Obey's Origins

Back in 1988, I left Jack Kemp and Washington, DC to tackle the challenge of defeating Rep. Dave Obey. To us conservatives, beating Obey represented the ultimate – an accomplishment that would surely catapult a career for both the winning Republican and the manager who orchestrated the effort.

16 years later, Republicans have given-up. Last November, Obey was reelected without opposition. And today, we are left with the amusement of shooting spitballs at the new portrait of Wisconsin’s longest serving member of Congress.

Egad, how did liberal Dave Obey win 18 elections? His long tenure was launched with his first two campaigns against well-known Republicans. First-up was a special election victory over a respected Cronkite-esque former TV news anchor. Next, Congressman Alvin O’Konski lost when Wisconsin lost a House seat and redistricting pitted the two incumbents against each other; a rare occurrence that Tom Barrett and Jerry Kleczka avoided 30 years later when Barrett vacated to run for governor. Obey solidified his seat in Congress in the 1970s when the Nixon impeachment discouraged Republican challengers.

Republicans began to rebound in the 1980s – first with Reagan’s landslide in 1980 and then with Tommy Thompson in 1986. By this time, Obey had either built-up a wealth of political favors through constituent service, or he simply threatened the businesses who might financially support a pro-business Republican challenger.

It was also during the 1980s that 1970s campaign finance reforms brought an enormous proliferation of PACs. Sound familiar? Incumbent Obey exploited PAC money to bully and discourage opponents. His huge war chest was never built on small local contributors.

For the next 10 years, Obey faced attacks for his out-dated brand of liberalism. Yet, 7th District ticket-splitters felt no contradiction in voting for Obey and Reagan in 1984 and Obey and Thompson in 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998.

Realistically, only an incumbent could dedicate the travel time needed to reach the corners of the district. Over 200 miles separates southern Portage County from northern Douglas County. The 1980s however, were not boom times for northern Wisconsin. None of the billions of federal dollars being spent on national defense came to Wisconsin. Also, US trade embargoes limited agriculture and timber exports.

What Republican candidates failed to recognize is most voters Up North do not view government as the bogeyman. Many voters work for local municipalities or are dependent on government involvement in their lives. The Seventh has a higher percentage of old people than anywhere else in Wisconsin. Social Security, veteran benefits, assisted living facilities, hospital care, hospice care, and public transportation are all issues that impact an older age demographic.

Tommy Thompson recognized the needs of Up North and launched new government spending to influence key constituent groups. Tommy initiated a spending boom on tourism – benefiting the vast northern Wisconsin hospitality industry. Tommy also increased state highway construction, encouraging tourists to drive further Up North for recreation. County road crews, local excavators, concrete providers, surveyors, developers and the trucking industry all benefited from Thompson’s “FDR-like” approach to government.

Employment opportunities Up North suffered from a lack of diversity and thus were dependent on county, state, and federal spending; which is why Tommy’s welfare reform programs were not introduced Up North, but rather in the industrial south, where both ex-welfare recipient and ex-welfare processor could find bountiful employment opportunities.

Many argue had the Republican grassroots and pro-business organizations been more cohesive, or more active, that Obey might not have lasted this long. Others might argue that Obey’s recent call for Universal Health Care should serve as a siren call for a future anti-Obey crusade;

If the Republicans want me to leave, my advice is pass universal health care, and I will leave tomorrow as a present to them.

Writing as someone who knows the pain of losing to Dave Obey, he has no need to schmooze the business community. He understands perfectly that the betting money will never unite against someone who owns so much clout in Washington. He’ll leave boots first.