I AM THE FORCE

Are these really the guys that should have been in charge of Republican plans for a constitutional amendment to protect taxpayers? I hate to be disparaging, but we maybe should have mixed a little expertise and strategic thinking in there with all that ideology. Neither of these guys has ever been a real player in the Legislature, and they're known more for pissing people off than resolving complex challenges. Now Frank Lasee has abandoned ship, and the wheels seem to be coming off Republican efforts to protect taxpayers with a constitutional amendment.

Is it possible that Dale Schultz and John Gard wanted this effort to fail, so they stepped back and allowed the conservative dream team to chart their own course? Or perhaps Gard didn't care, and Schultz wanted it to fail. However it happened, no Republican can feel good about the policy and PR disaster to date. Republican candidates for re-election have to be cringing every time they read the latest story about TPA, and the Xoffs and Kreusers of the world have to be feeling pretty good.

All of the outsider conservatives out there who have condemned Scott Jensen and praised Glenn Grothman perhaps ought to reconsider their preferences. Conservatives would be in hog heaven if Scott Jensen been in charge of the taxpayer amendment and the spin surrounding it. The language would be solid, the strategy would be clear, and the battle would be won. But the team in charge just can't seem to shoot straight.

Maybe we can delay Jensen's sentencing a bit and hire him as a consultant to straighten out this mess. Or Huebsch, Kanavas, or someone needs to step in and reform the reformers. The reality, however, is that it is probably too late this year to salvage a winning amendment season for the GOP. Perhaps we can we just focus on not embarrassing ourselves further?