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| Gov. Jim Doyle won't seek re-election | |
| 2009-08-16 | |
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has told associates he will announce this week that he won't seek a third term in 2010, POLITICO has learned.
The governor has been coy for months about his intentions, stockpiling money but at the same time not saying publicly whether he would run for re-election. But sources familiar with his decision not to seek a third term say Doyle recognized the difficulties he may have faced next year and didn't want to go through another campaign after a long political career. He's had to raise taxes and fees while furloughing state workers to help plug a $6.6 billion budget deficit. In doing so, his approval numbers have fallen below 40 percent. And just this week, he faced the embarrassment of seeing his legal counsel quit because she hadn't passed the state bar. "His legal counsel resigns, poll numbers have been in the tank, the state's unemployment rate is hovering above 9 percent, he's bickering with Dem lawmakers on the Finance Committee, and he's taking shots from the Madison media over one of his appointments to the Dane County bench," wrote the popular state political site Wispolitics.com in their insider "Stock Market" column last week. "And there's continued heartburn among Dems because he still hasn't officially announced if he's running for governor next year. It all adds up to a rough patch for the guv, insiders from both sides say." National Democratic strategists privately expressed concern about Doyle's re-election prospects, especially in the face of a strong GOP field that includes Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and former Rep. Mark Neumann. "It's not the worst thing in the world," said one top Democrat, citing Doyle's declining popularity and a solid bench of prospective Democratic candidates | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 If you care about jobs then you really should stop fining businesses for employing people! |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2009-08-16 18:45 |
| #3 http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2009/07/01/newsupdate/13frankenstein.txt The notorious "Frankenstein Veto" built into Wisconsin's constitution was modified somewhat. The above link goes to an article about Doyle using the illegal veto from force of habit. The legislature has to unscramble this little problem now. Mullah Richard summarizes Doyle's flaws quite well above. Democratic candidates to replace him may include the Dane Co. Executive, Kathleen Falk, a nightmare for anybody who cares about keeping jobs in Wisconsin. |
| Posted by: mom 2009-08-16 18:12 |
| #2 Wild. I always thought the Edens took people from Chicago to Milwaukee. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2009-08-16 14:38 |
| #1 It will take the folks from Wisconsin years to recover from the anti-business, free spending Mr. Doyle. Case in point - a major proponent of the 'high-speed rail' farce, the governor just spent $47M "No-Bid" on two sets of Spanish trains for an existing Milwaukee-Chicago rail line (Hiawatha) that could add 70 riders (to 420, up from 350) per trip on a system that usually carries far less than 200 passengers per trip. Another future subsidy! Wisconsin used to be 'good' for business by investing heavily in existing and new industries (thereby keeping the unemployment rate very low in relationship to its neighbors). Doyle cut the majority of this investment out of the budgets since 2003. In the last 6 years, businesses have left the state in droves, so that part of his plan 'worked' anyway. Good riddance. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2009-08-16 09:23 |