Why won’t John Lehman debate Mary Jo Walters?

As has been reported elsewhere, recently Democratic Lt. Governor candidate Mary Jo Walters sent soon-to-be former State Sen. John Lehman, himself Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor, a letter requesting a debate between Lehman and herself. Unsurprisingly, Lehman declined Walters’ request in a handwritten letter dated June 30, 2014 on “John Lehman for Lt. Governor” letterhead.

Here’s the text of Lehman’s letter to Mary Jo Walters.

Ms. Walters-

Thank you for your letter which arrived at my house on Saturday.

You and i both have interviews with Steve Walters on WisconsinEye.

The contrast between us is displayed in those videos for all Democratic primary voters to see.

I don’t agree with your idea that WisconsinEye should do more with us.

Best wishes to you in the weeks ahead as you travel the state. Safe journeys.

Cordially,

John Lehman

While I don’t necessarily agree with how John Lehman was hand-picked by Democratic Party of Wisconsin insiders to be the party’s preferred candidate for Lt. Governor, I do understand the decision by Lehman’s campaign to decline a debate with Mary Jo Walters. As the Democratic Party’s hand-picked candidate for Lt. Governor, Lehman has absolutely nothing to gain by agreeing to a debate with Walters, and he certainly doesn’t want to raise her profile by debating her, given how relatively unknown Mary Jo Walters is outside of Madison.

Share:

Related Articles

32 thoughts on “Why won’t John Lehman debate Mary Jo Walters?

  1. Since I am the one who reported it “elsewhere” I will tell you why he should debate Ms. Walter. To respect the voters of the Democratic party. To show why he is the one who we should vote for. To actually EARN our vote. To show respect for Ms. Walter who is a dues paying member of the Democratic party and who virtually alone traveled the state and collected 2000 signatures to get her name on the ballot of the Democratic primary. Is Mr. Lehmann worried that debating her will raise her profile enough to beat him? Is someone who is worried about that the one we want to be running against the Walker Machine?

    What does this say to the average Democrat in our state who is thinking of running for office in WI? To me it says, if you dont get state party blessing you have two opponents to beat, so why bother? Next thing you know these policies will make it so 26 republican seats will go unchallenged. Nevermind that will never happen.

    The DCCC trend that you have taken has really disheartened me.

    1. In full agreement Jeff. Repeatedly have stated that the state Dems should make a full break with the national party. Two minutes face to face with Ms Burke near my home and I like her, urged her to get Baldwin on board against the TPP and a few other things national D has done to become more like national R. LOTE isn’t going to cut it much longer, get ahead of the curve was advice Burke was getting from people in the audience at this particular meetup of 250 at an unadvertised event near my home town this past week.

      DCCC cut Wall’s entire funding against Rabble Ribble a month before that election.

    2. Jeff, what “DCCC trend” have I taken?

      Also, let’s just clarify that I don’t agree with Sen. Lehman’s decision to snub Mary Jo Walters in a debate; I simply noted that I understand why he chose to do so from a purely political point of view. Clearly I didn’t make that point clear enough.

  2. I don’t think John Lehman is obligated to debate Mary Jo Walters. I’m no fan of the DPW, but I’m also no fan of self styled Madison ” activists ” who launch quixotic clown show campaigns for reasons known only, apparently, to themselves, i.e. Brett Hulsey, Mary Jo Walters, Segway Jeremy Ryan and Arthur Kohl Riggs.

    1. Who makes the call on if it is a legit campaign or not? Who cares where someone is from if they want to run for office? What makes their campaign anymore ridiculous than anyone else’s?

  3. Jeff,

    The process is playing out. All of the people I listed above got enough signatures to get on the ballot. Their opponents are not obligated to debate them by statute or DPW by-laws.

    What makes a candidate ridiculous? Asking people for pot money so he can defend Wisconsin, ( Jeremy Ryan ), deliberately falling down when officer Syphard grabbed his arm in the rotunda ( Arthur Kohl Riggs ), scaring the living bejesus out of an aide with a box cutter while, ostensibly, teaching her self defense, ( Brett Hulsey ) and using the handle ” Mary Jo Lieutenant Gov Walters ” on Facebook while exhorting everyone to rise up and put pot legalization on municipal ballots via direct legislation. That would have been a great idea a year ago with some common sense organizing, but to bring it up now with no statewide network to do it is, well, ridiculous.

