Wisconsin Ground Report — How is Ron Johnson doing so far as Senator?
Dear HillBuzz,
Senator Ron Johnson from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, soundly beat three-time incumbent Russ Feingold in November. You cannot overstate how unlikely it was that anyone could unseat Feingold, who was well respected on both sides of the aisle for being able to work with everyone and for being “Mavericky.” Our best hope to beat him a year ago was former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson and HHS Secretary under Bush, but I think his history would have made it extremely difficult to make any headway against Feingold. Ron’s success, and Feingold’s defeat, was extremely hard to take for my Democratic friends. The were actually down and depressed after the elections. I could relate, because it’s just how I felt in November of 2008.
Ron is the owner of a very profitable small plastics manufacturing company and for many years has been very active in the community, volunteering his time and money for many big community projects. He worked quietly behind the scenes, and few people know how really generous the Johnson’s were over the years. If you met him, you would not know how wealthy he is (or was, after self-funding much of his campaign) because he is humble, hard working, and does not live extravagantly.
I attribute his win over Feingold to many things—a very well-run campaign, a lot of money poured into relatively positive commercials that ran non-stop from May until November, shaking thousands of hands around the State, his laid back comfort in front of audiences and cameras, and yes, the fact that he was a relatively unknown. Also, as hard as they tried to find dirt on him, the media and Feingold found none. He’s about as clean a guy as they come, and he had to be, or else Feingold’s campaign would have found something and would have attacked him for it without mercy.
Ron’s main focus is smaller government, national debt reduction, maintaining and strengthening our status as THE economic powerhouse in the world, and freeing up the private sector from over-regulation that stifles economic growth. This is a true case of Mr Smith Goes to Washington….a regular guy with a good life, who could have lived very comfortably and happily in Oshkosh, who has been called upon to serve his country, and is jumping into it with both feet. He had never even been to Washington before this campaign, and his wife had never been there until November when they went there to find a place to live.
He seems to have made a bit of a splash already in Washington. Shortly after being sworn in, he traveled with several other Senators to Afghanistan to see the operations first hand. He has been assigned to the Senate appropriations and budget committees, along with homeland security and aging. It is rare for freshmen to land seats on the appropriations and budget committees, and a local political science professor claims that this suggests that he is already highly regarded by Republican leadership. This professor, who was extremely negative toward Johnson during the campaign, says that Johnson “seems to be one of the more reasonable persons among the people the tea party supported.”
He said throughout the campaign that he will never vote with his re-election in mind. I hope that he is able to maintain that ideal, and will be watching him closely.
Lucy P. in Wisconsin
© 2011, Kevin DuJan. All rights reserved.
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Here is a report I did last week in Orlando, Florida with dick Morris and his support of school choice. It was a good event giving some insight into the possibility of freeing our schools from unions and mediocrity.
http://usa-wethepeople.com/2011/01/dick-morris-discuses-vouchers-in-orlando/
In the report I give my take on being a student in Pontiac, Michigan during the busing years.
Thanks Kevin for letting me post this.
I also saw Dick Morris last Friday discussing school choice here in Indianapolis. I was very impressed with our state superintendent, Tony Bennett, who is not in bed with the unions. Apparently, Indiana is one of the states leading the way in trying to get legislation through for school choice.
Also, I could completely relate to your report on busing. I was bussed in the Charlotte/Mecklinburg school in the 70′s. What a total sham and disaster. Fortunately, we moved a few years later and my education was rescued.
More people who lived through the trauma of busing need to speak out and tell the truth. We are older now and we need to tell the rest of society what really happened.
Congratulations to the state of Wisconsin on getting Feingold out of Washington! It was about time. Now if Arizona could just rid themselves (and Washington) of McCain…
I wonder, is Feingold going to move back to Wisconsin, or will he stay in Washington and make a bazillion dollars as a lobbyist???
He’s teaching at Marquette University.
McCain….Lord he needs to just retire already but AZ gave him 6 yrs more to reach across the aisle.
Ron Johnson was the perfect candidate at the perfect time; beating Feingold was the ultimate holy grail for us Wisconsin Republicans
And it made it all the sweeter to be living in Madison when it happened, at the very epicenter of liberal post-election depression!