Tuesday’s elections offer a lesson

We just don’t know what it is!

What can we learn from Tuesday’s election results here in Dane County and throughout Wisconsin? We can’t say because Ol’ Sparky, our Eisenhower-era mainframe computer, is still grinding its gears.

We know that voters did approve the two state constitutional amendments banning private money and personnel in the conduct of Wisconsin elections by 54.4% and 58.5%, respectively. That’s convincing but well short of the 70% Ol’ Sparky predicted. Still a victory for the Republican legislative majority. Every Democrat in the legislature and their amen corner in the news media urged voters to continue welcoming outside interference in our elections, thereby giving credence to MAGAt claims of stolen elections.

Wisconsin’s five largest cities received two to four times more money, per capita, than small town and rural Wisconsin that year from a Mark Zuckerberg front group, according to a Wisconsin State Journal analysis, while a Zuckerberg adviser helped Green Bay run its elections — knowing that rural and small town Wisconsin are MAGA country.

  Democrat(ic) cat fight

Here in Dane County, incumbents Patrick Miles in McFarland and Jeff Weigand in Marshall won their races, as we predicted. But Weigand remains the only consistent conservative vote among the 37 supervisors on the Dane County Board. Conservatives did not pick up seats in DeForest or Cross Plains, despite our predix that one or the other might break through.

Miles overcame resistance from two Democrat(ic) state legislators, Melissa Ratcliff and Ed Joers, and from its former sheriff, Dave Mahoney, who Miles deep-sixed as interim director of the county’s unnecessary Office of Justice Reform. If he is elected chairman of the board, Miles would be in a position to name himself as county executive when Joe Parisi leaves office next month.

More than any of the other conservative aspirants, Weigand was front and center about resisting the Woke ideology infesting our culture. Voters want politicians who stand for something besides election. Weigand increased his margin from 33 votes, or 50.6%, two years ago to 156 votes, or 52.5%, this time. He did that despite a full frontal attack from the Democrat(ic) machine. That, we got to think, was a turn-off to many who voted in this supposedly non-partisan contest. Hooray for diversity, equity, and inclusion!

Milwaukee approved a $252 million school referendum. Ol’ Sparky had predicted defeat. But it prevailed by a narrow 51 to 49% margin. Four years ago, 78% of voters approved $87 million in additional spending. The well, it is running dry.

 Over 20% voted against Trump in GOP primary

Now to Wisconsin’s once-significant presidential primary. John Nichols and the Palestinian wing of the Democrat(ic) Party will call it a victory — no one else will. As a protest against Israel’s war on terrorist Hamas, 8.4% of Democrats statewide checked “uninstructed” on their ballots rather than vote for their President. The Werkes predicted 5%. Dean Phillips siphoned off more votes, leaving Uncle Joe with 88.6%.

Donald Trump might wish he had done as well. Orange Man Bad managed 79.2% of the statewide Republican vote. Our Eisenhower-era relic (fully amortized!) assured us that the itinerant Bible salesman would not see 75%. Still, over one in every five Republicans rejected the likely Republican nominee — who appeared in Green Bay on Election Day. (It should be said, Wisconsin has an open primary — nothing to stop Democrats from voting in the other party’s primary and vice versa.)

Blaska’s Bottom Line: We think many of the 124,750 RINOs who voted No More Trump will “come home” in November — but how many? He lost Wisconsin four years ago by 20,682. Speaking in Green Bay, Trump offered his “complete and total endorsement” for Eric Hovde, running against incumbent Tammy Baldwin.

What you want to bet that Hovde makes no mention
of the criminal defendant through to November 5?