Boys, boys! Play nice!

Mark Green's not even officially in the gov's race yet and already the Repubs have started to snipe at each other.

It is more than 16 months to the '06 primary, but Green and Scott Walker can't wait to go after each other.

The 3-way Dem primary in '02 (Jim Doyle, Kathleen Falk and Tom Barrett) was notable for its civility. It was not without tension, but it never took on the nasty tone that family fights sometimes do.

Then there are Walker and Green.

Walker rushes a poll into the media just days before Green is going to announce his candidacy, showing Walker with a 36-25 lead among GOP primary voters. The release goes out of its way to say that Green has essentially been running for two years, has a staff (Walker doesn't), et cetera et cetera. In other words, a poke in the eye.

Green's campaign manager pokes right back,saying Walker's wasting money on polling now,and has "lost focus on what matters most to voters in Wisconsin. I’ll give them a hint – it’s not a poll 18 months before an election... Polls won’t be beat Jim Doyle – organization and resources will. That’s where our focus has been, and it’s why Green has $1.3 million in the bank and Walker has only $100,000."

(Actually, the real reason Green has $1.3-million in the bank is that he raised it for his Congressional campaign, including $800,000 in special interest money from groups who which could not legally contribute to the governor's' race. Green used a loophole in state law to convert it to his governor's campaign fund.)

So, go to it, boys. Mix it up. Score some body blows, and bloody each other up.

The Democrats will hold your coats.