s primary qualification should be more than his ability to self fund.

    I want my Senator to be a constitutional warrior, not just do what the party tells him.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    And personally I *do* want a loyal Senator.

  • handprop

    I respect your opinion but I’m a little confused by what you meant by party loyalty. The party has been the problem, it’s been the problem for years. Why would you want to be loyal to a party that’s part of the problem?

    RoJo is on record wanting to drill for oil in the Great Lakes…..is he completely stupid? Russ is going to have a field day with this. RoJo is for a nation ID….that’s handy considering he manufactures plastic ID’s, glad to see he has real conservative roots.

    If he gets elected RoJo will get rich off of being a senator why else would you self fund a campaign and be willing to spend 10-15 million? I have talked with RoJo and it’s so obvious what his intentions are a child could pick up on it.

    handprop

  • http://www.libertylives.org madnorskie

    I’m not here to say whether Johnson will make a good U.S. Senator or not, and if he wins the primary I will vote for him.

    However, the facts surrounding the endorsement at the convention stink and was certainly orchestrated by the Republican “insiders” who, in my estimation, have severely hurt the Republican party in this state over the last few years.

    I was at the convention as a delegate. In the months leading up to convention there were three candidates: Terrence Wall, Dick Leinenkugel, and Dave Westlake. Polls indicated that T. Wall had a significant lead and Leinenkugel’s affiliation with the Doyle administration was hurting him. A week before the election Ron Johnson, a political newcomer, jumped into the race.

    He began his campaign by poaching staff, including his campaign manager, and consultants from several other campaigns, most notably from Terrence Wall’s campaign. From what I saw and experienced, there were really no other moves before the convention.

    At the convention, Ron Johnson was virtually unheard of by the majority of delegates, but those who were known as the “political insiders”, including several consultants and former state party officials, were heavily pushing Johnson, As the convention plodded along, much of the first days were taken up by meetings by county chairman and executive council. Interestingly, the endorsement for the U.S. Senate race were pushed back to Sunday, a day in which it is well known that most delegates do not attend, as they are usually driving back north.

    At these votes, of which I attended, there was an incredible amount of confusion. First there was the endorsement of Dick Leinenkugel to Ron Johnson, as well as the endorsements of several former politicians (one of whom had a daughter-in-law working for T. Wall’s campaign). During the first two votes which did not pass, I noticed that county chairs were pushing delegates hard to vote for Johnson. In some cases, the chairs were requiring that their delegates voted for Johnson, though this had not happened for any endorsements previously during the convention. On the third round of voting, Ron Johnson won the endorsement.

    I believe the endorsement process at the convention was intentionally perverted and I believe there was a certain amount of underhandedness that occurred between the Johnson campaign and the staffs of the other candidates. For instance, the campaign manager for Johnson (having previously worked for T.Wall) had a very close relationship with the manager for T.Wall, who, in the run-up to the convention made some incredibly confusing and poor remarks that cast a shadow on the T.Wall campaign.

    Erick and RedState stood against this kind of political maneuvering in the past, and I think we can all agree that it casts a shadow on the Republican Party and will hurt us in the long run. I certainly don’t fault Erick for his endorsement, Johnson is now the most electable candidate and has a shot to give Feingold a run for his money. I am just disappointed by the process.

  • tapout

    I didn’t know I was answering a particular question. I was simply stating my own experience at the Convention.

    And regarding Senatorial loyalty—loyalty to whom?
    To the political parties who orchestrated their rise to power, or to the constitution and the people they are sworn to represent.

    We shouldn’t be trying to simply change D’s to R’s. We need to change the processes that have brought us the recent classes of Legislators. To me, this is about more than just getting Feingold out.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    The question is did the Westlake backers get involved to ensure they would have a loud voice at the convention?

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    Why didn’t they get involved and control counties?

  • http://www.libertylives.org madnorskie

    I understand what you are saying Neil, and I’m not necessarily a Westlake backer. It’s important for those of us concerned to get involved and clean things up. However, that does not take away the need to shine the light on perceived corruption or political shenanigans when we see it. What occurred at the convention can only hurt the party and that’s the reality that we are facing.

