Dissident lefties look for spoiler to challenge Doyle as independent

So the murmurs and mutters about a left-wing challenge to Gov. Jim Doyle finally are said aloud. State Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, says some mysterious, unidentified people have approached him about running against Doyle.

Black won't say who they are, except that they are "people who are reformers, who are unhappy with Jim Doyle's record on a number of issues, and who believe that we've lost our way as a state." [ Ed Garvey, Mike McCabe, the People's Legislature, and who else?]

And what better place to plant the story than the Capital Times, a frequent critic of Doyle on the left?

Interestingly, Black says he is being encouraged to run as an independent, not as a Democrat, even though he has long-established Democratic credentials.

What does that say? It says the campaign would not be about actually trying to win the governorship and change the direction Wisconsin is going. Spencer Black is no Jesse Ventura, although they have the same hairdo. (That's a joke, Spencer.)

It means the disgruntled Democrats (or whatever they are) will not make an effort to turn the Democratic Party of Wisconsin leftward, because the way to do that would be to challenge Doyle in the primary.

It means that the Deep Throat lefties are looking for a candidate to be a spoiler -- a Ralph Nader who might siphon off enough votes to cost Doyle the election.

If they don't like the direction we're headed now, wait until they get to know Gov. Mark Green or Gov. Scott Walker. Four years of one of them, with a Republican legislature, and you won't recognize this state.

David Callender's story does point out that, "Doyle has used his veto pen to block Republican efforts to limit abortion rights and access to contraceptives, impose new restrictions on voting, and bar civil unions for gays and lesbians." (Not to mention concealed carry, the property tax freeze, and a dozen others.)

Spencer Black is a reasonable, decent person who is in politics for all the right reasons -- not for personal gain or fame, but to move a political agenda that improves the quality of people's lives in Wisconsin.

He says he hasn't even started to assess whether to run for governor. When he does, he is likely to come to the conclusion that helping to elect a conservative Republican as governor in 2006 will not make this a better place to live, and will do real damage to many of the people Black got into politics to help. And the Capital Times will probably swallow hard and agree that the thing to do is to try to move Doyle to the left, not elect a Republican. Capital Times story.

My earlier take: Disgruntled Dems should recognize Doyle is their last, best and only defense.

UPDATE: "Sorting out the governor's race: Spencer Black vs. Mike Ellis?" Link.