Republicans mix it up in racefor 8th CD seat; blogger referees

The Republican primary for the 8th District House seat being vacated by Mark Green next year has already promoted a lot of the infighting that happens in these family fights, as Folkbum noted recently.

A minor flap over who was and was not invited to a Vilas County event sparked all sorts of charges against Assembly Speaker John Gard by a supporter of his opponent, State Rep. Terri McCormick. (The Assembly GOP caucus must be a fun place these days.)

Owen at Boots and Sabers has investigated the charges and has written a long, detailed analysis. It may be more than you want to know, but it's interesting.

He's a little too easy on Gard, especially on the issue of taking $10,000 from the National Beer Distributors while the state budget was pending. The budget included provisions to allow the distributors to sell directly to retailers, cutting out the wholesale distributors. Owen writes:

The basic facts are true. John Gard did receive the campaign contributions the in May during the heat of the budget debate. And he did support the legislation that was supported by the contributors. The question is, did John Gard solicit the campaign contributions in exchange for his support of the legislation? If he did, then he would have committed a felony...

For better or worse, people and groups give money to politicians who support the same things. One may not like that this is what happens, but that’s the way it is. I could go through almost any politician’s campaign finance reports and make the same charge.

He mentions contributions to Gov. Doyle from WEAC and Native American tribes during the last campaign as examples. (Of course, Doyle was not the governor at the time and had no pending legislation in front of him, but it is true that he, like Gard, raised money during the budget process.)

B&S's conclusion. Gard plays rough; McCormick needs to toughen up. This ain't beanbag. Owen's words:

Conclusion:

I do think that John Gard takes into account political considerations when making most, if not all, decisions. I do not think that he has acted illegally or unethically in doing so. He plays a rougher game of politics than Terri McCormick and some others would like, but he plays it by the rules.

This is the big leagues. Gard and McCormick want to go to Washington to represent the 8th Congressional District. Congress is a rough place and McCormick needs to toughen up if she expects to properly advocate for the 8th. If she can’t play the game in a friendly crowd, she will have a hard time taking on the Dems in the House.

I believe that the information in [the column that started the dispute] was fed to him by someone close to the McCormick campaign and that the column is a proxy attack on Gard. I think that is distasteful. If the McCormick campaign wants to make accusations of this nature, then it should make them itself.

Meanwhile, three Democrats -- Nancy Nusbaum, Jamie Wall and Steve Kagen -- are competing for the nomination, and so far managing not to talk disparagingly about one another.

The 8th is a likely Republican district but it's not guaranteed. A bloody Republican primary could help elect a Dem. Here's hoping Terri McCormick toughens up.