A quick review of Mike Tate’s “72 county strategy”

Back in 2013, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chairman Mike Tate unveiled his “72 county strategy” meant to build up the Democratic Party in each of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, with the stated goal of challenging Republicans in every part of the state. Tate’s “72 county strategy” was also going to rely on the use of online technology to get Democratic voters to the polls in 2014.

Now that the 2014 election is over, let’s take a look at how well Mike Tate’s vaunted “72 county strategy” worked out.

Red Wisconsin

That’s a brutal map, and it sure doesn’t seem that Mike Tate’s “72 county strategy” was all that successful. After all, Democrats failed to field candidates in a number of Assembly races throughout the state, and while Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke did win 3 more counties than Tom Barrett did in 2010, that leaves 56 counties that voted to reelect Gov. Scott Walker.

Perhaps I’m being overly harsh and demanding. Maybe Mike Tate’s “72 county strategy” just needs a few more election cycles before all the kinks will be worked out.

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33 thoughts on “A quick review of Mike Tate’s “72 county strategy”

  1. Look at the Illinois map yesterday. A +8 Democratic state went almost all red. Without Mike, things would have been a LOT worse.

      1. The strategy is good. The candidates are not. We can’t just have people sit around and be lazy putting their name on the ballot and expecting votes, I didn’t even know who was running in my district as I stated before. We should be planning not just the next election, we should be planning for the next twenty, forty years. We need to go above and beyond as the examples I had. Make politics personal, the Republicans figured this out since Lee S. Dreyfus. Just like Russ Feingold did and Tom Nelson does.

        We need to not reach out to Republicans in the Senate or the House, because they’re not going to listen to us. But people who vote Republican unquestionably without thinking why yet treat them without condescension to inform them. We need to change minds by being on our feet constantly.

        1. “But people who vote Republican unquestionably without thinking why yet treat them without condescension to inform them.”

          As one who votes Republican with regularity, the suggestion that I or other Republicans might be doing so “unquestionably” is itself condescending. But I think you are right to consider the way that you (in the broad sense, not you personally) treat people with whom you disagree.

          1. There is a lot of people who don’t think critically until you explain it to them or talk to them directly. Don’t assume everyone is as knowledgeable as the subject as you, but don’t treat them stupid when you explain it, plus don’t be afraid to keep your mind open to learn new things from them and listen to their concerns.

            A lot of the reason why northern Wisconsinites can’t stand people from Waukesha County and Dane County alike is because they both treat us like garbage. One is a suburbanite yuppie who moves up here with their McMansions and fancy cars while saying we’re blue collar trash and don’t want to live around us, the other is an educated liberals who talk garbage about how backwards we are then turn their nose up at us for the same reason. And they both treat us like idiots we talk about the issues with the DNR and so on. You want to know why we’re never out and ready to vote? Because neither of you don’t have anything that appeals to us at all save for the people who do pay attention to politics and/or are driven by fear.

          2. Example: The State Transportation Fund Amendment. Did you vote yes or no on it?

            I bet it was a ‘Yes’, and that goes for liberals as well.

            You should have voted no, because you know why? This is precisely the type of amendment that makes it harder to balance the budget. The legislature should do what they need to do to balance the budget. Blocking off one set of funds is going to hamper that and a similar amendment went through in California years ago which is why it has problems balancing the budget. The last thing we want is to need a hundred million to pay our obligations only to have this amendment blocking that money. And how many people just saw it was a ‘good’ idea because it sounded nice? Exactly.

            It does sound like common sense when you first hear it but the reality is so much more challenging. No other types of expenditures get their own special fund in Wisconsin. By setting up a fund like this for transportation, we’re implying that transportation funding is more important than other things the State government funds.

    1. Graeme, speaking as an Illinoisan here, the “Wisconsin isn’t as bad as Illinois is” argument is not going to fly with me. Granted, there needs to be a full-scale, top-to-bottom overhaul of the Democratic Party here in Illinois (problems with IL Democratic party include limited internet presence, top party officials alienating progressives, rampant corruption, state party not caring about Chicago suburbs and downstate, and so on), but there are many state parties in the country (including Wisconsin), as well as the national Democratic Party, that have systematic problems and need a major overhaul as well.

    2. We need actual candidates for all the counties, who will go out on their feet, not just put their names on the ballot. I was unaware of the many democrats who were running in my neck of the woods other than Mary Burke, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of State. I’m dead ass about this. Go to people’s houses, knock on doors, take notes — listen to what what their possible constituents have to has to say, inform them personally.

