Who, if anyone, is keeping our bench stocked with talent?

[milwaukeelib33]

Seriously. Wisconsin has quickly become fertile ground that is producing the next gen of radical right-wingers. Walker, Priebus, Ryan, RoJo. And while I have no doubt Tammy will win the Senate race, I hear the baggers are whining they can't figure out who to pick in the primary because they're so enamored with the all of them.

I'm aware of Wisconsin Progress and understand they've trained and put out some good people. Maybe, using a baseball term again, those newly minted reps are in class A ball and we'll be hearing more from them in the future.

But who's looking out for and making sure our bench has talent in the ready now? While the GOP seemingly has someone to go to whenever they need them, we're often stuck running lackluster candidates that seem unable to match the enthusiasm their right-wing opponents generate with their base.

Yes, there are some bright spots. Lori Compas and Rob Zerban show promise. There was a fella I saw being interviewed on Mike Gousha's TV show that is on the cusp of running, but can't remember his name. He's a UW grad and CEO of a very successful biotech firm in the Madison area. Why wasn't he being prodded by the party to run now? He could be our counter to the likes of RoJo or Hovde.

I want to see more candidates with the charisma needed to pump up the base, and I feel we're falling way behind the opposition in accomplishing that. I love Mayor Barrett, but he's an example of what we need to move away from. Tom Lehmann in Racine, while ecstatic he won, would have been another example had he not been able to eek out his race.

Party leaders... anyone...? This an obvious issue that needs attention. Where are our up-and-comers?

[Scuba]

1. Here's one....

http://www.lohrforsenate.com

[yourout]

2. Wow......I like what I read about her.

[Scuba]

3. She's smart, articulate, well organized and running an aggressive campaign. Any help appreciated.

[sybylla]

4. There are several orgs out there.

Wisconsin Progress
Emerge Wisconsin
The Democratic Party - not the state party necessarily, but the county units who are always recruiting candidates and helping them develop the skills they need from the DPW and other orgs like those mentioned above or Wellstone.

The issue is you can't force anyone to run. Running for office is grueling and puts not just the candidate under a microscope, and not just everything that candidate has done, but also their spouse, children and grandchildren if they have them. Everyone suffers from negative attacks. Deciding to put your name on a ballot is a big decision.

And you'll need more than charisma and charm to win.

If you want to do something to improve the Dem farm team, support candidates in every way you can and encourage good people to run for office as Democrats. You can't build a farm team overnight.

I would also be careful about thinking the pukes are way ahead of Dems on this. They've maximized the low-information vote, gerrymandered everything they could from districts to courts to public "boards," rigged our campaign finance system and taken control of our media. Their apparent success has nothing to do with the idiots who won election in 2010.

Edited to add that you should never underestimate the mania of broken-glass Republicans. These are people who would crawl across broken glass to vote for a Republican. These "tools" are just as likely to run for office no matter how prepared they are or how qualified they are (see 2010 State Senate and Assembly freshmen) when called to put their name on the ballot. Democrats, on the other hand, don't act in lock step, tending to be more logical and strategic about their decisions to run for office. Dems will run when they feel the opportunity is good. We're less likely to put our names on a ballot for the sake of having a Dem on the ballot. Good or bad, that just seems to me to be the way it is. Comparisons, for that reason, are dangerous.