Tim Michels Should Use it or Lose it

I confess, I was one of the three people who voted for Marcus Gumz for U.S. Senate in the WisPolitics straw poll this weekend. I could see that my choice surprised the gentlemen conducting the poll, so I want them to know that I was not mocking the poll, but rather casting a protest vote against a couple of pols.

My impression is that neither Tommy Thompson nor Tim Michels ever intended to enter the race for U.S. Senate, and while I don't think either of them should, I wasn’t about to stroke their egos with my vote.

I believe Tommy could knock off Herb Kohl if it were really his ambition to be a U.S. Senator, but because it is not, the cost of the effort would not be worth it for him, his family, or the party.

Tim Michels on the other hand would be running a fools errand if he challenged Kohl this year.

Two years ago, Michels rose up out of nowhere and built an impressive statewide organization that included several thousand impassioned volunteers and small dollar donors. He also proved to be a quick study, greatly improving his public speaking and debate skills.

The Michels campaign is often criticized for "going dark" or not running television ads the week after the primary election. Michels, who had already poured more than a million dollars into his campaign, wanted others to pitch in.

Some people say he shouldn't have run if he wasn't willing to spend whatever it took to beat Russ Feingold. In all fairness to Michels, Feingold could not be beat in 2004, no matter how much money Michels were willing to spend. The proof of that is in the number of people who split their ticket and voted for Bush and Feingold.

I am not suggesting that Herb Kohl enjoys the same kind of support as Feingold, but he remains popular and he has unlimited resources at his disposal. Michels can't outspend Kohl, and waking up Kohl's checkbook will do far more to help Democrats than Republicans.

Having said all that, Tim Michels should realize that his fifteen minutes of fame are just about up, and he’d better use it or lose it. Michels needs to stop playing cat and mouse with the Republican Party just to keep his name in the press. If he wants a future in Republican politics, Michels should get off the sidelines and use his popularity to help Mark Green, Paul Bucher or any number of vulnerable legislative candidates throughout the state.

The last guy who tried to knock off Feingold has done more than his share to help Wisconsin Republicans. Former Congressman Mark Neumann has campaigned, hosted fundraisers and signed letters of support for hundreds of Wisconsin Republican candidates since his loss to Feingold in 1998. He even appeared at Saturday's convention to give a nominating speech for Attorney General Candidate Paul Bucher.

If Michels isn’t going to run in 2006, he should help other Republican candidates win; otherwise he’s nothing more than yesterday's news.