No pouty faces!

Just returned from the Republican Second Congressional District caucus here in Madison this morning.

Kevin Nicholson gave one of the worst speeches since Jimmy Carter wore the wool cardigan and told his TV audience to burn their furniture in the fireplace if they wanted to keep warm. (Deja vu all over again?)

Like Vito Corleone at the Commission meeting, Nicholson blamed some of the people in the room at the Radisson Hotel on Madison’s west side.

Sen. Ron Johnson advises ‘No pouty faces’

By name, state party chairman Paul Farrow, who was standing in the corner of the room, taking it all in with admirable equanimity. (Don’t interrupt an adversary digging his own hole.) The party will endorse its nominee for governor at its convention here in Madison May 20-22 and it won’t be Nicholson, who alternately renounces and begs for the party’s nod. By contrast, Rebecca Kleefisch, the front runner, reminded delegates of all that Walker/Kleefisch accomplished in their eight years.

The feisty spitfire took aim at Tony Evers, rather than fellow Republicans. She held up her lit piece and pointed to the artwork. “See, I’ve got a shotgun.”

That’s an applause line in a Republican event. Nicholson, by contrast, got no spontaneous applause lines. He said he was running against the Republican establishment. Hate to break it to you, Kevin, but Tony Evers and Joe Biden are the establishment; they’re the ones in power. Besides, no one we know hates Paul Farrow.

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson followed and was accorded a hero’s welcome. He asked for “No pouty faces” on primary election night, which appeared aimed at Nicholson. That’s way off on August 9 btw. (The spring non-partisan elections are Tuesday April 5. Blaska is your write-in candidate for seat #4 on the Madison school board.)

Another Republican hopeful for governor is a guy named Adam Fischer, a former cop who describes himself as “Christian Republican.” Democrats tiptoe past religion. They huff and puff about “separation of church and state.” The Constitution, should they read it, does not require JFK or Joe Biden to renounce their religion. It prevents the government from restricting yours. Fischer also describes himself as “one pissed off American.”

Anger can be righteous but works best when carefully targeted, not blunderbussed. Reagan understood that. Even when Hinckley shot him, the Gipper blamed himself for forgetting to duck!

All the candidates — great was their number! (a healthy sign, itself) — denounced critical race theory and face masking little children. Becky Kleefisch summoned Glenn Youngkin’s victory in Virginia, itself a reproach to Nicholson and Timothy Ramthun, the election-denying nut job who, if he spoke, your correspondent missed him.

Blaska’s Bottom Line: Parents aren’t stupid; they are well attuned to their kids’ schooling, despite what Democrats and their publicists in our daily news media write. Hey, Dane County Democrats apparently endorsed Cops Out of Schools Ali Muldrow. Say what you will about Republicans, they may be pissed off but they don’t hate police.

Do YOU have a shotgun?