  • redtillimdead

    According to the only poll of the Republican party, Westlake’s strongest area of support is from self-identified liberal Republicans.
    Liberals: Johnson 25%. Westlake 38%
    Moderates: Johnson 38%, Westlake 16%
    CONSERVATIVES: Johnson: 55%, Westlake 7%
    Page 4: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_WI_701.pdf

  • redtillimdead

    Said he supports more drilling for energy independence, but NOT in the Great Lakes. If you trust what Russ Feingold says over the actual words of the candidate himself, I don’t know what kind of Republican you are. Feingold is also a huge hypocrite. He voted AGAINST the bill that banned drilling in the Great Lakes. Johnson supports that bill.

  • redtillimdead

    Johnson spoke at Tea Party rallies. He spent the months before announcing his candidacy reaching out to the delegates. He called, emailed, and met personally with them. He gave a great speech. Apparently they liked what they heard from him a lot more than they did from the major Democratic donor that supposedly led (T. Wall). Leinenkugel also understands something you don’t. Unity. He knew Johnson would be a stronger candidate than he was, and he knew Johnson was a more effective Conservative voice. So, he dropped out in the interest of what should be our common goal: Defeating Russ Feingold. I love how you say the vote for US Senate was pushed back a day as if it was on purpose. They can’t help it when balloting for the Lt. Gov race lasts way longer than expected b/c no candidate reached the threshold for endorsement. Apparently if so many people were willing to leave Wall’s campaign, they knew Wall was not the right kind of Republican for us. A “Republican” who donates thousands to Democrats is not the right kind for us. Apparently they saw that and knew Johnson was their kind of Republican.

  • Oz

    Are you saying that you are a Westlake guy?

    I don’t have a say either way, just wondering if that’s the underlying message.

  • E Pluribus Unum

    That was part 2 of the subtext. Part 1 is what I think of Johnson.

  • E Pluribus Unum

    That was part 2 of the subtext. Part 1 is what I think of Johnson.

  • tapout

    Heavens knows statistics are never inaccurate or misused. Hmmmm, so now what I’m to believe based on a PPP poll of 400 people is that Westlake is a lib, and Johnson is the one true conservative candidate. Is that what you’re now peddling?

    redtillimdead I hope you continue to not let the facts get in the way of what you present as the truth.

    Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain (or maybe more appropriately the party behind the curtain).

    I still believe in the electoral process–including the primaries. It’s not over ’til it’s over.

  • proudgop

    How can you take a US Senate candidate serious who only has 2,000 COH and only raised less then 17,000 for recent campaign monthly serious?

    http://www.wkbt.com/global/story.asp?s=12808378

  • dmartin

    I dont think westlake is a bad guy, but his fund raising is reflective of his public appeal, He apears uncomfortable in front of a crowd, Feingold would have a field day with him in the general. A few more planks on his platform wouldn’t hurt either, I applaud his service (West Point grad), and honor is a good thing, but an understanding of the issues is good too. His convention speach was all honor, no issues.

    I have had encouraging conversations with Johnson but have also seen him on stage answering questions and have gotten the impression of one lacking depth. Political novice? if so I hope he’s a quick study because it looks like it’s either him or feingold.

    I had Wall over to my house, (pre Johnson) and all who met him were uniformly impresssed and have expressed regret that he dropped out so soon. I still think he could articulate conservative policy better that either of the other two.

  • redtillimdead

    Is that there has to be some reason that the DeDe Scozzafava wing of the Wisconsin GOP hates Johnson, but loves Westlake.

  • redtillimdead

    I think he would make an excellent candidate for the state legislature or a local office and work his way up. I’m surprised on Wall. That is the exact opposite of everything else I’ve heard of him. Most people said that was his fatal flaw, was public speaking.

  • redtillimdead

    About more Conservative groups endorsing Ron. The Club for Growth endorsed him. http://www.clubforgrowth.org/endorsedcandidates/?id=744

  • Oz

    Maybe he can run for a house seat or Sec of State or something?

    That’s a bit more (at least here in Georgia) than a state legislature spot and might make an excellent stepping stone to another office later.

  • tapout

    Yep, Dave is just like Scozzafava. In fact they are one in the same. Go ahead and continue to spread misinformation. If voters don’t see through this type of garbage, then we deserve the result. Just look at Westlake’s website and even review previous articles here in Redstate and the truth will come out, despite bloggers like you attempting to create your own reality.

  • awillems9

    then an elitist? Why have you never had a conversation with Westlake like you did Johnson and Wall?

