May 17, 2011

Paul Ryan won't run for the Senate seat Herb Kohl is vacating.

All right then. Who do we want to see run?  Surely, not the 69-year-old Tommy Thompson, who said, a year ago, when he decided not to challenge Russ Feingold, that it was time for a new generation to take over.

So who is there? J.B. Van Hollen?

60 comments:

Dose of Sanity said...

Russ.

:)

Dose of Sanity said...

Also: Bad link alert on the first two in the post.

mccullough said...

Brett Favre

Michael Haz said...

Tim Michels. Ted Kanavas.

Anonymous said...

As soon as Feingold lost his 2010 Senate election and said "it's on to 2012" I figured he might know that Kohl would retire, giving him the opportunity to run in 2012.

I was thinking Feingold v. Ryan would be a great matchup. I don't think Tommy T. will run - too much money to be made in the private sector.

Other than Ryan, I don't see any other Republican being able to beat Feingold.

Lincolntf said...

Didn't Tommy Thompson just say he was running?

Calypso Facto said...

Unfortunately, the Fitzgerald bros. have announced interest, but I think they're probably too tarnished by the Capitol conflict to gain traction. Best with another Ron Johnson-esque outsider?

Fred4Pres said...

mccullough said...
Brett Favre

5/17/11 12:36 PM


Nice.

Fred4Pres said...

Ryan should run if this gives Feingold the chance to jump back in.

Triangle Man said...

Laurence Meade

Tank said...

How about one of the Koch brothers?

Meade said...

I'd run but I have my hands full right now, indirectly serving Ann Althouse's students and blog readers and being a U.S. senator would be a big step down for me in terms of power, prestige, and job satisfaction.

garage mahal said...

Surprised Ryan didn't want to bring that winning "repeal Medicare replace with coupon" message to the Senate.

Scott M said...

a big step down

Yeah, but you'd be exempt from Obamacare for a couple years.

Original Mike said...

"Other than Ryan, I don't see any other Republican being able to beat Feingold."

The ground may have shifted on Feingold. He would be put in a position of defending the shenanigans in Madison this spring, and that won't wash well with a lot of people in the state.

Dose of Sanity said...

I'd run but I have my hands full right now, indirectly serving Ann Althouse's students and blog readers and being a U.S. senator would be a big step down for me in terms of power, prestige, and job satisfaction.



What?

Original Mike said...

"Surprised Ryan didn't want to bring that winning "repeal Medicare replace with coupon" message to the Senate."

He'd be moving from a position of a lot of clout to one of litle. I'm not surprised. I'm also glad, for the same reason.

MadisonMan said...

Was Feingold around much at the protests? I don't recall. I don't think he was.

I don't want Feingold to run. What TT said applies to Democrats, too.

edutcher said...

Ann Althouse.

Hey, she brought Google to its knees.

(which might be a snappy campaign slogan)

PS Ryan is doing the smart thing. He's got clout where he is. Moving would put his plan in direct competition with Rand Paul's.

PPS Dose, he said serving, not servicing. That's reserved.

Original Mike said...

@MM: No, but his opponent will keep bringing them up. Seems to me he'll have to either support them, turning off the non-leftys or criticize them, turning off the leftys.

Automatic_Wing said...

Didn't HuffPo or some other quasi-media entity claim that Feingold was the driving force behind the union protests? I think there was a thread about that here.

James said...

JoAnne Kloppenburg.

Dose of Sanity said...

@ Edu

If his support is more than emotional for ann (and thus, her students), I'd really like to know.

Struck me as a strange comment.

Robert said...

That Larry dude with the camera. Guy who keeps getting his ass banned for shit.

James said...

Peter Barca.

Bob_R said...

Tricia Willoughby? Yeah, maybe a tad early.

JohnnyT1948 said...

Tim Sullivan, CEO of Bucyrus International in South Milwaukee, which recently announced a merger with Caterpillar, will be leaving Bucyrus after the merger is complete and may be interested. He would certainly be a "Ron Johnson type" of businessman with no prior political experience. Another possibility would be Sheriff David Clarke of Milwaukee County, although he would have to switch parties to run as a Republican.

Eli Blake said...

Scott Walker.

You can tell I want Feingold back, right?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Original Mike said...

I must say, Tommy Thompson does not thrill me in the slightest. He was right, his time is past.

Fred4Pres said...

I'd run but I have my hands full right now, indirectly serving Ann Althouse's students and blog readers and being a U.S. senator would be a big step down for me in terms of power, prestige, and job satisfaction.


Meade, Did you jump in and volunteer on furlough day?

Original Mike said...

Althouse and Meade split up the grading of term papers. Althouse gets students A-L and Meade M-Z.

reader_iam said...

Speaking of people thinking other people's time is past:

That Ezra. What a wunderkind he is sometimes.

Sigh.

garage mahal said...

Seems to me he'll have to either support them, turning off the non-leftys or criticize them, turning off the leftys.

Same could be said of the Repub candidate avoiding the FitzWalker splatter.

Alex said...

I'd run but I have my hands full right now, indirectly serving Ann Althouse's students

Do the WI taxpayers know they're getting a 2 for 1 deal?

Alex said...

garage - you want to be life savings on Walker being recalled in '12?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

There are some tough fiscal choices in the the years ahead that are going to have to be made by our federal guvment.. Or the choices will be made for us..

What we have here is people cowardly running the other way in fear of senior citizens.

We have to reform SS and Medicare/Medicaid.. until we reform those we will continue on the path towards irreversible economic catastrophe.

We are like the proverbial boiling frog, not perceiving the danger until its too late.

Original Mike said...

"America should implement weighted voting to make voting more objective and fair, and give the young more power, because the consequences of political decisions will affect them the longest."