    And it doesn’t matter where a candidate is from, but it does seem to me that Madison produces more than the state average of these kinds of folks.

    1. I know that there is no DPW by-law that says they should debate them. It does not matter anyway they ignore the by-laws when it suits them anyway, They should debate out of respect to the voters and the process. We know that Rebecca will duck debates with Lehman and now we have no ground to stand on when we ask for one. Respect the voters and show them who you are. Plus if it gets you some more positive publicity thats a good thing(that is if they are worried about being behind in fundraising).

      In terms of what makes a candidate ridiculous, when someone advocates bringing in violence to a place that is peaceful, to a place that I was almost daily taking my 7 and 4 yr old children, in order to advance their political career. Then I will call them ridiculous.

      PS; individually Jeremy ryan is ridiculous I agree but he is on one of the few races in the country where he s not the most ridiculous candidate in the race. riggs isnt running for anything. Hulsey incident was very strange, im worried that next he will be telling us about the Louisville slugger he keeps in his office. As for Walters, yes its crazy to advocate for a policy that is wildly successful where it is currently the law. Maybe she should be asking ceo’s “How can we love you more?”

      1. Jeff,

        I think Kshama Sawant set the bar for how those of us on the Left should proceed. Hard work, avoid publicity stunts, media antics and symbolic campaigns, and making door to door, face to face contact with voters, especially low income voters, on issues of economic justice. I don’t see anything like that from Hulsey, Walters, etc. They aren’t, in my view, serious people, and no one is obligated to take them seriously. I’ve wandered amongst folks like this for 20 plus years and I’m sick of them. Screeching, hollering, self righteously angry lefties without the slightest inclination to get organized and actually try to accomplish something tangible. I’ve had enough. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

    2. Steve-maybe the 20th Century “pounding pavement all day” thing is how it’s done up in the sticks, but here in the growing cultural center of the state (aka Dane County$, it’s a little different. And especially when you’re an outsider, like Walters, you have to get things done a little differently.

      Try to understand instead of acting like a scared old TeaBagger. You get votes for the Dems your way, and we’ll run up the score against Walker in Dane County our way. Deal?

      1. Jake,

        I just got off the telephone with Clay Showalter who is on Kshama Sawant’s staff and who played a huge role in her campaign. He confirmed what I wrote here earlier: door to door campaigning and street level organizing was her primary campaign tactic. Social media played a supplemental role in alerting supporters to events, but Showalter agreed that Facebook, Twitter, etc. is ineffective in engaging people who haven’t been first spoken to face to face.

        I don’t have any dispute with you that things are different in Dane County, but let’s be clear about one thing. Up here in the sticks we’re more in line with the methods Socialist Alternative is utilizing in Seattle, or that the Forward Together Moral Movement is using in North Carolina, because we’re willing to learn from those who’ve been successful.

        And that’s precisely Madison’s problem: you folks seem to think you know it all and don’t need to learn anything from anyone. What makes it even worse is that a lot of progressives statewide look to Madison for leadership and get led down the wrong path, i.e. things like the Solidarity Singalong. So I apologize Jake, for my snark over the weekend, but please don’t characterize what I’m recommending as something either so 20th century or workable only ” up in the sticks “. What I’m recommending is that we muster enough humility to adopt successful tactics from the most dynamic social/political movements in the country, none of which happen to be emanating from Madison.

        1. Steve,

          I dont think anyone thinks that door to door and voter contact is not an important thing. Did Showalter say how they engaged so many people to actually take time out of their busy schedules and hit the doors? Did they have the territory and ground to cover the way some of our rural districts do or could they hit a ton of doors in a small area? Do they have media almost controlled exclusively by righties? Do they have 24/7 right wing loons screeching at them on the radio with basically no balance?

          I still think you are comparing apples and oranges when you use Sawant as an example. The party leadership would never get behind her in WI if she was running. To say that no successful tactics are emanting from Madison is also not fair. During the recall there were many successful things happening here, at least until the party got involved(PS: most of the people in the power structure of the party are NOT madisonians).

          Finally let me ask you this Steve, do you think that Sawant would ridicule or join the Solidarity Singalong? I personally think she would be singing away.

