UW Oshkosh Political Science Professor Jim Simmons makes some observatons for Gannett about why Mr. Underheim won't run for assembly in the fall. Cheryl Hentz (may need to register) says "Maybe Tony Palmeri should give it another whirl. Maybe now it's 'Time for Tony.'"
4 comments:
Tony,
Have you ever given consideration to running for the 54th as a Republican? You talk about LaFollette a lot, and he was a Republican. Why not run a campaign on taking back the Republican Party from the wingnuts?
Dear Anonymous,
No, I have never given serious consideration to the idea of running as a Republican. What you refer to as the "wingnuts" appear to have such complete control of the GOP at this moment that I can't see how someone who supports gay rights, a progressive income tax, and an end to all corporate welfare scams could even be allowed a fair hearing.
More important, I made a decision around the year 2000 that I would no longer lend my name to parties that place all of their energies in the electoral arena. The Greens believe that elections are vital, but we also believe that the most important work in society happens in-between elections. The establishment party leadership in Washington and in the state capitals gave up on meaningful in-between election activity a long time ago, a situation which has hurt the Democrats more than the Republicans (for reasons we can discuss if anyone is interested). --Tony
Tony,
Do you plan to run for anything this year?
The office that I have been most approached about running for is governor. At this time I have no plans to run for that office, but my mind _could_ change if it becomes clear that the only choices in November will be business as usual candidates facing ethics investigations. Remember, I said that _could_ change my mind, not that it necessarily will. (The Green Party has within its ranks many individuals who would make great gubernatorial candidates, and should one of them step forward to run I would support them).
If I did run for Governor my campaign would be very much along the lines of Bob Fitrakis, the Green Party candidate in Ohio who is running on a "Zero Tolerance For Corruption" platform http://www.bobforohio.com/
(Fitrakis, by the way, is a scholar, award winning investigative journalist, and political activist who was a leader in the movement to expose vote fraud in the 2004 elections.).
Mr. Underheim only announced on Friday that he will not be running again for the 54th AD, yet I have already received a ton of email and phone calls either asking me if I will run or encouraging me to do so. Some have asked me if I would consider running in a Democratic primary. The answer to that is NO.
Will I run for the 54th in 2006? I am leaning against it, but will probably not make a final decision until the UW Oshkosh spring break in March.
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