malkusm
08-12-2010, 08:01 AM
Source: http://www.rlc.org/2010/08/10/case-for-terri-mccormick/
It’s almost a month to the day of the Wisconsin primary (September 14) and 8th Congressional District Republican candidate Terri McCormick finds herself in a 3-way Republican battle to face Congressman Steve Kagen.
It’s getting ugly.
Kagen, a 2nd-term Democrat representing an independent-minded swing district, voted for Obamacare, Cap and Trade, and nearly everything else that Obama-Pelosi asked him to pass.
The Wisconsin chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus endorsed McCormick early on in this election cycle. This piece reviews her credentials, the attacks against McCormick in northeast Wisconsin, the 8th District race, and why McCormick is a good bet for WI-08 voters and the broader liberty movement.
Terri McCormick: The Original Maverick
In 2006, the Republican Party was clinging to its electoral strategy of “Compassionate Conservatism”. President George W. Bush and his wife Laura came to Wisconsin to campaign in the WI-08 Congressional primary. Wisconsin Republicans had a prime opportunity to pass a Republican-held Congressional seat to a fresh face because Congressman Mark Green decided to run for Governor. The primary field was cleared by the Republican Party, which was betting that Speaker of the Wisconsin House John Gard could win the race. There was only one problem: Terri McCormick, a self-term limited Representative, also decided to run. Despite a drawn out smear-ignore campaign strategy and despite the intimidation tactics used by the Republican Party Bosses both nationally and in Wisconsin, McCormick continued her bid for Congress.
Long story short: Gard and the National Republican Congressional Committee spent $2 million to defeat her in the primary. McCormick received 32 percent of the vote and established herself as a Republican maverick. The 32 percent she received represented the segment of Wisconsin voters frustrated with George W. Bush’s policies, pissed that the Republican Party Establishment refused to allow the independent-minded voters of the district decide the primary, and excited about Terri McCormick’s message.
Establishment Republican John Gard lost the General Election to Steve Kagen in 2006 and 2008. Some Wisconsin Republicans incorrectly blame Terri McCormick for his defeat in both election cycles.
Terri McCormick entered public policy in the 1990s when her children were in grade school. A concerned mother with a background in education policy (and an impeccable resume), she fought to pass Wisconsin’s charter school laws and later headed up the Wisconsin Charter School Association. The charter school laws she wrote now successfully serve over 25,000 students in the state.
As book reviewer Michael Swartz notes after reading McCormick’s book, “While Tea Parties weren’t being contemplated yet in the early 1990’s, Terri McCormick was leading a grassroots effort of her own.”
In Terri you will find a candidate committed to listening to voters and solving problems. That’s how she entered political life.
Representative McCormick
Terri McCormick was elected in 2000 and served in the Wisconsin Assembly representing Neenah and Appleton until 2006. She pledged to serve only three terms and adhered to her original pledge. While in the Assembly, she wrote new transparency and open bid requirements so watchdogs could trace the costs of healthcare proposals, voted to attach an economic impact statement to legislation crafted to negatively impact small business, and authored legislation to give a property tax credit to combat disabled veterans.
Most legislators enter the State House with grandiose ideas about what they will achieve and end up with little to show for their time there. McCormick was able to build bipartisan coalitions to pass important legislation that positively impacts Wisconsin families years after she left the legislature. As former Republican National Committeeman Terry Kohler notes about McCormick, “She [was] a real bell ringer in Madison and I have no doubt she will repeat that perseverance and persuasiveness in Washington.”
Terri McCormick’s former constituents asked her to run for Congress in 2010 because they could not find another candidate with the combined integrity, credentials, and commitment to common sense policy solutions.
McCormick Under Attack
As her campaign has picked up steam, McCormick has increasingly been under attack. Almost daily the Wisconsin blogosphere is hurling snowballs at McCormick, to put it mildly. She has been targeted in print through the mainstream media, via personal verbal smears, in the blogosp here, and even on the radio.