      Example, Thomas M. Nelson the County Executive of Outagamie County. I might live in Brown County, but I will tell you this — he has come to visit us over the years and he still remembers our names even if we’re not in Outagamie County. My family and friends think highly of him especially. He still has conversations with us. We need to make politics personal and find those people for every part of the state. Not just Dane County, not just the city of Milwaukee. THAT is how you build a base.

      1. T., I think Democrats did have good candidates this time. I do like Thomas Nelson if he has the right team around him. Look at what happens in a poor democratic year in Colorado when Udall lost by having a poor strategy. Our congressional candidates were pretty good and so were a lot of our state senate and assembly candidates. In the Recalls we had good democratic candidates and lots of money but still lost. I do not blame the dpw for the recalls because the outside groups on the left used it for inviting or poorly appropriated that money. I think the dpw needs to empower the local volunteers. I cannot remember the last time dpw had a VAN training for how local activists could use the voter file to go door to door.

        1. So send them again and get them on their feet. Get proper training, make them work nonstop on their feet. You can’t expect to win them all, because the Republicans don’t expect it. Let’s look at Al Franken in Minnesota and how he ran things. Call out the Republicans on their bullshit but say your stance clearly on what you’re working on. In the Commercials everywhere. Screw Bipartisanship, because the Republicans are never going to work with you. Robin Vos even said so if Mary Burke won they would refuse her.

          Look at the Populist Campaign of Al Franken and let that sink in. Take notes DPW, this is how you run a campaign. Apply the 72 County Strategy, get out on your feet, move your ass, and talk directly to the camera in the commercials instead of using the forbidding comical voices. Don’t sell yourself as not Scott Walker, sell yourself as Raising the Minimum Wage, sell yourself as working to get rid of tax breaks, sell yourself as a true filthy progressive. Call the conservatives out on their bullshit yet still make your stance very clear and personal. Rile up the Democratic and liberal base.

  2. The most damning indictment on that map: Burke carried two counties east of Dane. Republicans never carried Kenosha County until the last few years. There was even a time Dems regularly carried Sheboygan and Manitowoc even when losing statewide.

    1. In addition to Sheboygan, Manitowoc, and Kenosha the Democrats regularly carried Marathon (Wausau), Portage County (Stevens Point), Wood County (Wisconsin Rapids), Eau Claire, and Racine, even when we lost statewide to Tommy Thompson. Racine is the only one that has undergone a dramatic demographic change. There needs to be a dramatic shift in strategy.

  3. Well according to that article they were going to spend $500,000. That comes to nearly $7,000 per county. Hard to imagine how such a vast outpouring of resources failed to gain a lot of support. End of sarcasm.

  4. I think Mike should go, but in his defense, once the media started covering ISIS and the Middle East, it bumped “income inequality” off the front-pages. #thanksObama

    That really hurt Dems.

    1. Obomba has Republicans right where he wants them for preserving his presidential legacy. Willing partners for approving the TPP and for Keystone (mostly symbolic now as industry has found work-arounds already) and for continuing to gut the EPA. Unregulated multi-national banking (any more than 2 bank fraudsters in the slammer), privately held, for profit prisons for the poor, a resurgence of manufacturing here in the USA on the model of the Chinese factories that Romney thought were so wonderful (i.e. enterprise zones), medical/insurance/drug industrial complex continuing to be allowed to show the worst medical outcomes per dollar spent anywhere in the world (ever wonder why Cuba was such a threat to the USA?). Nothing done unless it is in the sole province of short-term “investor profits,” extracted while never measuring the real costs in human health, environmental integrity and personal security or actual freedom from oppression.

      Mike Tate is a problem only to the extent that people fail to see unregulated capitalism is the only real recognizable problem. If you think Mike Tate is the problem, you’ve already bought into the “system,” and are living the American Dream that is nothing but a dream, the ever evolving and more terrible, growing nightmare. Two cases in point:

      Think about this post topic, then about the fact that Glenn Grothman is in the US Assembly and RoJo the Clown will have subpoena power as the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chair, with broad jurisdiction over operations of the federal government in general and the Department of Homeland Security. Yea, thought that might make it difficult to hold down your breakfast. Obomba, Tate, the Democrackheads demonstrated they don’t and won’t listen to you. Time to find a work-around.

      http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/09/glenn-grothman-wisconsin-republican-congress-quotes

      http://www.stevenspointjournal.com/story/news/politics/2014/11/05/senates-new-lead-investigator-ron-johnson/18529935/

  5. No, it really couldn’t have been worse. Mike Tate should step aside and let someone else try. If his strategy is so all fire brilliant as Graeme seems to think,then that will become apparent. I suspect, however, what this party needs is some innovation. Sure didn’t see it in this election cycle.

