Naming 'best' Republicans a tough task, but here goes

"Who are the best Republicans?" I naively asked in a July 20 post, thinking I would get you do my job for me.

It all started with Dennis York, a conservative blogger who dwells in the shadows but writes some interesting stuff. I have no idea who he really is, however, and he seems to like it that way. Anyway, he did his list of best Dems a couple of weeks ago, and suggested I might try my hand at a similar project.

Little did I know what I was getting into. About two dozen people offered comments and suggestions, although very few paid any attention to my requests that they be e-mailed rather than posted, and include some rationale for the choices. Be that as it may, it was an interesting mix, and 30 different people were nominated. (One problem with the anonymous comments, of course, is that you don't know if they are from Rs or Ds, although some were obvious. I gave more weight to people willing to identify themselves and offer more than a list of names. And the nominations for Ziegelbauer and Plale were rejected.)

I discovered, in this process, that my personal knowledge of individual legislators is very limited. When you don't spend your days under the Dome (the center of the universe) and live 75 miles away, it is hard to make a judgment. Even those offering ideas were uncertain -- "if X is still in the legislature, he's be a good choice." (If you don't know whether he's still in the legislature, he must not be doing much.)

I certainly heard a variety of opinions.

"No Republican from the Assembly should be on the list because of their refusal to negotiate or think for themselves unless Scooter and Gard give the OK," one person wrote. Another: "No members of the Assembly GOP caucus qualify as the place is still in the grip of Jensen's terror. Little DeLay still rules the roost in the House." And there were few Assembly members nominated, perhaps for that reason.

State Rep. Dean Kaufert and State Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, co-chairs of Joint Finance, both were nominated. But there was also this comment from a Dem: "Not Kaufert or Fitzgerald. Anyone who led JFC should be excluded for sticking it to public schools and then lying about what they did." (I did borrow one technique from Joint Finance. I did all of my deliberation and decision-making in secret.)

And so it goes.

These were York's criteria, and I saw no reason to change them:

Honesty – Are these people genuine in what they believe, or overtly political? Do they say one thing and do another? Do they have ulterior motives behind their actions?

Integrity – How strong is their rhetoric? Do they criticize the other side constructively, or are they just partisan bomb throwers? Is there any moderation in their tone (not necessarily their positions) or do they merely criticize actions by Republicans as a knee-jerk reaction?

Reasonableness – Does this person strike you as someone that you could work with on issues and would give you a fair hearing? Even if you disagree, would he/she make an effort to understand your side?

So, in no particular order, here are the five who made the cut. I realize that my saying anything good about them may paint targets on their chests, when the next Republican Cultural Revolution sweeps through.

The envelope, please:

State Rep. Curt Gielow (R-Mequon). He's open to new thinking and creative ideas, knows how to work effectively with Democrats in a spirit of bipartisanship (as shown in his unique partnership with State Rep. Jon Richards in developing the Wisconsin Health Plan), and has the respect of colleagues from both sides of the aisle. Yet he maintains his credentials as a conservative Republican, and has the confidence of leadership in the Assembly.

State Sen. Mike Ellis (R-Neenah). I know, I know, Republicans think he's a Democrat or at least a RINO, but it wasn't too long ago he was their floor leader, so they must have seen some redeeming quality in him. He is someone who is more interested in the big picture and getting things done that engaging in partisan warfare or worrying about who gets the credit. So what on earth is he doing in the legislature?

Rep. Tom Petri, the one member of the state's Republican delegation in the House of Representatives who will actually listen to an argument, and occasionally (but not often enough) break the 4-4 deadlock and be persuaded to vote with the Democrats on the merits. The other three Repubs -- Green, Sensenbrenner, and Ryan -- march in lockstep with Bush, Hastert and DeLay. There's a reason Petri was the GOP rep in the Gaylord Nelson memorial service. He's a class act with a sense of humor. Now if he would only stand up to the highway lobby on the Transportation Committee. . .

State Sen. Luther Olsen (R-Berlin), who moved up from the Assembly and continues to have decent relationships with Democrats in both houses. That in itself is a rarity in Madison in 2005.

State Rep. Terry Musser (R-Black River Falls). An Assembly Republican with that rare quality, a willingness to listen to the other side, even if he isn't persuaded, and to be able to disagree on an issue without being disagreeable.

Honorary Pick: Supreme Court Justice David Prosser. Yes, he's a justice now and that's a non-partisan office, so he's technically not a Republican. Like Bill Bablitch quit being a Democrat when he went from the State Senate to the court, right? In his days as minority leader and as Speaker of the Assembly, Prosser was someone who met all of the criteria as a decent human being you could talk to, work with, and trust.

Others who might have made the list, except that I limited it to current elected officials: There were fond memories of former State Rep. Betty Jo Nelsen, a class act conservative who truly favored limited government, and not the intrusionist, Luddite version of today's stormtroopers. Honest, principled, hard-working and, most of all, a citizen legislator. Others mentioned former State Rep. and Congressman Steve Gunderson, who these days would probably be targeted as a RINO, and former State Sen. Peggy Rosenzweig, now a UW Regent, who already lost her seat to one of the Neanderthal caucus, and ex-Congressman Scott Klug.

Honorable mention: (Trying to make this list big enough so the neocons can't target them all.) State Rep. David Ward, State Sens. Dale Schultz and Rob Cowles, and State Treasurer Jack Voigt.