          1. Jeff,

            Here’s the bottom line. If people aren’t going to make time to knock on doors then we aren’t going to win. If people are too busy with the pursuits that constitute their daily lives, some of which include hobbies, blogging, Facebook, etc. then we aren’t going to win. Wisconsinites have the time, they just plain don’t want to do it. And you’ll have to call Sawant yourself to see how she feels about the Solidarity Singalong. Asking for their opinion on it seems to have slipped my mind.

            1. Steve,

              I agree on needing the shoe leather to win, what I am saying is why should people get out there and knock on doors? Some of the hardest workers are running or supporting these candidates and get ridiculed for doing so. treat the grassroots with respect and then they will help you, dump on them and they will stay home.

              In other words, Do not piss on my leg and tell me its raining and then ask for more more more when you need my help. It wont be there.

          2. Jeff,

            One more thing. Or maybe two or three.

            The point I have repeatedly attempted to make is that Sawant’s campaign shows us how a seriously underfunded and underdog candidate can defeat a well funded incumbent with shoe leather and a strong message of economic justice. This has nothing to do with whether or not the DPW would get behind her, or that she ran as a socialist, though her victory is all that much more impressive given that she had to overcome that stigma as well.

            Mary Burke’s campaign asked people to canvass for her a couple of weeks ago and almost no one showed up. Her voter pledge card stated clearly that she supported raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Burke has said she opposes the G-Tac mine, would expand Badgercare, feels public workers should be able to collectively bargain, and has even expressed concern about the TPP. Burke is no Kshama Sawant, but for right now she’s good enough for me.

            So I am hard pressed to understand why I should give a good goddamn whether or not John Lehman will debate Mary Jo Walters, or whether or not Brett Hulsey got to speak at the convention, or whether or not Kshama Sawant would join the Solidarity Singlong. Right now, at this point in time, in this political landscape, with this much at stake, I just don’t care about these other things. We can take them up after November.

            1. I can answer all of that. Since Burke is the chosen one of the party insiders why the hell should the people in the party have a voice? The dems should just sit back and shut up and be glad that they are looking out for us? Send her our money and take time away from our families just because we were told too?

              Maybe instead of complaining about people not showing up to canvas for her, we should ask ourselves why? Maybe the candidate and the party should take some responsibility for getting the people involved on her side? Maybe catering to her base is something that has been a weakness of hers.

              While Burke has stated she supports the minimum wage it has taken some prompting. She opposed the Gtac mine for a day then quickly walked back that statement, she would expand Badgercare(so would my 8 yr old daughter if she was Gov), feels public workers should have collective bargaining but is thankful Scott Walker gave them a 12% paycut so they could finally pay their fair share and balance our budget.

              An actual primary would force her to move to at least the center. Why would she not debate hulsey? Maybe he would force some of these to be actual issues and she has been told by her republican lobbyist handlers not to cater to the left.

              Why in the world would I ever vote for John lehmann for lieutenant gov? Because a committee told me to? What has he done to earn our vote? Google him and you will find a big fat nothing. thats the fighter we need on this important race in November. That would be crazy if he would debate who knows we might get actual press coverage, then we wouldnt be able to use being underfunded as an excuse in November.

              See that is why you should give a goddamm about the way the party and the candidates treat the base. When you anoint a candidate you tell people their voice doesnt matter, then you try and get these people who you have just ridiculed to spend hours away from their families to get you elected. Who in their right mind would do that?

              There is a lot at stake, I just wish the upper echelon understood, exactly how much is at stake and took some responsibility.

              1. Jeff,

                We can’t fix the Dem party between now and November, but we can defeat Scott Walker. For me, right now, it’s just that simple. It really is.

        2. Steve, you should try to score an interview with her. :-p

          Seriously though, I agree that shoe leather is what’s going to win this fight. The effective use of social media will help organize and publicize, but ultimately if we’re going to turn this thing around it’s going to take talking to our neighbors and knocking on doors.

