Reynolds: A first-class wingnut,with emphasis on the 'nut'

OK, I will admit that I sometimes throw the term "wingnut" around a little loosely. It's an easy way to characterize conservatives. Although I try to use it only to describe those on the lunatic fringe of the right wing (the Earth Is Flat Society), I probably use it more than is appropriate.

After all, just because they're right wingers doesn't mean they're nuts. Not necessarily, anyway.

Then there is State Sen. Tom Reynolds, a nut by any definition.

I've written about him a few times, like his latest idea to let the voters vote on the governors' budget vetoes, or raising the speed limit to save people money on speeding tickets. I kid you not.

But none of my attempts have fully captured the real Loony Tunes outlook of State Sen. Reynolds the way that a Sunday Spivak and Bice column did. The online headline is an understated "Reynolds exhibits signs of quirkiness," but in print the page one head is "Reynolds scares his own party," and the jump headline is, "Reynolds' modus operandi makes GOP nervous it will lose a safe seat."

At great length, the Spice Boys detail one Reynolds brain fart after another, obviously relying pretty heavily on ex-staffers, who either bailed out or were fired by Reynolds because they weren't "loyal" enough -- even after surviving job interviews in which he asked them about their virginity.

Reynolds has been on the Democratic target list for 2006 for some time, even though it is a Republican district on paper. The problem is that Reynolds has not had enough exposure for voters in the district to really get to know how loony he is.

When Reynolds ran repeatedly for Congress, Rep. Jerry Kleczka easily defeated him and managed to convey to the voters that Reynolds was way out on the fringe -- a wingnut, if you will.

That's what needs to happen next year, when Reynolds runs for reelection.

There is plenty of ammunition and Democrats are gearing up. One candidate, Wauwatosa Ald. Jim Sullivan, has already been working for months, and another, Rep. Tony Staskunas, is thinking about running. One theory is that Staskunas, who is anti-abortion, would neutralize that crowd, but the fact is most of the so-called "single issue" people will vote Republican anyway.

Whoever ends up as the Democratic nominee will have a real shot at the seat. The more voters find out about the guy they elected in 2002, the less likely they will be to do it again.

Interestingly, Republican radio talker Mark Belling's most recent newspaper column warns GOP lawmakers that they need to move farther right, and offers Reynolds' primary victory as an example -- a good example. Earlier post.