Our Endorsement
It's official, Jeff Tyberg filed his nomination papers. So, today we make our endorsement.
Here are the criteria:
1. Republican values - is the candidate a true blue Republican
2. Money - the ability/potential to raise money
3. Organization - the existence of a campaign staff and ready volunteers
4. Experience - who has the best story to tell and can sell their ability to do the job if elected
5. Electability - who can appeal to independents and conservative democrats
Both candidates are conservative Republicans and have demonstrated those values in speeches and other campaign materials.
On the money front, it is no contest. While Reid has not filed his 2nd Quarter report yet, we have it from a reliable source that he will have raised more than 10 times as much money as Jeff Tyberg and his cash on hand advantage will be several times more. Reid has a finance committee and a professional fundraiser on staff. So, Reid has demonstrated the ability to raise money and has the mechanisms in place to raise enough to be competitive.
Organizationally, the Reid campaign has the advantage. Over the 4th of July weekend, his team covered 25 events. As far as we know, Tyberg covered zero. He was on a mini-vacation in Washington, DC and we heard no reports of volunteers covering events in his stead.
When it comes to experience, Reid has boots on the ground experience in Washington, DC that would allow him to hit the ground running in Congress while Tyberg was still figuring out how to get from his office to the Capitol. Reid worked for the conservative Heritage Foundation and for a Congressman from Kansas (as did Paul Ryan, we might add). In reading Tyberg's bio page and hearing him speak, we're not sure he ever finished college with a degree, and he spent many years travelling the world as a missionary. While serving as a missionary is certainly a noble calling, and we thank Jeff for being willing to serve, it is not as applicable to running for Congress as Reid's experience (though a case certainly may be made that Washington, DC would be a mission field).
Finally comes the nebulous category of electability. We must first revisit the disappearing act over arguably the easiest opportunity to meet voters, the 4th of July weekend. Jeff Tyberg blew it off while Nick Reid worked it hard. It demonstrates who is taking the race seriously. Next, Reid has a great story to tell. He comes from a working class family, himself working in the unions to pay his way through college. He has a wife and two children, which look great in commercials and on campaign literature (Tyberg is married as well and has worked all over the world). While a conservative, Reid has talked about issues that matter to independents and conservative democrats - jobs and health care. Tyberg has portrayed himself as largely a God and guns candidate - issues on which he and Reid do not really differ. Finally, in talking to those who have met Reid on the campaign trail, the results are overwhelmingly positive. In talking to those who have met Tyberg, the results are mixed. The libertarian and gun owners of America types like him, others aren't too sure.
For these reasons we say, Reid for the Republican nomination.
We wanted to stay neutral in this race. We had hoped Jeff Tyberg would take the Scott Walker approach and step aside for the candidate who had the best chance to win, but he did not. It would have been the honorable thing to do, and we believe Jeff to be an honorable person. We, like many other Republicans in this district are disappointed. The result is that Reid may have to wait till he wins the primary to raise the money he could have started getting tomorrow. It will severely hamper his ability to attract money from the national Republicans for this race. It is unfortunate that though asked to step aside by many people who know politics, Tyberg ignored their counsel. Tyberg's filing for office was a small but significant victory for Dave Obey and gives him a leg up for November, an advantage he certainly didn't need.
Therefore, our second endosement today is for the 7th District Republican Party to call a convention or straw poll or caucus to endorse Nick Reid's candidacy so that many who feel compelled to sit on the sidelines "for the good of the party" can get involved in this race to defeat Dave Obey.
Here are the criteria:
1. Republican values - is the candidate a true blue Republican
2. Money - the ability/potential to raise money
3. Organization - the existence of a campaign staff and ready volunteers
4. Experience - who has the best story to tell and can sell their ability to do the job if elected
5. Electability - who can appeal to independents and conservative democrats
Both candidates are conservative Republicans and have demonstrated those values in speeches and other campaign materials.
