The final weekend of summer. A three-day weekend. The opening weekend of college football and just a few more days to wait before the Packers defense of their Super Bowl title kicks off.
But Labor Day weekend has also traditionally been a time for communities to recognize workers. The city of Wausau traditionally holds a Labor Day parade, but this year, certain officials have been told not to come.
Union leaders, who organize the event, told WSAU-TV that Republican officials who either “openly attacked worker’s rights” or did nothing to intervene, were not invited to participate. Wausau’s mayor is trying to figure out if that’s legal.
It’s difficult t0 imagine harder hits on the football field this season than we’ve seen recently in the political arena.
FIRST ONE IN
We have our first official U.S. Senate candidate in the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin). Former Republican Congressman Mark Neumann made the announcement this morning on WTMJ-AM radio.
Mark Neumann
A Neumann consultant told the national political outlet, Politico, “I think this was a big decision for him. I think this was a really big jump for him after having lost to Scott Walker (in the 2010 Republican primary for Governor).”
The move sets up a likely Republican primary, including former Gov. Tommy Thompson, whose old Chief of Staff Bill McCoshen told Here and Now on Friday, “I don’t have any doubt Gov. Thompson is going to be a candidate.”
But wait, that’s not all. Current state Sen. Frank Lasee and former state Sen. Ted Kanavas are exploring a run.
Also, Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, highlighting what might be a preview of the old blood (Thompson, Neumann) vs. new blood (him) campaign he might run, told “UpFront with Mike Gousha” over the weekend: “I just think right now, we are in very different times… I think Governor Thompson and Mark Neumann haven’t been elected officials for a long time.”
On the Democratic side, with former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) deciding not to run, the focus has been on U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Rep. Ron Kind and former U.S. Rep. Steven Kagen.
NOT JUST SCHULTZ
The prevailing wisdom at the State Capitol has been that since the recall elections this summer and the now one-vote Republican majority, 17-16, the Wisconsin State Senate, that Sen. Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) would become a kind-of kingmaker. He voted against the collective bargaining measure and the former Senate Majority Leader has had a history of being a “moderate” on some issues.
Sen. Van Wanggaard
Over the weekend, we saw another Republican Senator step out and maybe claim part of an upcoming middle ground. Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) told his hometown paper, The Racine Journal-Times, that he was no “rubber stamp” for anyone when his party had a 3-seat edge in the legislature’s upper chamber and he’s not now that it has just a one-seat edge.
It’s an interesting story, previewing the upcoming fall legislative session.
Here’s Wanggaard’s full quote to the paper:
“Even when we had a spread of three, every vote you take you have to take because it’s the right vote. I don’t look at it from a standpoint of how does somebody want me to vote.”
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