Democrat Convention: Here They Come Again

The Democrats are meeting, and they are naming their 2008 targets.

At their state convention Friday and Saturday, Democratic leaders identified some of the Republican legislators they hope to defeat in the 2008 election.

Rep. Jim Kreuser, D-Kenosha, the Assembly minority leader, said Democrats will target the Assembly seats of Republicans Karl Van Roy of Green Bay, Terry Moulton of Chippewa Falls, Brett Davis of Oregon, J.A. "Doc" Hines of Oxford and Jim Ott of Mequon, among others. Democrats are three seats shy of controlling the 99-member Assembly.

"We're going to fight tooth and nail to get those three seats," Kreuser said.

Democrats currently control the Senate, and Gov. Jim Doyle is a Democrat.

Kreuser added that 15 Assembly Republicans hold seats in districts carried by Doyle in the 2006 gubernatorial election, and that all of those seats are in the Democrats' sights.

"We're going to play hard in those seats," Kreuser said.

Senate Majority Leader Judy Robson, D-Beloit, said Democrats want to expand their 18-15 majority in that chamber.

Republican senators Alberta Darling of River Hills and Dan Kapanke of La Crosse are the top targets, she said.

Rep. Sheldon Wasserman, D-Milwaukee, has already said he is challenging Darling. Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, said convention-goers should urge Rep. Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, to challenge Kapanke. Shilling could not be reached for comment.

Democrats also identified Sen. Carol Roessler, R-Oshkosh, and Sen. Sheila Harsdorf, R-River Falls, as electoral targets.

It is, of course, too early to know how outside influences, including the presidential race, the economy and the War in Iraq, will affect Wisconsin legislative elections. But we cannot control those events. Republicans can control how we handle the races in Wisconsin.

Republicans better be smarter than they have been in the past. Last year, Republicans spent too much effort trying not to lose. In almost all walks of life, that is a loser's strategy. Instead, Republicans need to be on the offensive (Democrats will be).

I don't want to get any messages saying, "I am holding my position." We are not holding a Goddamned thing. Let the Germans do that! We are advancing constantly and we are not interested in holding onto anything...

There are plenty of vulnerable Democrat seats. For example, Rep. Sheldon Wasserman (D-Milwaukee) is abandoning his seat to take on Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills).

One of the first big tests of Reince Priebus' reign as GOP chair will be how he handles that seat. If Priebus truly is the leader we all hope, there should be an announced candidate this summer, that candidate should be a fiscal conservative (remember, Wasserman is hardly a wild fiscal liberal), and the party should ensure that candidate has at least $100,000 in his or her campaign account this year. The party should not take a hands-off approach until after the primary and then jump in to help the candidate. That is too little, too late.

Second, Republicans need to show that they have the courage of their convictions. I firmly believe that is why they lost so many seats last time. This budget will show whether they have any stones. Voters will notice.

In future posts, I intend to analyze the individual races targeted by the Democrats and some of the races Republicans should target.