There's rough justice in this idea, and as someone approaching the end rather than the beginning, it brings a devious smile to my face.

But seems to me that the increase in live expectancy argues for an increase in the age of suffrage. There's now more time to allow the young to develop some common sense.

Original Mike said...

"Same could be said of the Repub candidate avoiding the FitzWalker splatter."

Understood. I don't know how it would turn out, but my guess is your (and my) view from within Madison ain't typical to the state as a whole. I think the chaos in Madison could be crafted into some pretty powerful campaign ads.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

It doesn't matter what party is in the WH or what party controls the Congress..

We cannot continue to borrow our way out of debt.. borrow our way to prosperity.. people only borrow their way into bankruptcy.

Lincolntf said...

Maybe Meadhouse should copyright some of their images from the Madison shitshow with an eye toward selling them to the GOP.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Other than Ryan I dont hear anybody taking this threat to our national security seriously.

Milwaukee said...

Tommy Thompson was a RINO before the term was invented. His success was part of a general overall healthy American economy. He has his cronies. He is also of questionable moral character. Too much booze and whatnot. Too many stories. He needs to sit back down and let somebody else carry the load.

urpower said...

New website. Ann2012.com

MadisonMan said...

I think the chaos in Madison could be crafted into some pretty powerful campaign ads.

Yes, that's one reason why Tammy should not run. Although I'd be happy to have her resign her seat and try.

Anonymous said...

Madison Man -
what do you think the odds are of Baldwin running on the Dem side?

Jeremy said...

"The Road To Bankruptcy"

The real consequences that Ryan's “bold,” “serious” cuts would have for real people in the real world—namely, in Ryan's own congressional district, which covers the southeastern corner of Wisconsin are a stark reminder of why more politicians don’t propose such sweeping cuts, even in this dire fiscal climate: to do so is to flirt with political suicide.

Consider Medicare. If implemented, the Ryan budget would transform the program from a guaranteed, government-administered benefit into a system of subsidies that senior citizens could use to buy private insurance. It would also raise the eligibility age from 65 to 67.

These changes would save the government hundreds of billions of dollars over time, according to the nonpartisan CBO, and represent a long-delayed attempt to grapple with the program’s inevitable instability.

But instead of growing at the same rate as health-care costs, like current Medicare benefits, Ryan's subsidies would grow at a rate indexed to inflation, which is much, much slower.

As a result, the Path to Prosperity would eventually force the 90,776 Medicare recipients currently living in Wisconsin's First Congressional District, or a full 13.5 percent of Ryan's constituents, to shell out a lot more for insurance, or to accept less bang for their buck.

The federal government’s budget problem, in other words, would become a family budget problem.

Alex said...

The federal government’s budget problem, in other words, would become a family budget problem.

Who's problem should it be then? Mind your own fucking business and keep your dirty paws off MY stash.

Original Mike said...

"If implemented, the Ryan budget would transform the program from a guaranteed, government-administered benefit into a system of subsidies ..."

Guaranteed by politicians.

Lombardi Chick said...

He is also of questionable moral character.

Really? In what regard? (You can't mean drinking - that's practically a sport in Wisconsin! LOL)

My impression is personal, and it is also completely different. I very much want to elaborate, but I probably shouldn't (I've re-typed this three times, and finally decided I'd best not share too much).

I'll just say I've met him, people very close to me knew him well, and I can't allow myself to sit here with my mouth shut while someone says he has a character problem.

Politics is one thing, but this is something else.

Don't get me wrong - I don't blame you. It sounds like you probably just heard some rumors, but if I could tell you my story, I think your mind might be changed. I think he's a genuinely good man - I really do.

Toad Trend said...

@Jeremy

"The federal government’s budget problem, in other words, would become a family budget problem."

In other words, the federal government, via incompetency, regulation and historic waste, have bankrupted this country of 300 million+ citizens to the tune of trillions of dollars. This is no 'family budget' problem, no, this is much bigger. All of us, you too Jeremy, need them to stop.

The bottom line is adults need to be calling the shots now and anyone that is fine with whistling past the graveyard needs to think again.

Anonymous said...

RUSS FEINGOLD!

Purpleslog said...

Here is my preference checklist:

+Entrepreneurship friendly (preferably somebody who has been a entrepreneur)

+Somebody who is tea-party principle friendly [1]

+Somebody w/o a sleezy persona

...and my anti-checklist:

-Somebody who has never been anything but a politician

-Leftists

-Big Business/Big Gov enabler/supporter/crony

Does this match anybody? I don't think it matches any of the names mentioned.


[1]
https://purpleslog.wordpress.com/2010/09/18/here-is-my-understanding-of-the-tea-partyish-principles/

Purpleslog said...

Why not Althouse?

I would support her!

Is there a Draft Althouse for Sentate Facebook Group?

I am not joking.

Big Mike said...

Has Meade been a Wisconsin resident long enough to run? I do not regard his 12:58 post as sufficient "Shermanesque" to rule him out.

JohnnyT1948 said...

Purpleslog:
Did you miss my post at 2:21pm mentioning that Tim Sullivan, CEO of Bucyrus International, might be interested. He might fit your preferences.

Titus said...

Are their any democrat woman that are hot, not a dyke and have big tits?

Nah, I thought there weren't.

If Althouse ran I would consider being her Press Secretary. We would have so much fun.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Yeah, Althouse gets to have her cake and eat it, too. Russ returns. Maybe not a bad thing.

Mr. Forward said...

Senator Titus?

Pinch a budget?
No unexpected sex scandals.
Don't Ask, Tell Anyway.
Uncut the deficit hog.

Pastafarian said...

You know, if we can have Senator Al Franken, I don't see why we couldn't have Senator Titus.