Bum's Bluff

Let the new race begin

For the first time since Ed Garvey was the Democrat's choice against Tommy, I am at a loss as to what to do with my vote this coming November. Normally the choice is fairly obvious -- two candidates, one right and one left -- I tend to sway left with firm grasp on the middle. Since the Reagan Revolution it had become much easier for me as the right became the far right and the left tried to fill the vacuum left in the middle.

But then you get an occasional hiccup from the left where their candidate is more of a New Age Marxist than they are Democrat. Such was the case with Mr. Garvey, and that left me with voting for a Republican who reached out to us in the middle.

Now I face it again with the AG race. No clue if Falk is really as left-field as she shows herself, but she does scare me with the rhetoric. And while Van Hollen is likely too far to the right for my views, he does restore some of my faith in the GOP for not selecting the WingNut known as Bucher.

So I start looking at this race with a fresh perspective and hope to be won over by one of the candidates. Which really is the way it ought to work anyway. So far it looks like far-left vs mid-right -- that places me directly in the center on the political spectrum. Now is the time to start looking at the two and giving out points for legitimate stances throughout the race.
The score starts 0 - 0. First match is where they chose to hold their Victory Parties.

Falk -- Fyfe's Corner Bistro. As an individual going out to eat, a very nice choice -- good food, extensive bar, great service. But this is also an upper scale Isthmus restaurant known as a favorite among the "Progressive Dane" liberals who have money to burn. Seriously, if you want a campaign event at an Isthmus eatery without looking like the stereotypical Madison Lib, The Avenue is your place for making constituents feel welcome.

Van Hollen -- Rex's Innkeeper. A Waunakee institution. This says a lot about the candidate. It is in the Madison area without being in Madison. It is an excellent supper club for the common folk (gee sounds almost like a place for Democrats to hang out!). Nothing pretentious, just good food and service with any arrogance being at least 10 miles to the south.

The score now stands: Falk 0, Van Hollen 1

posted by Walton @ 10:16 AM