Thus far she’s been accused by several “conservative” (read: neocon, establishment) bloggers of not attending a rigged 8th Congressional district candidate forum, not getting enough hits at her website, questioning the good health status of Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, and bashing the very bloggers who are spending nights and weekends posting smears to throw a wrench into her candidacy. They continue to question her 1977 Wisconsin Truman Scholarship nomination even after she has posted it at her campaign website and they even hacked into her computer to search for documents that might ruin her campaign.
So far their smear tactics have only added fuel to her candidacy. Quite clearly the bloggers at PartyofKnow, “RhymeswithClown”, and “BerryLaker” are desperate to defeat Terri McCormick.
Their motivation may be to keep Congressman Steve Kagen in office: McCormick is the only 8th Congressional district candidate with the name recognition, debate skills, and credentials to defeat the incumbent Democrat.
Two other possibilities:
1) McCormick is a strong-minded, independent woman running in a state that has never elected a Republican woman to federal office;
2) McCormick will not bow to the Republican Party Establishment.
The 8th District Race
The Eighth Congressional district is in northeast Wisconsin and borders Bart Stupak’s Upper Peninsula Michigan district. It’s largest cities are Green Bay and Appleton, both of which have a Republican mayor. From 1998 to 2006 it was represented by Congressman Mark Green, a conservative Republican. Since Green resigned to run for Governor in 2006, the district has been represented by liberal Democrat Steve Kagen of Appleton.
In 2010, the Republican candidates for candidates number three: Roger Roth, nephew of former Congressman Toby Roth; Reid “the Roofer” Ribble; and McCormick. Roth’s numbers seem to be decreasing rather than increasing after the Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin exposed his anti-liberty voting record and dangerous rhetoric.
Reid Ribble was the leader of the National Roofing Contractors Association, a lobbying organization that supported the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill seeking to give amnesty to illegal immigrants. Ribble was also the Chairman of ROOFPAC in 2005-2006, the roofing contractor Political Action Committee. Despite his residency in Wisconsin, it appears Mr. Ribble has long been connected to Washington lobbyists.
Speaking of residency, a simple search of the White Pages indicates that Ribble lives in the 6th Congressional District represented by Republican Tom Petri, not the 8th District. Sherwood, Wisconsin is located in Calumet County, outside the boundary of the 8th District.
A March survey of the race illustrates that Ribble barely registers when it comes to name recognition despite that he has received over $20,000 in contributions from DC Political Action Committees to date. Still, the Establishment believes either Reid Ribble or Roger Roth will defeat Terri McCormick in the primary. They’re betting on it.
Terri McCormick’s campaign has already achieved several of its benchmark goals:
- Raised over $100,000 in the 2nd quarter fundraising period;
- Gave the race a national focus by appearing twice on “Freedom Watch” with Judge Andrew Napolitano;
- Featured in Politico (August 2010) and the National Journal’s Hotline (November 2009);
- Became the first candidate to run a TV ad in the race;
- Hired Tea Party-endorsed candidate Will Johnson from Iowa as campaign manager.
Given that McCormick received 32% in her 2006 Congressional race, she simply needs a repeat performance to win the 8th District primary.
Help McCormick Win the Primary
YouTube - 2010 WI C4L Convention 10 - Terri McCormick (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPJJGKRmqVQ)
Establishment Republicans in the 8th District are desperate to derail the Terri McCormick freedom train. This is precisely why it is critical to participate in McCormick’s August 11 MoneyBomb, donate to her campaign, and join her Facebook fan page for updates.
Terri McCormick has addressed members of the Campaign for Liberty (see above video), Students for Liberty, the Republican Liberty Caucus, and “Freedom Watch” viewers. The issues page of her website outlines not only her achievements, but also her solution-focused approach to Washington politics-as-usual.
Voters in the 8th district should bet on McCormick because she is the only candidate who can defeat liberal Big Government Democrat Steve Kagen. As The Capital Times in Madison notes, “[T]he former legislator (Terri McCormick) has always been a maverick … [s]o the 8th might experience something rare in American politics: a contest between two genuine mavericks who disagree on a bunch of fundamental issues. A Kagen/McCormick race would be exciting, maybe a bit edgy.”
Terri McCormick’s slogan is “Credibility cannot be bought or borrowed; it must be earned.” Hopefully Terri McCormick has earned your support.