  6. It’s hard to run a statewide campaign if there is no centralized, unifying message. This party fails miserably at that, and they never worked hard enough in early 2014 to introduce Burke and other Dems and insulate themselves from last-minute smears from the WisGOP lie machine.

    And a little visibility would be nice. Too much emphasis on campaign-worker stuff, and not enough with simple things like yard signs, billboards, and events and appearances. The other side has AM radio to do this job, and it can be overwhelming if it’s not combatted with this kind of visibility.

    Everyone tunes in for a presidential election, and the noises hone is muted some, but in statewide and legislative campaigns, the noise machine can have a bigger impact, and you see that in eastern Wisconsin. This is Tate’s failure, and he’s gotta go as a result.

  7. Mr. Tate has not figured out the messaging. This coach has continued to call the wrong plays. He may be a great guy, but results matter. He should step aside.

    The messaging from the dems in wi has been weak and uninspiring. When I went out canvassing i saw way too many young voters apathetic. We need messaging Elizabeth Warren style. Instead of running from progressive issues embrace them and the base will turn out!

    If you stand in the middle of the road, you get run over!

  8. It looks like Zielinski is Tate’s main wingman these days. Nice. The problem is that Tate and his minions in the downtown Madison bubble genuinely don’t like or respect those of us in rural counties. 72 County Strategy? That was nothing more than a Tate campaign slogan, like Red to Blue and Spring Forward – completely meaningless and cynical lip service.
    1. Dump Tate
    2. Make sure Doyle has nothing to do with selection of Tate’s replacement.
    3. New chair fires all the posers masquerading as DPW staff.
    4. Move DPW HQ to Eau Claire, La Crosse, Wausau – anywhere but downtown Madison.
    5. Hire new staff from Minnesota.

  9. IMHO, Mike’s real job has always been as the advance team for Senator Clinton’s 2016 run. IMHO, national Dems felt Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes would be more likely to vote Democratic in 2016, with Scott Walker as Governor.

    IMHO, state government is essentially controlled by the state’s big law firms. They outsource a lot of work to big accounting firms (who outsource to IT firms, other technical expertise) and together they control the vast majority of the machinery of state and local governments. For example, Hewlett-Packard runs Wisconsin Medicaid. It’s a huge money maker for them, and the state no longer has the IT resources to run the program. The state is largely dependent on whatever H-P tells them and H-P couldn’t care less about Wisconsin taxpayers. It’s the essence of privatization. H-P has shareholders to feed and that means, as much as possible, fleecing Wisconsin. Governors and elected officials only have authority in so far as they can manipulate those law firms and accounting firms, who control state government.

    OT, imho a must read for anyone who cares about our country is “The Rich Didn’t Always Win: The Forgotten Triumph over Plutocracy that Created the American Middle Class, 1900-1970 http://www.amazon.com/The-Rich-Dont-Always-Win/dp/1609804341

    It’s extremely readable with an excellent bibliography and footnotes. The message is that “capitalism runs on sales.” The real “job creators” are consumers with money to spend. “Income inequality” is the issue that Dems can run on.

  10. Two places to start going forward. My understanding is that the Badgercare expansion and minimum wage raise referendum questions passed overwhelmingly in counties that had these issues on the ballot. Should have been more from the candidates on this in their ads and lit. Candidates launch with messages developed by people from out of state and don’t listen to much if anything from local folks or their efforts, even when the candidate is local. This is no way to motivate people to get involved in a campaign.

    The Dems vaunted ground game isn’t apparent in Wisconsin. Staff are deployed too late in the game and they rely strictly on local volunteers who they have no relationship with. Canvassers/phone bankers don’t usually show up in any large numbers, and when they actually do they go largely untrained. When you consider that the research shows we can motivate reluctant voters with repeated personal contact, spending more money on canvassers and phone bankers, and seeing that volunteer recruitment is done aggressively, and that volunteers get trained, is crucial.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/07/15/how-to-mobilize-reluctant-voters/

    I think the GOP currently uses a cold war strategy on the Dems. Deploy big signs, lots of big mailers, lots of TV ads, and the Dems will do the same. We need to think about shifting more money to people on the ground. TV and mail don’t boost turnout. People do.

    1. I think both Steve Carlson and T are spot-on. Way too many phone calls, not enough visibility on an everyday basis. We don’t have AM radio to throw our message out there every day like the GOPs do, so being out and about with signage, consistent ads and people is especially crucial.

      1. Also, I don’t mean just some people from the GOTV. I expect the candidate themselves to walk/drive too, just like Tom Nelson does. Get the actual politician personal.

