While he hasn’t officially declared as a candidate, Reynolds has started up a new political action committee (PAC), Clean Sweep Wisconsin,which is attempting to run “everyday working people…willing to run foroffice against incumbents of both political parties, and to do thatwhen and where they are most vulnerable: the Sept. 9 party primaryelections.”
This anti-incumbent PAC is attempting to runcandidates in both Republican and Democratic primaries, although itsplatform is clearly ultraconservative. According to the PAC’s Web site,the Reynolds-approved agenda includes: health care reform that embracesa “free-market consumer-driven health care model”; implementing “auniversal education tax credit that promotes complete parental choiceof schools, public or private”; preventing “any further increases ofproperty taxes, income taxes and any other taxes or user fees”; cappingcollege tuition increases; and keeping “Wisconsin from being an illegal alien magnet state.”
Clean Sweep Wisconsin’slatest campaign finance report filed with the state shows a cashbalance of $450. The PAC took in $860 from individuals and received$600 from the Citizens for Tom Reynolds committee. According to a voicemessage Reynolds left for an alleged supporter, the former statesenator said Clean Sweep Wisconsinis hoping to run 12 candidates in Milwaukee“eight on the North Sideand four on the South Side”and has already found “eight or nine”candidates.
Reynolds said that he had a candidate to runagainst South Side Reps. Christine Sinicki and Tony Staskunas, “andwe’re still working on [Josh] Zepnick and [Pedro] Colon.” All of theselegislators are Democrats. None of their districts has a Republican Asof this writing, only Sinicki has a registered challenger in theDemocratic primary, Steven Sutherland of Cudahy. Since no Republicanshave registered for that race, it could allow that district’sconservative voters to oust Sinicki by voting in the Democraticprimary.
But Sinicki is a moderate Democrat and her districtis solidly blue-collar Democratic. A Reynolds-backed candidate toutinga free-market platform will likely have a difficult time winning overthese voters.
Still,Sinicki said she’s going to work hard to win the primary. “I will takethe race very seriously,” she said. Reynolds did not respond torequests for comment on this story.
Getting Attention
Reynolds was elected to the state Senate in 2002 after defeating fellow Republican Peggy Rosenzweig in the primaryelection. This came after multiple attempts to oust longtime DemocraticCongressman Gerald Kleczka. Reynolds then lost his seat in the stateSenate in 2006 to moderate Democrat Jim Sullivan. Voters in Wauwatosaand West Allis were fed up with Reynolds’ headline-grabbing antics andhard-line right-wing political views that turned off mainstreamRepublicans.
In office, Reynolds was rigidly pro-life,anti-stem-cell research and anti-tax. He had proposed building apay-as-you-go, speed-limit-free Autobahn parallel to I-94 after he gota speeding ticket in Illinois.He asked for a tax break for homeschooling parentsperhaps because hejust happens to be a parent of home-schooled kids. Reynolds also tookaim at illegal aliens and advocated for capital punishment.
Reportsalso surfaced that he asked potential employees if they were virginsand didn’t hire female staffers because his wife wouldn’t allow it.Reynolds always made for good copy. In addition to posing as St. Joseph with hiswife the Virgin Mary on their family’s Christmas cards, Reynoldsattended the notorious 2003 International Conference on Homo-Fascism.After being embarrassed when video appeared on YouTube.com showing himtalking about his son sticking “his finger up his sister’s butt,”Reynolds became camera-shy during the 2006 campaign.
Herefused to show up for debates with Sullivan, before finally agreeingto highly controlled debate at his church. Sinicki chuckled at thethought Reynolds getting back into politics, especially in a year whenconservative Republicans are either retiring or expecting to loserepresentatives at all levels government.
“Republicans are dropping like flies,” she said. “It seems like they’re getting little desperate.”
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