I’ve been as entertained as everyone else on Jim Klauser’s involvement in the campaign for governor.
Last spring, he announced with great fanfare that he would support Mark Neumann’s candidacybefore Neumann declared.
It was a bold shot across the bow, one that put Scott Walker on notice.
Later, Klauser told me that a contested primary would be a good thing for Walker by making him a better candidate. Here’s what I wrote last September:
Thompson aide Klauser endorsed former Congressman Mark Neumann back in April, practically ensuring that the Republicans would have a competitive primary next September. He said recent history shows that Wisconsin governors win because they were successfully tested during a primary race.
“If they don’t have a primary, they don’t get out there and they don’t work as hard,” Klauser said. “Scott Walker is working harder as a result of Mark Neumann getting in. I’ve told Scott he needs a primary. I said, ‘It’s pretty hard for you to get an opponent in a primary, but if you want to win this election, you need a good primary.’”
And, thanks to Klauser’s early backing of Neumann, Walker will likely get one.
I also went back to my original transcript from last fall's interview and here’s why Klauser endorsed Neumann:
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"The reason why I’m becoming involved again, I feel Mark is the more experienced of the several potential candidates. He has private sector experience, which I think is important. He knows what the small businessman has to go through to survive and grow, unlike any of the other candidates on either side. And has created jobs in the private sector. I think he has experience in government but he is not a professional or full-time politician. I think it’s not only important to win an election. I understand if you don’t win you can’t do anything. But you also have to be able to govern and to run whatever office it is you’re running for. I think he has more experience and would be best able to govern if elected."
So there you have itfor a while. Klauser jumped ship and endorsed Walker a few months later.
Since then, Walker’s become the favorite of the establishmentand Neumann hasn’t been playing nice. No, he’s been calling out Walker on his never-believable budget claims (numbers that non-Republicans have always questioned) and an alleged push-poll conducted by the Walker campaign. Seems that Neumann has gotten under the skin of Walker.
Now, Klauser wants Neumann to jump ship. So much for the value of a competitive primary and private sector experience, hey