    Just saw Westlake earlier this week talking about plenty of platforms on unscripted questions and explaining complicated economic principles clearly and using vocabulary befitting a man of “high” office. Call him up and invite him over and put him to your questions. Then you won’t be able to tell me honestly that he is uncomfortable in a crowd (good quality to decide who to vote for) or in person.

  • redtillimdead

    His biggest group of supporters are like DeDe Scozzafava.

  • redtillimdead

    But IIRC, he lives in Tammy Baldwin’s district, a heavily Democratic one.

  • pompadour

    Erick, I have a ton of respect for you. You have been a solid voice for reason as we’ve continued to traverse a very dark and challenging time. I agree with you on so, so much.

    But on Ron Johnson you are just dead wrong…and so, incidentally, is Jim DeMint. I know a lot of Tea Party leaders here in Wisconsin who sent very unhappy notes to Senator DeMint yesterday about the SCF’s endorsement of Johnson.

    I can’t believe I’m saying this to you, of all people, but you’re just plain looking at the wrong markers, Erick. Moderates like Ron Johnson–and he is a moderate, not a conservative–are a dime a dozen and have been losing to Russ Feingold for close to 20 years. One point on a Rasmussen poll is not comforting to me. In fact, absolutely nothing about Ron Johnson is comforting to me…and I know quite a lot.

    There has been so much information posted right here on RedState to help you understand exactly what’s going on in this Senate race, Erick. So much information to help you know who the candidates in the Wisconsin Senate race really are. And yet it’s as though you never watched or read any of it. I find that incredibly sad. To be honest, I don’t understand.

    I really believed that you were above backing someone just because everyone told you he was the winning horse. I believed you were someone who put your weight behind candidates of character and principle. And yet, despite all available evidence and visible red flags, you bit–hook, line, and sinker.

    It’s just so, so sad and disappointing.

    I obviously won’t change your mind at this point. And I realize it’s pointless to scream and holler about your choice. You’ve come down where you’ve come down. But I hope one day, you will understand that on this one you made the wrong call.

    In politics lots of things can change in the blink of an eye. Including your opinion. I hope, if you do end up reevaluating your decision before Wisconsin’s primary, you’ll have the honor and courage to say so.

  • pompadour

    …but I am not on the Johnson bandwagon. I did not “get together” to back Ron Johnson as “our guy to beat Feingold.” Quite the opposite, in fact. I am working hard every day to change things–in my community, in my county, in my state, and ultimately in my nation. Frankly, I see Johnson as exactly what I’m fighting AGAINST. So, please careful with your sweeping comments about who Republican activists are backing.

    Johnson’s candidacy is, in fact, a top down thing. Anyone who thinks otherwise is simply fooling themselves. Believe me, I have a lot of the inside track on this one.

  • pompadour

    …is not the answer. I was there this year. I saw what was happening. Many chairs were pressuring their delegates into voting for particular candidates in particular races–not least in the Senate race. All this despite the fact that it was supposed to be SECRET BALLOT voting. No county chair should have had any business telling any delegate who to vote for. But they were definitely doing so.

    If someone walked up to you at your polling place and told you who you had to vote for, that would be labeled voter intimidation. But somehow the party thinks it’s acceptable behavior in the endorsement process. Not in my book it’s not.

    Perhaps you and I define success differently, Neil. My idea of success is demonstrating to people that there is a better way–not gaming the system more efficiently than all of the other bullies and cheats.

    It takes one person to start a sea change in the way we do things. I’m not na?ve. I know there will always be corruption to battle. But things have gone way too far.

    Dave didn’t play the game. He trusted the delegates to vote their conscience–which is exactly as it should be. And I think that would have worked in his favor had the balloting been held on Saturday as it should have been. Dave has a strong message. He is extremely articulate and approachable. He’s trustworthy. And he had lots of supporters at convention. Unfortunately, MANY of them were from outlying counties. They hadn’t planned on another night in an expensive hotel and left to go home. While Dave would not likely have won the endorsement regardless of how many delegates were present, I think we may well have seen a result of NO endorsement because of the split between supporters of various candidates. In any event, Dave has won a lot of respect for not being part of the corruption that was clearly a part of convention this year.

    Ultimately, Ron Johnson’s “endorsement” was decided by only about a third of the full complement of this year’s delegates. Would you call that a certain mandate, Neil? Because I sure as hell wouldn’t.

    Madnorskie is right. What happened at convention this year smelled. I was appalled by what I saw with the Senate endorsement process, in particular.

    Dave Westlake can at least say his hands are clean.