Democrats’ Last Gasp

Governor Jim Doyle represents his Party’s last best hope to bring Wisconsin Democrats back from the brink of near extinction.

Oh sure, my friends across the aisle, errrr, across the bar, point to Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold as 2 other statewide Democrats that give them hope for future election success. Yet, I like to think of Senator Kohl has a benevolent little man who placed his priorities in keeping Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson with the Bucks over supporting his ballot–sharing gubernatorial candidate, Democrat state Senator Chuck Chvala. The former evil measures less than the latter.

In 18 years, Kohl has not become a national figure. His background as a mostly laissez-faire, free-market, business-minded Democrat never fit neatly with the hierarchy of his Party.

If Kohl wanted to leave a legacy for his Party, then he should step-down later this year; retire and endorse his successor. Republicans would trip over themselves announcing their campaigns, while the Democrat could use Kohl’s endorsement as currency and avoid a nasty primary. With Kohl, the Democrat field would clear of clutter. The DC associations could operate and maneuver at will, with Kohl as their cover.

Feingold’s reelection last year marked the end of the Janesville/Middleton/Wisconsin Russ, and the beginning of Coast-to-Coast Russ.

Russ is gone. Winning a third term cemented his national persona. His divorce combined with his recent acceptance of his full US Senate salary is a sure sign he’s not coming back. Either he gets an office in the West Wing or the OEOB, or he cashes-in his celebrity and Harvard law degree to serve as a rainmaker for a law firm with a chic address.

That leaves the Democrats’ with fraternity legacy pledge, Jim Doyle.

His family essentially founded the Wisconsin Democrat Party. Could the Party abandon a legacy?

Doyle is wrestling with this position he finds himself in. On one hand, he is exploiting the budget process to energize his leftist Democrat base by supporting gay partner benefits at the UW and advocating embryonic stem cell harvesting.

On the other hand, he runs to the middle by signing single sales factor in an attempt to co-opt the state’s largest business group, WMC.

Doyle could be the political love child of a Kohl-Feingold union.

The Democrat Party convention this past weekend was left searching for the flavor of Democrat their governor intends to campaign as – Feingold Fizzy or Kohl Flat.