It’s time to break out another edition of Ask Egg and offer some free advice to both halves of the Republican gubernatorial campaign that they really should have taken.
Dear Egg,
My opponent, who has been seeking office longer than I’ve been in politics, has been getting a lot of traction by pointing out I’ve been in politics 16 years. Our oppo research found a couple of votes that, if made public, could blow holes in both his “outsider” claim and his “tax-cutter” image. We’re thinking about amping it up to the max. What say you?
-Wobbling in Wauwatosa
Dear Wobbling,
Voting records are always fair game, especially since this is his 6th bite at elective office in 18 years. Pointing out he voted for $9 billion in pork in a bill that was, at the time, roundly criticized for containing the pork, and voted against ending the marriage penalty, are winners, especially since your ultimate opponent voted against the pork, and support for the pork in the opposition party was greater than the support in your party.
Taking it to the next level by invoking the name of the current leader of the opposition party in that body, especially since she has nothing to do with Wisconsin, would be a mistake.
-Egg
Dear Egg,
I finally took your advice, focused on what I would do as governor, and started to make the opinion shift in my favor. The bad news is, I went back to the negativity well by emphasizing how long my opponent has been in politics every chance I can get, and my latter-period voting record came back to bite me. That’s not fair because it’s supposed to be the second person to open fire that gets it. I know you’re for him, but you’ve been fairer to me than some others. How can I reverse the reversal?
-Wiggling in Nashota
Dear Wiggling,
I did warn you that those walls weren’t exactly made of brick I do, however, sympathize with your anger over the comparison to San Fran Nan; that was a cheap shot. Going back to the more-distant past isn’t an option; too many people still know 1995 came before 1998. I would point out how you’re not like her in the here and now and go back to what brought your campaign out of the July blahs.
One more bit of free advice – remember what happened to John McCain the moment he locked up the nomination in 2008.
-Egg
