February 20, 2024

"All Washington does is divide us and talk about who’s to blame.... That’s not the country I know and love. I believe we need to come together and find common sense solutions to restore America."

Says Eric Hovde, quoted in "Eric Hovde launches Wisconsin Senate bid, handing GOP a boost" (The Hill).

Hovde seeks the Republican nomination for the Senate seat held by Democrat Tammy Baldwin.

54 comments:

Mr Wibble said...

He's going to lose. Any Republican who talks about "coming together" and "common sense solutions" has already lost, because the base understands that it means selling them out on issues like immigration and guns, and it won't win over white suburbanites like he hopes.

Gusty Winds said...

What has Tammy Baldwin actually accomplished for Wisconsin or the USA besides being a lesbian?

BarrySanders20 said...

Dont know much about Hovde. I suppose he starts with about 40% support.

Tammy Baldwin is useless. Utterly ineffective other than being a lefty and voting D, which she is highly effective at doing. That's plenty good for 48% of the electorate.

Hovde needs to sweep most of the rest of the 12% who are swayable. If it's high turnout, he loses. Low turnout, he's got a chance.

gilbar said...

serious question, from an ignorant Iowan..
What has Tammy Baldwin ever done? Looks like she's been a politician since she was 24?
Has she Ever done anything outside of politics? (Other than being a lesbian?)
Has she Ever done anything INSIDE of politics? (Other than being a lesbian?)

first i thought she rich and owned some bike company, but i guess that was some other Wisconsin woman.
What HAS Tammy ever done? She MUST be famous for SOMETHING?

Wilbur said...

The Left has fully demonstrated they are not interested in common sense solutions.

If that's what you've chosen as your message, I'm not interested.

Wilbur said...

There are no common sense solutions.

There is only winning and losing.

rehajm said...

...cue the lawfare...

Jupiter said...

Do you suppose he actually means that? The Democratic Party has been taken over, in whole or in part, by people who hate America, want to destroy it, and are well along with a program to do just that. There is no conceivable way that you can "come together" with those vermin and "restore America". I suspect that he feels it is necessary to make this idiotic claim if he wants to get elected, since the potentially uncommitted electorate consists largely of highly intelligent, extremely stupid, college-educated white women. Everyone else has long since figured out that "democracy", as played by Democrats, is a zero-sum game.

Oso Negro said...

“Come together”. “Common sense solutions”. What’s a common sense solution to genital mutilation of children too young to vote? How about the border? How about the debt? Nice marketing-tested phrases, better wait to see the plan.

Jupiter said...

"What has Tammy Baldwin actually accomplished for Wisconsin or the USA besides being a lesbian?"

Well, I'd say that Tammy Baldwin's failure to reproduce is a net plus, and I think we need to start thinking in those terms. People who believe that their reproduction is not a worthwhile goal are almost certainly correct.

Rocco said...

gilbar said...
“serious question, from an ignorant Iowan… What HAS Tammy ever done? She MUST be famous for SOMETHING?”

Maybe she’s famous for being famous. Basically a political Kim Kardashian.

Dave Begley said...

For my entire life, pols have promised to bring us together. In fact, Nixon used that.

Yancey Ward said...

Wow, that was an original opening statement./sarc

Yancey Ward said...

And, of course, we are going to hear from the media, "You know who else claimed to want to bring the electorate together- Hitler!!!"

Yancey Ward said...

Or it will be "Hovde falsely claimed he wants to bring people together." Which will, at least, have the benefit of probably being true.

Wilbur above is right- there is only winning and losing. The rest is chatter.

mccullough said...

Elections have limited themes.

If this dude thinks Baldwin is divisive then Come Together is a suitable theme.

Tina Trent said...

Oso Negro: this is just a sound byte. You can look up his platform on crime, immigration, the economy, and healthcare. He sounds like a good candidate so far.

Mason G said...

Conservative: "Leave me alone."
Progressive: "No."

These people cannot be "brought together".

MadisonMan said...

I think it's a mistake to expect your Legislator to do something. A better question is: What has the Legislator prevented from happening?
It's not a long list.
I am on record as being anti-Incumbent. That will not change in this race.

Holy Moly! said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mr. T. said...

Ummm....

Does this guy know that Dane County is in Wisconsin...???

Nothing of any sense (common or otherwise) has come out of there in more than half a century.

Paul Zrimsek said...