It’s almost a month to the day of the Wisconsin primary (September 14) and 8th Congressional District Republican candidate Terri McCormick finds herself in a 3-way Republican battle to face Congressman Steve Kagen.
It’s getting ugly.
Kagen, a 2nd-term Democrat representing an independent-minded swing district, voted for Obamacare, Cap and Trade, and nearly everything else that Obama-Pelosi asked him to pass.
The Wisconsin chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus endorsed McCormick early on in this election cycle. This piece reviews her credentials, the attacks against McCormick in northeast Wisconsin, the 8th District race, and why McCormick is a good bet for WI-08 voters and the broader liberty movement.
Terri McCormick: The Original Maverick
In 2006, the Republican Party was clinging to its electoral strategy of “Compassionate Conservatism”. President George W. Bush and his wife Laura came to Wisconsin to campaign in the WI-08 Congressional primary. Wisconsin Republicans had a prime opportunity to pass a Republican-held Congressional seat to a fresh face because Congressman Mark Green decided to run for Governor. The primary field was cleared by the Republican Party, which was betting that Speaker of the Wisconsin House John Gard could win the race. There was only one problem: Terri McCormick, a self-term limited Representative, also decided to run. Despite a drawn out smear-ignore campaign strategy and despite the intimidation tactics used by the Republican Party Bosses both nationally and in Wisconsin, McCormick continued her bid for Congress.
Long story short: Gard and the National Republican Congressional Committee spent $2 million to defeat her in the primary. McCormick received 32 percent of the vote and established herself as a Republican maverick. The 32 percent she received represented the segment of Wisconsin voters frustrated with George W. Bush’s policies, pissed that the Republican Party Establishment refused to allow the independent-minded voters of the district decide the primary, and excited about Terri McCormick’s message.
Establishment Republican John Gard lost the General Election to Steve Kagen in 2006 and 2008. Some Wisconsin Republicans incorrectly blame Terri McCormick for his defeat in both election cycles.
Terri McCormick entered public policy in the 1990s when her children were in grade school. A concerned mother with a background in education policy (and an impeccable resume), she fought to pass Wisconsin’s charter school laws and later headed up the Wisconsin Charter School Association. The charter school laws she wrote now successfully serve over 25,000 students in the state.
As book reviewer Michael Swartz notes after reading McCormick’s book, “While Tea Parties weren’t being contemplated yet in the early 1990’s, Terri McCormick was leading a grassroots effort of her own.”
In Terri you will find a candidate committed to listening to voters and solving problems. That’s how she entered political life.
Representative McCormick
Terri McCormick was elected in 2000 and served in the Wisconsin Assembly representing Neenah and Appleton until 2006. She pledged to serve only three terms and adhered to her original pledge. While in the Assembly, she wrote new transparency and open bid requirements so watchdogs could trace the costs of healthcare proposals, voted to attach an economic impact statement to legislation crafted to negatively impact small business, and authored legislation to give a property tax credit to combat disabled veterans.
Most legislators enter the State House with grandiose ideas about what they will achieve and end up with little to show for their time there. McCormick was able to build bipartisan coalitions to pass important legislation that positively impacts Wisconsin families years after she left the legislature. As former Republican National Committeeman Terry Kohler notes about McCormick, “She [was] a real bell ringer in Madison and I have no doubt she will repeat that perseverance and persuasiveness in Washington.”
Terri McCormick’s former constituents asked her to run for Congress in 2010 because they could not find another candidate with the combined integrity, credentials, and commitment to common sense policy solutions.
McCormick Under Attack
As her campaign has picked up steam, McCormick has increasingly been under attack. Almost daily the Wisconsin blogosphere is hurling snowballs at McCormick, to put it mildly. She has been targeted in print through the mainstream media, via personal verbal smears, in the blogosp here, and even on the radio.
Thus far she’s been accused by several “conservative” (read: neocon, establishment) bloggers of not attending a rigged 8th Congressional district candidate forum, not getting enough hits at her website, questioning the good health status of Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, and bashing the very bloggers who are spending nights and weekends posting smears to throw a wrench into her candidacy. They continue to question her 1977 Wisconsin Truman Scholarship nomination even after she has posted it at her campaign website and they even hacked into her computer to search for documents that might ruin her campaign.
