Speed of light....

I'm having trouble keeping up with everything these days. I don't know why but it appears that events (and time to deal with them) are whizzing by at the proverbial speed of light.

August 1st seems to be the date that everything breaks out of the starting blocks for the fall election but before I get to that point, I have a dozen or so nasty little local issues to deal with, and each one of those issues requires that I pay attention to details and nuances that will, in the end, make the difference between success or failure of my endeavors.

The same will hold true about how we will organize ourselves for the upcoming elections. We could, quite possibly, take a lesson from FAIR on how to organize our efforts. They've done a magnificent job so far and I suspect we will see success for them at the polls. Otherwise, with the lack of a Presidential campaign in progress, there is little to motivate the public to get out to work in a campaign, much less get them motivated to vote. I am suspecting that the individual candidates will have their campaign organizations working independently of our efforts and out role will be to simply provide a base, a platform, for those candidates to work off of.

However, I'm starting to get concerned about Governor Doyle's campaign. The Governor hasn't been one of my favorite Democrats, nor has he, I believe, been a particularly good politician, but he has been the last "firewall" against the crazieness the Republican-controlled houses of the legislature have been exhibiting for the past four years.

I don't think I would be as concerned about the possibility of losing the Governorship if there was even a slight glimmer of hope that the Democrats could take back one, if not both, of the houses of the legislature but the truth of the numbers is that a Democratic majority in either house is a mathematical impossibility. Therefore, for the next two, and possibly four, years, Governor Doyle is our last, best hope against Republican insanity. And if the unthinkable happens and Mark Green becomes Governor, don't expect him to stem the tide of Zein-like lunacy in the legislature.. he won't stop the crazies because he's one of the crazies!

It's hard to say what will actually happen in the various campaigns this year but I do know something for certain: the ELECTORATE IS IN A SURLEY, SURLEY MOOD. The calls that I'm getting from the public reflect this on the local level. The public seems to be fed up with politicians in general; they're tired of being spun; their tired of being frightened by "boogeymen" at every turn; they're tired of being treated like "mushrooms" (you know, kept in the dark and being fed BS). They're looking for somebody to take it out on. The trick for our candidates, I think, is to not give the public an excuse to take it out on them. Throw out the textbook! Throw out the hackneyed phrases! Throw out the "cutesy" campaign slogans. Tell the truth and tell it boldly. Tell the truth loudly and often. Do it today....because tomorrow is coming at you at the speed of light.

e