One way to know when you're looking at someone who actually has a shot at restoring America is: he doesn't start by assuming more agreement than actually exists.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

I am tired of Republicans promising to "reach across the aisle"

Please - don't. The democrats are poison.

MadTownGuy said...

I give Sen. Tammy props for intervening with the VA to get them to approve a much-needed neck surgery for a friend when we lived in MadTown, but her failure to fix the greater problems with healthcare at the VA -to which she was assigned - is disappointing.

We used to listen to the EMS/Fire feed when we lived in WV, and it was commonplace for a blanket broadcast to all EMS units informing them that the VA Hospital was full and any patients had to go to the other facility in town, or across state lines to Virginia or Maryland. We lived in the Eastern Panhandle so it wasn't all that far to those places, but in a dire emergency, health was at risk.

Jim at said...

Any Republican who talks about "coming together" and "common sense solutions" has already lost

Yep. I don't want to 'come together' with people who hate my guts and want to destroy my way of life.

In fact, quite the opposite.

Holy Moly! said...

So, Eric Hovde is running against Trump and MAGA?

Jupiter said...

"Maybe she’s famous for being famous. Basically a political Kim Kardashian."

I did an image search on "Kim Kardashian". And I did an image search on "Tammy Baldwin". I do not think that they are both famous for the same reason.

Oso Negro said...

Blogger Tina Trent said...
Oso Negro: this is just a sound byte. You can look up his platform on crime, immigration, the economy, and healthcare. He sounds like a good candidate so far.


Tina, I'm confused. Is Tammy a guy?

Narayanan said...

if Tammy is lesbian Howde can believe he need to come together and find common sense positions to restore hetero sex

BG said...

All I remember is that one of the VA (homes?) in Wisconsin was having problems and whoever was in charge kept contacting Tammy's office, which didn't even bother to respond. Finally someone decided to contact Ron Johnson's office. When someone in that office finally decided to let Ron know, he got the ball rolling for whatever problem(s) they were having.

Otherwise I think Baldwin is just known for voting along with the rest of the Democrats and doing PR things.

I wanted Hovde to win the last time he ran for Senator, but the bigwigs decided they wanted Tommy Thompson instead. Look how that turned out.

Howard said...

Must stay divided, the algorithms command so

veni vidi vici said...

It's the message that gets a lot of politicians elected, and is just as soon forgotten by the candidates once they take their oaths of office.

Quite a perfect abracadabra, when you think about it!

StoughtonSconnie said...

Hovde may well be a nice guy, and can self-fund, but he is a worn out candidate. He’s a political gadfly, has run and lost several times in WI CD02. Granted the last GOPer to win that was Scott Klug. But Hovde is the type of candidate who is running to run. Of course this is the do-nothing WI Senate seat. Baldwin dutifully votes the party line, but has no signature issue, just like Kohl before her. Will do nothing for 5 years, then trot out the Packers, Badgers and Cheese commercials every election year and win.

Narayanan said...

In the House of Commons taking a vote = doing a division
DIVISION Division is another word for a vote in UK Parliament. Members divide into one
of two lobbies on either side of each Chamber to show they are voting for or
against issues.

?is Howde is going for Unanimous?

Mikey NTH said...

I am not sure I want what a politician calls "common sense solutions". I think I prefer those hammered out through clear headed horse trading.

Jerry said...

Well, slight problem is that there's much more political advantage to stoking division instead of unity. Look at how our country changed from a 'melting pot' model of assimilation to 'every group needs to stay separate and maintain it's individual flavor' type of thinking.

We went from a 'melting pot' to a 'salad bowl' with Americanism drizzle on the side.

In the long run, that's not going to suffice.

The Godfather said...

Gosh I'm tired of hearing "Republicans" or "conservatives" whining that every effort by a "Republican" or "conservative" political candidate to appeal to uncommitted voters is a sell-out. At most, people who agree with all your positions are 40% of the electorate. Do you really want to cede all the elections to your opponents (I mean the Dems, who are supported by the opposite 40%, but believe me they'll take every vote you disdain, and will have a majority, thank you very much!).

gilbar said...

Jupiter said...
Well, I'd say that Tammy Baldwin's failure to reproduce is a net plus..,
People who believe that their reproduction is not a worthwhile goal are almost certainly correct.

The Future Belongs To Those Who Show Up

Holy Moly! said...

It's really gross the number of people commenting here on Senator Baldwin’s being a lesbian.

Narayanan said...

