Socialist Francesca Hong Losses Nomination for Governor.
Every once in a while it is good to be reminded that the polls can be wrong. We found this out Tuesday night in Wisconsin. State Representative, and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Francesca Hong was the front runner to win the nomination for Governor, and at one point during the campaign she was up by 22 points, but last night she narrowly lost to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
Her loss should come as no surprise, certainly not to me, and her defeat no doubt also comes as a great relief to Wisconsin Democrats. With her as their nominee, they’d almost certainly lose the Governor’s mansion, and for that same reason I bet many Republicans are also sorry she was defeated. Why were the polls so wrong? Well, my guess is that Democrats overwhelmingly wanted her to be their nominee, and told pollsters so, but when they had to cast their ballot, they didn’t vote for her because they knew she would lose in the general election. Their hearts were with Hong, but their heads were with Crowley.
Even if we overlook the fact that Hong is young and inexperienced, and we overlook the fact that she ran a small restaurant and it went bust. And we overlook the fact that in no universe would she be considered qualified to run a state, still she had three insurmountable problems, problems that primary voters couldn’t overlook.
First, Outside of Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin is a sane State, which Trump carried twice. Hong’s (who represents Madison in the State Legislature) positions are too far to the left for Wisconsin. Some examples. She is in favor of taxpayer-subsidized childcare, a new high tax bracket for millionaires, the elimination of all college debt, Medicare for All, a 32-hour workweek with the possible pay cut covered by taxpayers, government-run grocery stores, abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and automatic restoration of voting rights for felons. These positions are too far to the left for Wisconsin, and Democratic primary voters know it.
Second, Hong is crazy. She once proposed doing away with Thanksgiving because of its identification with the American colonies. She publicly fretted about her proximity to whiteness, and how she could cope with having a half-white baby. These are just two examples of her Madison craziness. Try as she might, she wasn’t going to be able to explain her past woke statements away. Let’s put it this way, if you are running for Governor and you have to explain that you have changed your mind, and now favor keeping Thanksgiving, you are going to lose.
Third, and most importantly, Hong is a socialist, and Wisconsin is not going to elect a socialist governor. In fact, I would say that no State in our great Union is going to elect a socialist to run their State. No one who has a business, makes a good salary or owns a home is going to want their state run by a socialist.
One of the main jobs of a governor is to attract businesses and investment into their state. A socialist governor will repel both, and many businesses already in the state will be inclined to leave. This will lead to less revenue coming into the treasury and less money for social services, which will lead to even more people leaving the State. And a State that elects a socialist governor is giving a competitive advantage to the neighboring States.
Sadly, I will agree that it is possible to elect a socialist to Congress. There are 435 members of the House, and having a few socialists in that body probably won’t do too much harm or carry too much risk. But a governor is far more important. A governor is the CEO of the State, and a governor pushing socialism could destroy a State, and for that reason, for now at least, I can confidently say that no State will allow a socialist to sleep in their Governor’s mansion.
David is the author of two books: Elections Have Consequences, A Cautionary Tale.
Norton’s Choice: An Inside Politics Exposé: Shephard, David: 9781892538802: Amazon.com: Books
3 comments
QUOTE With her as their nominee, they’d almost certainly lose the Governor’s mansion, END QUOTE
QUOTE I can confidently say that no State will allow a socialist to sleep in their Governor’s mansion. END QUOTE
So tell us, Oh Mighty Oz, how do you know this?
Brilliant, just absolutely brilliant. /s
And here’s another item for our resident Naval Commodore to address.
There’s a military adage: Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics.
US Naval forces in and around the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman are supplied from a big naval base in Bahrain. In the opening days of Trump’s war of ignorant choice on Iran, the Iranians destroyed that base — all US forces withdrew and the base is not operational.
This means that logistic support for US Naval forces in the region is now coming from over 2,000 miles away — Diego Garcia.
Now we learn of severely deteriorating conditions on the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln — rotten food; broken sewage system, broken water system, spare parts lacking; and on and on and on.
Looks as though the Iranians focused on logistics — that is, focused on destroying our logistics base — while the geniuses Trump and Hogsbreath focused on tactics and videos of bombs exploding. And now they can’t figure a way out. Which is what happens with amateurs, morons, and dumbasses in charge.