The flip side of that coin is that those that pulled together for the Vrakas victory interpreted that win as an effort-de-force paving the way for all conservatives across the county. When Republicans don’t step up and help their own, even if it is a non-partisan race, if represents a gross failure of intent.
...Finally, the Waukesha Taxpayer League with their ultra-secretive unnamed leadership/membership shouldn’t be considered anything more than a paper tiger if they can’t deliver in a race like this. There couldn’t be a greater contrast than this race provided, and while the taxpayers group was running around trying to secure $100K+ worth of savings by downsizing the County Board, a vocal TPA opponent who has voted for average annual tax increases of 7% stole the keys to city hall. Don’t misunderstand, I completely support downsizing the county board, although I think the Waukesha Taxpayer Group completely fell asleep at the switch. If TPA—the cornerstone of their movement--had been in place during Larry’s tenure as an alderman, it would have saved taxpayers $7.5 million. Their efforts were focused on the wrong prize at the wrong time.So, who is Brian Nemoir? Well, when he's not fighting hospitals or praising Governor Doyle for limiting expansion of gambling in Wisconsin, Nemoir is Full Impact Communications. Full Impact Communications was the recipient of the Nischke campaign's largest expenditure: $12,000 on February 10th. They also received $450.21 on March 5th to do that oh-so-effective telephone campaign on Nischke's behalf.
Ya know, if I were Ann Nischke's consultant to the tune of $12,450.21 in what should have been the easiest campaign to run, I think I would be hiding in a cave right now rather than sending letters to talk radio personalities blaming other people for the campaign's loss.
But as long as Brian Nemoir is out in the public without a bag on his head, maybe he could explain to me where the money went in that campaign. After all, as I pointed out in the Waukesha Freeman, Nischke's campaign was in the red $3759.62 with the last campaign finance report.
And I have a few items on the campaign finance report that maybe Brian can explain. For example, Waukesha State Bank (free business checking) charged "bank fees" of $23 on February 15th and $46 on March 20th. Now, I'm assuming that the $13.25 they charged the campaign on March 1st labeled "Supply" was the campaign's checks. However, my wife, a former customer service manager at a bank, took one look at the other charges and wondered why the Nischke campaign was bouncing checks. Let's see, one bounced check $23, two bounced checks $46.
But I digress. Given the Republican make-up of the district, given the clear difference between the two candidates on taxes, any Republican consultant should have been able to walk this to victory without too much trouble. Apparently a race this size was too much for Nemoir and the rest of Nischke's people.
But outside groups don't run campaigns for candidates. They can't tell a campaign how to spend it's money or what consultants to hire. And when a campaign loses, the last thing they should do is blame outside groups for their loss, especially if they ever hope to have that group's endorsement ever again.
The Waukesha Taxpayers League endorsed Nischke with some reservations given that she once was on the wrong side of a school tax referendum in Waukesha. But she signed the Taxpayers pledge and earned their endorsement. They made that endorsement widely known via their campaign website and other means.
However, given the behavior of her consultant after the loss, I think it will be a long time before any conservative group trusts Nischke or anyone associated with her campaign again.
And as for Nemoir, when he reveals who his backers are in his little gambling project, then he can talk about secret groups. Until then, maybe he should show a little humility. After all, he and his candidate were just publicly humiliated.