        (You want to know something wild? I didn’t even know there was anyone running against Reid Ribble. That is how bad it was up here. Work on this shit.)

  11. JC,

    I just don’t understand why someone as well informed as yourself, sticks to a system of economics and finances and commerce that can only exist with an unempowered, unprotected and not included underclass of labor. To top that off, to think that the Democratic party is going to take up a banner against their 1% owners is simply ludicrous. Thus my suggestion above that work-arounds need to be found and I’ll remind you politely that I’ve called for the DPW to break from the national near a half dozen times in these comments.

    Here is a tweet from a DPW Administrative Committee member on election night:

    All you people who hate on Obama? Well he’s all that’s standing between us and a theocracy now. So get on board.

    As clueless as RoJo or Grothman and you think any left leaning people seeking justice in any shape or form are going to be heard by either right wing of the oligarchs.

    1. nonquioxte,

      Short answer, I believe in original sin.

      Socialism works great in families and religious communities of like minded folks. I don’t consider what we’re living under currently to be capitalism. Oligopolies have no place in free markets.

      I’ll circle back later and try to give a more complete response.

      1. JC,
        Call it socialism, I’m fine with that but it’s not actually the best descriptor. What I’m talking about was discussed beautifully at this link (whole post worth a look) :

        http://elections.firedoglake.com/2014/11/05/while-democrats-did-terribly-progressive-policies-did-very-well-at-the-ballot/#comment-41867

        This is exactly what I was afraid of when the left purists decided not to vote to throw mud in Obama’s eye.

        Can you give a single reason why anyone that is left (purist or otherwise) should support the Democratic Party???

        Or put another way, why would someone on the left support a right wing Party????

        This has nothing to do with “purism” and everything to do with the Democratic Party not representing the values that lefty voters support.

        Do the Democrats support single payer healthcare? No.
        Do the Democrats support ending the war on terror, or the war on drugs?? No.
        Do the Democrats support a minimum wage that is a real living wage??? No.
        Do the Democrats support civil liberties and limits on government power??? No.
        Do the Democrats support ending the existing “free trade” deals and not entering into any new ones???? No.
        Do the Democrats support a BIG? (Basic Income Guarantee)??? No.
        Do the Democrats support unions and laws that strengthen them? No.
        Do the Democrats support returning this nation to a rule of law, where NO ONE is above the law (like the banksters who crashed the world economy)??? No
        These are but some of what I consider to be important issues, and the Democrats don’t agree with me ON A SINGLE ONE.

        Yet I’m supposed to vote for the Democrats or I’m a “Purist?”

        FUCK NO.

  12. We should have a 72 country strategy and Tate is right on that. Responsibility of the election results goes to Senator Larson and Representative Barca and their caucus along with Tate. Living in a post Citizens United World also has an effect. Back in 2006 a democrat running for office could be competitive on 15k. Wineke use to say that our state legislative candidates can win against Republicans as long as we can get a third of the funding the Republicans do. National Democrats face many of the same issues DPW does after the election. The 50 state strategy Howard Dean administered in 2006 and 2008 was different in that he took power away from special interest groups in the Democratic Party when it game to who the Party would support in General Elections. Democrats are not building election to election with their get out the vote efforts. Democrats should get everyone who voted in 2012 that did not vote in 2014 on their gotv lists for 2016.

  13. AJ, I absolutely agree that Barca and Larson should bear some responsibility for the results on Tuesday, and I think you’re going to see credible challenges to both when leadership positions are chosen in the Democratic caucus.

    1. I also think it’s time for new leadership. There are reports Shilling wants to be Majority Leader in the Senate, and after the Bomhack fiasco in SD-17, Larson can’t be allowed to keep his position (and I like Larson a lot).

      And we need a new Assembly leader as well, and I like Peter Barca a lot. The first name that comes to mind is Chris Taylor (a future state office holder), or even a good rural guy like Nick Milroy. New faces with strong messages are required these days.

      1. Have the Assembly Democrats ever thought of putting Chris Danou in leadership? I have similar thoughts on Larson and Barca, good guys but we need new leadership. Whoever is in leadership needs to be able to formulate a legislative debate that is compelling to swing voters and base voters that is unique from just the highly partisan issues we see every election.

        1. Dianne Hesselbein I think would be a good leader too from what I have scene of her work. The leader needs to have the energy to get legislative alternatives to the Republicans.

  14. Here are some of your suggestions…

    -Elizabeth Warren messaging
    -billboards
    -yard signs
    -move party to Wausau
    -install Nick Milroy as minority leader
    -socialism
    -Tom Nelson

    And you all wonder why we lose elections.

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