The Milwaukee Post

8 • Milwaukee County Post • May 18, 2018 The results of the state Republican Convention in Wisconsin last weekend are clear. The vast majority of loyal GOP activists in the state want Leah Vukmir to be the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. But their preference is likely to cre- ate a situation that will be awkward at best and ugly at worst. The delegates voted in overwhelming fash- ion — a staggering 72 percent — to endorse Vukmir and use the state party apparatus to help her win the August primary. But the "loser" of the endorsement fight, Kevin Nicholson, isn't likely to go away. Indeed, Nicholson may be the favorite to win the GOP primary despite the fact that the vast majority of the party's leaders and volun- teers don't want him. This means the party leadership will use the party infrastructure to attempt to deny the nomination from a guy who may win it anyway. The potential for deeply wounded feelings that leave the party incapable of rallying around the eventual opponent to vulnerable Democrat incumbent Tammy Baldwin is real. Even worse, this could spill over into other races in a year the GOP desperately needs to be united to re-elect Gov. Scott Walker and keep control of at least one house of the state Legislature. Here's the problem: The GOP volunteers and loyalists love Vukmir (many party lead- ers don't because of her constant pushes to move the party to the right). And they resent Nicholson jumping from the Democrats to try to hijack the election with the backing of $25 million (or so) from an Illinois resident. But love for Leah or not, they may not get what they want and they may be stuck with Nicholson. For many of these people who volunteer at the campaign offices, drive vot- ers to the polls and otherwise do all the grassroots work that wins elections that is an aggravating result. Nicholson has accomplished two things with all the money being spent on his behalf by Lake Forest, Ill., billionaire Richard Uihlein: He has rubbed Republican activists the wrong way and gained the support of lots of actual voters. Recent polls, even if they are a bit exaggerated, show Nicholson with a massive lead among voters. Running TV and radio ads nonstop for months will do that. Uihlein, who owns Kenosha's booming Uline Corporation, is apparently obsessed with getting Nicholson elected and appears to have no limit on the amount of money he will give to purportedly independent organ- izations running all these pro-Kevin ads. So here's the lay of the land: Vukmir is way ahead with Republican activists and Nicholson is way ahead with voters. This is a perilous situation. Usually, the Wisconsin Republican backed by the activists wins. (Scott Walker, Ron Johnson, etc.) But none of the candidates bucking a popular Republican has had the kind of financial backing Nicholson has in the form of Sugar Daddy Uihlein. As detailed in last week's column, Nicholson's incessant bragging about his service in the Marines is rubbing some Republicans the wrong way and there is severe distrust of him because of his back- ground as a national Democrat leader and his lack of effort in any known Wisconsin Republican cause. But the average voter watching the ads is, so far at least, impressed with this earnest young man who served his country. If nothing changes, the voters will choose a candidate the vast majority of actual Republican activists do not want. Republicans in this state value loyalty and nobody has fought harder for conservative principles than Vukmir. Her deep involve- ment on every major issue in this state in the last 15 years couldn't be more different than Nicholson's sudden self-manifestation as a Republican who wants to start his career in the Senate. Nicholson will be a hard one to swallow. One of two things is going to happen. The first possibility is that the overwhelming convention vote for Vukmir will help her raise enough money to counter Nicholson's Uihlein-paid advertising binge. This will raise Vukmir's name recognition, GOP vot- ers will choose the sure thing, Nicholson will fade and Vukmir will win. The second possibility is that Nicholson's ad bombardment will work and that he will tap into the same voter desire for outsiders that elected President Trump. It's 50-50 as to which scenario wins out. But here's what can't happen: Nicholson's out-of-state campaign handlers and the political hit squad hired by Uihlein can't try to win the nomination by savaging Vukmir with attack ads. Here's why: The Vukmir record is identical to the record fought for so hard by all of the conservatives who have transformed this state in the current decade. Act 10, the tax cuts, business reforms, prevailing wage repeal, right-to- work, crime crackdown, rejection of the Obamacare money, welfare reform and numerous other initiatives that have been enacted in this state all have Vukmir's fin- gerprints on them. If Nicholson attacks her record, he is attacking the record of all the Republicans and their supporters who have fought so valiantly since 2010. Repudiating Vukmir's record will enrage the people who have fought for all of those causes. The media, the unions, the Madison establishment and the John Doe prosecutors have all tried to demonize Walker and his backers in attempts to stop the conservative revolution. If Nicholson sides with that crowd by unfairly attacking Vukmir, he will deeply anger the very people he will need to back him when he runs against Baldwin. Nicholson has every right to run and, thanks to America's weird campaign finance laws, Uihlein has every right to spend millions on Nicholson's behalf. The Senate nomination is not Vukmir's entitle- ment. But the very last thing Republicans in this state need right now is to have all of their incredible accomplishments be put under attack by another "Republican" doing the dirty work of the Democrats. (Mark Belling is the host of a daily WISN radio talk show. His column appears weekly in the Milwaukee Post. Send your personal correspondences to Mark Belling at Clear Channel Communications, c/o WISN, 12100 W. Howard Ave., Greenfield, WI 53228). MARK BELLING STANDING UP for MILWAUKEE Republican loyalists back Vukmir, but voters with Nicholson OPINION Last week's question What do you think of President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal made under Barack Obama? I was ecstatic when President Trump pulled out of the Iran deal. It was and is the worst deal ever made, even worse than Clinton's deal with North Korea, and we saw how that went. Iran got well over $1.25 billion, which wasn't spent on its own people. Some Democrats were totally against the deal when President Obama was making it, but now they are talking the opposite just because it's President Trump. As per usual for them, they don't fight for us or our country. I am glad we left the deal. — Marilyn Fedran Milwaukee *** Some other countries are also involved in this nuclear deal with Iran. If you are looking at world security and safety, the paper is meaningless. All the provisions, the stipulations I see on the web are so ambiguous that it leaves nothing for anyone. Nothing against former President Obama or President Trump, the fact is that it looks like garbage. — Thomas Reed West Allis This week's question With a projected $177 mil- lion deficit by 2020 for Milwaukee Public Schools, Gov. Walker suggested that if state Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Tony Evers doesn't intervene, perhaps the district should be broken into smaller dis- tricts. What do you think? Or, with the opening of IKEA in Oak Creek even while retail outlets like Boston Store and Sears close up, how do you feel about the state of retail sales? (Choose one.) Editor's note: When responding to the Question of the Week, please include your full name with spelling, phone number and city where you live. Anonymous responses are no longer accepted by the publication. Call 744- 6370, Ext. 15 and leave a brief answer. Readers may also send an email with a brief answer to: dmuck@conleynet.com. Question of the week Send your letters to: The Milwaukee Post, c/o Dan Muckelbauer, 3397 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207, or by email to: dmuck@conleynet.com. We reserve the right to edit letters for style, length and clarity. Letters should be typewritten or printed and include full name, phone number and address. Please keep your letters to no more than 400 words. Letters policy

• Cover