So far their smear tactics have only added fuel to her candidacy. Quite clearly the bloggers at PartyofKnow, “RhymeswithClown”, and “BerryLaker” are desperate to defeat Terri McCormick.
Their motivation may be to keep Congressman Steve Kagen in office: McCormick is the only 8th Congressional district candidate with the name recognition, debate skills, and credentials to defeat the incumbent Democrat.
Two other possibilities:
1) McCormick is a strong-minded, independent woman running in a state that has never elected a Republican woman to federal office;
2) McCormick will not bow to the Republican Party Establishment.
The 8th District Race
The Eighth Congressional district is in northeast Wisconsin and borders Bart Stupak’s Upper Peninsula Michigan district. It’s largest cities are Green Bay and Appleton, both of which have a Republican mayor. From 1998 to 2006 it was represented by Congressman Mark Green, a conservative Republican. Since Green resigned to run for Governor in 2006, the district has been represented by liberal Democrat Steve Kagen of Appleton.
In 2010, the Republican candidates for candidates number three: Roger Roth, nephew of former Congressman Toby Roth; Reid “the Roofer” Ribble; and McCormick. Roth’s numbers seem to be decreasing rather than increasing after the Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin exposed his anti-liberty voting record and dangerous rhetoric.
Reid Ribble was the leader of the National Roofing Contractors Association, a lobbying organization that supported the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill seeking to give amnesty to illegal immigrants. Ribble was also the Chairman of ROOFPAC in 2005-2006, the roofing contractor Political Action Committee. Despite his residency in Wisconsin, it appears Mr. Ribble has long been connected to Washington lobbyists.
Speaking of residency, a simple search of the White Pages indicates that Ribble lives in the 6th Congressional District represented by Republican Tom Petri, not the 8th District. Sherwood, Wisconsin is located in Calumet County, outside the boundary of the 8th District.
A March survey of the race illustrates that Ribble barely registers when it comes to name recognition despite that he has received over $20,000 in contributions from DC Political Action Committees to date. Still, the Establishment believes either Reid Ribble or Roger Roth will defeat Terri McCormick in the primary. They’re betting on it.
Terri McCormick’s campaign has already achieved several of its benchmark goals:
- Raised over $100,000 in the 2nd quarter fundraising period;
- Gave the race a national focus by appearing twice on “Freedom Watch” with Judge Andrew Napolitano;
- Featured in Politico (August 2010) and the National Journal’s Hotline (November 2009);
- Became the first candidate to run a TV ad in the race;
- Hired Tea Party-endorsed candidate Will Johnson from Iowa as campaign manager.
Given that McCormick received 32% in her 2006 Congressional race, she simply needs a repeat performance to win the 8th District primary.
Help McCormick Win the Primary
YouTube - 2010 WI C4L Convention 10 - Terri McCormick (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPJJGKRmqVQ)
Establishment Republicans in the 8th District are desperate to derail the Terri McCormick freedom train. This is precisely why it is critical to participate in McCormick’s August 11 MoneyBomb, donate to her campaign, and join her Facebook fan page for updates.
Terri McCormick has addressed members of the Campaign for Liberty (see above video), Students for Liberty, the Republican Liberty Caucus, and “Freedom Watch” viewers. The issues page of her website outlines not only her achievements, but also her solution-focused approach to Washington politics-as-usual.
Voters in the 8th district should bet on McCormick because she is the only candidate who can defeat liberal Big Government Democrat Steve Kagen. As The Capital Times in Madison notes, “[T]he former legislator (Terri McCormick) has always been a maverick … [s]o the 8th might experience something rare in American politics: a contest between two genuine mavericks who disagree on a bunch of fundamental issues. A Kagen/McCormick race would be exciting, maybe a bit edgy.”
Terri McCormick’s slogan is “Credibility cannot be bought or borrowed; it must be earned.” Hopefully Terri McCormick has earned your support.