          1. I’ve tried twice to get an interview with her since she won the election. They’re overwhelmed with requests for interviews and appearances. Showalter told me today they’re not sure she can even come to BobFest, much less do an interview with a hick blogger from northern Wisconsin. 🙂

  4. Jake from somewhere in the growing cultural center of the state,

    Not sure when ” Kooks R Us ” became the 21st Century way to win elections but, hey, it’s your circus. And when it comes to ” pounding the pavement ” ” the sticks ” and the ” 20th Century ” perhaps you should send Kshama Sawant some of your campaign tips. Out in the sticks in Seattle, Socialist Alternative won a city council seat against a well funded, long term incumbent, and against all odds, with a door to door organizing and earned media campaign. What a bunch of hicks, eh?

    1. Look, if your graybeard self has time to go door-to-door because you’re living the good life in the 715, and you think that helps the good guys win elections, great. But you’re lying to yourself if you think Sawant won on knocking door-to-door try Facebook and Twitter to get the word out to a whole lot more people at once, and to break through the wall of noise and propaganda being hurled in the media.

      Also remember that some of us have a whole lot of other responsibilities in our life, (especially us non-Boomers with this thing called JOBS), so we don’t have the time and money you apparently do. Almost anyway awareness of casual people can be raised to show them the many bad things going on with this WisGOP crew is a good thing, because you can’t trust a bought-off media and right-wing AM stations to do it. I remember you ripping on the Solidarity Singers when they were getting arrested, but there’s no doubt that pictures of grandmothers being handcuffed in the Capitol hurt Walker’s standing with some people. Having the “kooks” get a voice also allows the winning DPW candidates to say “See, we’re a moderating, rational force.”

      C’mon Steve. Do you seriously think “Kooks r’ us” is going to be the Dem nominee in any key position this November? But the backers of those “kooks” will still likely vote for Mary Burke come November, unless you tell them that they’re idiots and not welcome. It’s time for you to retire the holier-than-thou act, because it looks very old and tired to us that have to fight the battles in the big city.

      1. kooks took over in 2010. I am not sure how Seattle works but it doubt they hAve the right wing domination of all media outlets like we do. We need some theatrics to make headlines.

        We also need candidates, which is apparent by all the uncontested races. Let’s welcome all who want to run and let the primary decide the final candidates instead of trying to shame them.

        There is not a candidate on our ballot who is as ridiculous as say grothmann, Nass,Leibham, Jacque etc…

        Let’s also be real sawant the socialist would have been one of the ones shut out at the convention and ridiculed by the insiders.

  5. Jake formerly from somewhere in Michigan,

    I think you’re kind of a loud mouth who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I don’t have a lot of money and I’ve worked more shit jobs than you and your ilk would ever put up with. And it doesn’t take any grit to be a leftie in Madison, so your tales of fighting battles in the big city strikes me as a bunch of phony bullshit. And I’m not holier than thou, I’m just a hell of a lot tougher than you are. So if you pussies down there can’t bring yourselves to knock on someone’s door and talk progressive politics, that’s fine, go ahead and sing in the rotunda or post comments on Facebook and blogs, and bullshit yourselves that you’re a 21st Century revolution underway. In the meantime I’ll go hang out at the local redneck karaoke bar and talk to some real people, with real problems, while you folks decide which Woody Guthrie song should be included in the next Solidarity Singalong song book.

    1. You don’t know how I roll, do ya Steve?

      You stay classy and self-righteous up there. Go read Jeff’s point, and realize the situation is a little different south of Highway 10

      1. I don’t know how you roll, Jake? Your first comment in this thread accuses me of acting like a scared old Teabagger, and I don’t know how you roll? Here’s a tip. If you’re going to make comments like that from the comfort of anonymity then the gloves are off. So now you know how I roll.

  6. OK Democrats,

    1-2-3 what are we fighting for…(or against)

    https://twitter.com/DETWaterBrigade/status/487230243254861824/photo/1

    Or this (already reality in Apartheid Milwaukee) police shootings…

    http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2014/06/02/breaking-arrests-albuquerque-mayors-office/

    and this, your town have it’s own armored personnel carrier yet?

    http://blackagendareport.com/content/coming-america-mercenary-justice

    GTAC’s troops ring a bell? All brought about by Walker’s sponsors and his hired goons, many on salaries paid for by state taxpayers, i.e. the Republican legislators and Walker’s hand picked and highly paid State department heads and overseers.

    A little more austerity ought to turn the tables and their coup will have completely succeeded. Kiss and make up boys, there’s a real plot afoot.

Comments are closed.