In response to assertions his promotion of an “I’m on Team Burke” image constitutes an endorsement of Burke’s candidacy, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate took to Facebook to explain that he hadn’t endorsed Mary Burke’s campaign, he was simply promoting her.
Gang- I often promote the FB pages of all Dems running for an office, especially higher profile offices. More of a public service. Did the same thing in 2010, 12 and now. Not an endorsement. We promote Democrats running for office. If another serious candidate for Governor announces you’ll see myself and the party do the same thing. If you want someone else to run, go ask them to do so. Additionally there is no primary at this time and isn’t unless someone else enters it. So much as with Tammy Baldwin last year the party will promote Mary’s candidacy and should another serious candidate enter the race would promote that candidates activities too. Don’t remember anyone complaining about us promoting Tammy prior to her receiving full support of the party. No difference here.
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck, it probably is a duck. Just because Mike didn’t use the words, I endorse, doesn’t mean he didn’t endorse her. It is obvious that he did. Now he has that right if he’s not chairman of the DPW. As chair he MUST remain neutral until after the primary election. Everyone knows that promoting Burke discourages others from running. If Kathleen Vinehout announces is he going to post a notice to join team Vinehout. Not hardly because by then most people will be committed to Burke. Again, it’s all about the money. Burke has it. Tate only supports “serious” candidates and by that he means you have to raise millions of dollars. However, he makes the judgement of whether or not you can actually raise the money before you even enter the race. This is not leadership and the Dems that live out state resent it. Tate’s promotion of Burke will ultimately hurt Burke because of that resentment.
Just had a lunch meeting with Kathleen Vinehout. I’m not a Democratic Party official and Kathleen was in town simply because she was coming back from a ACA information meeting last night in Mondovi. Being downtown, I stopped in at our Democratic Resource Center to tell a friend and former Assembly 93 legislator who is now working for the party that Kathleen was down the street in a lunch meeting with a few Eau Claire supporters.
My friend told me he had a meeting at 2 with Mary Burke. I said I’d like to meet and talk with her and he told me the meeting was private and went on his way. I accompanied him as far as Kathleen’s venue and he walked on by to his Burke meeting at a more upscale and expensive venue.
To questions about her candidacy, Senator Vinehout said she was meeting with supporters throughout the state who were interested in her being governor. She has no paid support team, nor “senior media advisors”, which in this case may be a benefit. She said that anyone who wanted to support her in any part of the state could email her website, send some money, tell her what they were able to do in the area, and she would get back to them. Her decision in January whether or not to run will depend on that interest and response.
Anyone who’s attended a Dem meeting in 2013 knows Tate said that “they’d been speaking to a potential candidate in mind, and that person would be revealed later,” and that Dems shouldn’t worry that there hadn’t been a candidate formally running. Well, it’s pretty obvious that him and Mary Burke were working this thing out behind the scenes, and he didn’t want word to get out.
And maybe Burke will work out well, but there are WAY too many questions out there for me to get on board “Team Burke,” and certainly Mike Tate and the campaign consultant crowd aren’t going to be the ones to convince me. Now Burke has been saying some good things, but there’s still way too much connection to oligarchy and corporatist mentality for me to give her support without knowing what else is out there. And I want more to be out there to choose from…ESPECIALLY Kathleen Vinehout.
Tate’s comparison of Burke and Tammy Baldwin is idiotic, because Tammy had been in Congress for 7 terms, had a strong progressive record to point to, and there were no other serious challengers considering the 2012 race for Senate for the Dems. None of this is true in Mary Burke’s case, and she and her “Team” better understand that.
Meet Mary Burke at the Eau Claire Meet & Greet last night. She’s a lovely person, but tough enough to take on Wisconsin Republicans? Don’t know. But I’ll say this, combating European moguls to expand an American industrial market position is no task for a timid person. If we can get a primary and Kathleen Vinehout gets enough MONETARY support to be in it, it would help Democrats overall in the state.
CK,
What was the meeting like? Lots of folks? Lots of enthusiasm? Did anyone ask Burke how she would respond to press questions about why 99.5% of Treks bicycles are built in China and Taiwan?
http://bloggingblue.com/2013/10/mary-burke-and-the-99/
At reading this post today, I became filled with sadness and and some anger. My feelings from three dates came to mind; December 7, 1941, November 25, 1963, and September 11, 2001. Those too were dates of a betrayal.
Now I see why Tate is held with contempt by some.