Lautenschlager losing key staffersas her campaign continues to struggle

UPDATE: NICHOLS WEIGHS IN. John Nichols of the Capital Times calls on Dems to unite behind Lautenschlager this weekend. She's done a good job, he says, and has always been very popular with Democrats. Kathleen Falk should either get in or get out of the race, Nichols says. He doesn't mention whether he thinks Lautenschlager can win next year, which is the main reason many Dems think she should step aside. Nichols and others say the issue is her independence. Actually, it is her electability and what it will do to the Democratic party and progressive politics if we lose that important office. Nichols column.

UPDATE: LAUTENSCHLAGER SPIN CONTROL FALLS SHORT. Friday Xoff post
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Beleaguered Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, beset by problems, down in the polls, and short of cash, has another woe to add to her list -- the planned departure of two key staff members.

Lautenschlager continues to insist that she will run again and win re-election next year, all indications to the contrary. But she is about to lose both her campaign manager and her spokesman in the AG's office, and neither will be easy to replace.

In Lautenschlager's world view, polls don't matter, the money will come later, and she will be rehabilitated with the voters after personally prosecuting the high profile case against Chai Vang, charged with killing six hunters.

Lautenschlager's problems are both personal and political. A highly-publicized drunk driving arrest, complete with video, was very damaging. The way she handled it compounded the problem. And a rash of stories questioning her use of a state car added to the misery.

Those problems all pale in comparison with her diagnosis of breast cancer, followed by surgery and chemotherapy. That kind of challenge puts politics into perspective, and she was determined to do her job, illness, bald head, and all. That gutsy performance undoubtedly helped her, but did not erase the very real political problems she faces.

WisPolitics reported on an April poll, done by a number of Democratic groups, in which respondents gave her only a 23 per cent positive rating against 34 negative. (With only 5% "very positive" and 18% "very negative.")

That is starting in a pretty deep hole, although Campaign Manager Michael Murphy gave it his best spin: "As we all know, the only poll that really matters is the poll on Election Day. Peg is working towards 2006 and she is going to raise the money she needs to win."

Her fundraising up until then had been anemic, although she was predicting people would have a more positive view when they see her next report in July, covering the last six months. But there is little evidence she has raised any substantial money, and the potential entry of Kathleen Falk into the race has probably made many Democrats sit on their wallets until things become clear.

In January, Lautenschlager hired Scot Ross, a Wisconsin political veteran who had been research director last year for America Coming Together (ACT), as her communications director in the Justice Dept., to shore up that office and try to turn the corner on media coverage.

Ross is leaving, but being patient while a search for his replacement continues. He's wanted for some time to establish a non-profit research organization to help move the progressive agenda in Wisconsin, and presumably is going to do something along those lines.

Murphy, whom Lautenschlager hired this spring as campaign manager, also is looking to leave soon for another political job, as yet unspecified. Murphy has had the unenviable job of overseeing Lautenschlager's fundraising and defending her prospects.

No one is irreplaceable, of course. And nothing is insurmountable. (How about a chorus of "Climb Every Mountain"?)

But Lautenschlager faces a very steep climb. She will probably get a positive reception at the Democratic state convention in Oshkosh this weekend. But she has been in politics long enough and has enough savvy to recognize that the folks in Oshkosh are not the general electorate. Her campaign may peak in Oshkosh.

For her own sake and the sake of Wisconsin's progressives, she should take a hard, realistic look at whether she can win this race. There is no sign she has done that to date.