Blogger MadTownGuy said [2/20/24, 2:44 PM]...
is contrary to what
Blogger BG said [2/20/24, 4:29 PM]...

so who did fix the VA problem for the constituent?

Along with cheese and beer, sausage is one of Wisconsin’s signature foods. may be Howde can have cheese and beer and wurst summit and bring them together

rhhardin said...

The 60s IBM 7090 had a Divide and Proceed instruction, as well as a Divide and Halt instruction. One takes the next instruction after a divide overflow (setting divide check), and the other halts.

A halt was pretty expensive, at $6000 an hour in today's dollars.

Jim at said...

It's really gross the number of people commenting here on Senator Baldwin’s being a lesbian.

Then why don't you provide a list of her accomplishments other than her being a lesbian.

Mark said...

"Hovde may well be a nice guy, and can self-fund, but he is a worn out candidate. He’s a political gadfly, has run and lost several times in WI CD02. Granted the last GOPer to win that was Scott Klug. But Hovde is the type of candidate who is running to run."

Nailed it.

He wants to appeal to the middle to win, but is running in a race where Trump is the face at the top of the ticket, Wisconsin is a state Trump wants to win, and he will either need to get on the Trump train or else skip a whole lot of rallies.

He would be easy for Baldwin to defeat, as he either is hypocritical or else Trump aligned.

Humperdink said...

"It's really gross the number of people commenting here on Senator Baldwin’s being a lesbian."

Why? I thought being out and proud was a thing.

MadTownGuy said...

Narayanan said...

"Blogger MadTownGuy said [2/20/24, 2:44 PM]...
is contrary to what
Blogger BG said [2/20/24, 4:29 PM]...

so who did fix the VA problem for the constituent?
"

Tammy did intercede for my friend, though not without some persistence on his wife's part. It may have been a one-off. As I said, the greater concern is the inefficiency and mismanagement of the VA under her purview.

Mason G said...

"Why? I thought being out and proud was a thing."

There's a "Schrödinger's" joke in there somewhere.

Rocco said...

Jupiter said...
“I did an image search on "Kim Kardashian". And I did an image search on "Tammy Baldwin". I do not think that they are both famous for the same reason.”

True. One is known for being in an industry known for vapid superficiality, obsession with image, and lack of producing anything actually useful. The other is Kim Kardashian.

rightguy said...

Hovde is a successful businessman who is putting 20 Million of his own money into his campaign. This large fact should make him less corruptible, should he take the seat and go to DC. Who knows? He may be a closet Trumpster.

Here is his (pro-business) platform:

"Small and medium-size businesses are the engine of our economy. We need to encourage innovation and investment through pro-business and pro-growth policies that will get our economy moving in the right direction.
If we are going to get serious about job creation, we need to make sure that everybody who wants to find work can and we need a fair and equitable tax system that will allow businesses of all sizes and individuals from all walks of life to compete and thrive.[1]
While there is no easy solution to fixing the economic mess that we find ourselves in today, progress will require restructuring at every level. This includes the following:
Reducing the size of government
Reducing debt and deficit
Reforming the tax code
Significantly reducing regulations
Overhauling trade policy
Halting current Federal Reserve monetary easing"

I agree with all of the above. He sounds like a good & serious candidate. Certainly orders of magnitude better than any donk currently in the senate.

BG said...

Narayanan said...
Blogger MadTownGuy said [2/20/24, 2:44 PM]...
is contrary to what
Blogger BG said [2/20/24, 4:29 PM]...

so who did fix the VA problem for the constituent?


Johnson ended up getting involved with problems at one of the VA homes. It wasn’t concerning one individual constituent.

MikeD said...

I'm sorry but, where's there a Senator, of either "Party" worth warm spit? What one Senator, today, Schumer says, with the compliance of McConnell, is all there is. R's have unaccomplished bloviators like Cruz & LA's Kennedy, who at least has a permanent foot-fire stove for prog witnesses.

Mark said...

"It's really gross the number of people commenting here on Senator Baldwin’s being a lesbian."

Ditto how many people had to point out John Stewart was Jewish in a recent thread.

chickelit said...

I like that Hovde will represent all of Wisconsin. Baldwin orbits Madison and looks only to Madison values for direction.

Rusty said...

Well. Apparently, Mark, being a lesbian and Democrat are her only accomplishments. So it's worth noting. That's why you voted for her isn't it?

JAORE said...

I would strongly consider supporting a candidate who says, " vote for me and I'll reach across the aisle to slap some sense into those goobers."