On the money front, it is no contest. While Reid has not filed his 2nd Quarter report yet, we have it from a reliable source that he will have raised more than 10 times as much money as Jeff Tyberg and his cash on hand advantage will be several times more. Reid has a finance committee and a professional fundraiser on staff. So, Reid has demonstrated the ability to raise money and has the mechanisms in place to raise enough to be competitive.
Organizationally, the Reid campaign has the advantage. Over the 4th of July weekend, his team covered 25 events. As far as we know, Tyberg covered zero. He was on a mini-vacation in Washington, DC and we heard no reports of volunteers covering events in his stead.
When it comes to experience, Reid has boots on the ground experience in Washington, DC that would allow him to hit the ground running in Congress while Tyberg was still figuring out how to get from his office to the Capitol. Reid worked for the conservative Heritage Foundation and for a Congressman from Kansas (as did Paul Ryan, we might add). In reading Tyberg's bio page and hearing him speak, we're not sure he ever finished college with a degree, and he spent many years travelling the world as a missionary. While serving as a missionary is certainly a noble calling, and we thank Jeff for being willing to serve, it is not as applicable to running for Congress as Reid's experience (though a case certainly may be made that Washington, DC would be a mission field).
Finally comes the nebulous category of electability. We must first revisit the disappearing act over arguably the easiest opportunity to meet voters, the 4th of July weekend. Jeff Tyberg blew it off while Nick Reid worked it hard. It demonstrates who is taking the race seriously. Next, Reid has a great story to tell. He comes from a working class family, himself working in the unions to pay his way through college. He has a wife and two children, which look great in commercials and on campaign literature (Tyberg is married as well and has worked all over the world). While a conservative, Reid has talked about issues that matter to independents and conservative democrats - jobs and health care. Tyberg has portrayed himself as largely a God and guns candidate - issues on which he and Reid do not really differ. Finally, in talking to those who have met Reid on the campaign trail, the results are overwhelmingly positive. In talking to those who have met Tyberg, the results are mixed. The libertarian and gun owners of America types like him, others aren't too sure.
For these reasons we say, Reid for the Republican nomination.
We wanted to stay neutral in this race. We had hoped Jeff Tyberg would take the Scott Walker approach and step aside for the candidate who had the best chance to win, but he did not. It would have been the honorable thing to do, and we believe Jeff to be an honorable person. We, like many other Republicans in this district are disappointed. The result is that Reid may have to wait till he wins the primary to raise the money he could have started getting tomorrow. It will severely hamper his ability to attract money from the national Republicans for this race. It is unfortunate that though asked to step aside by many people who know politics, Tyberg ignored their counsel. Tyberg's filing for office was a small but significant victory for Dave Obey and gives him a leg up for November, an advantage he certainly didn't need.
Therefore, our second endosement today is for the 7th District Republican Party to call a convention or straw poll or caucus to endorse Nick Reid's candidacy so that many who feel compelled to sit on the sidelines "for the good of the party" can get involved in this race to defeat Dave Obey.
posted by ObeyOut2006 at 8:10 AM
14 Comments:
Good move.
I'd be upset at you guys for not endorsing Reid earlier, but it wouldn't have helped. Tyberg wasn't going anywhere. It didn't matter how much sense people made when talking to him. He doesn't understand the enormity of trying to win a seat in Congress, and therefore honestly believes he could win by finding 10 new supporters every week and raising a few thousand bucks.
Nearly 300,000 people are going to vote November 7th, and there's no earthly way Tyberg can win 150,000 of those votes based on his current path.
Now Reid has to run two races instead of one on a limited budget. Tyberg just cost Reid one week of TV commercials to dethrone Obey. Thanks Jeff.
I am a Dem who loves reading this, but I must say it took you long enough to get around to what the party establishment had already decided about this race. Anybody with half an ounce of political sense knows that Reid is the preferred candidate. It was interesting to watch you let this be drug out rather than to see the party removing Tyberg from the race long ago. I hope your establishment can flex more muscle than that against my favorite Congressman.
8:00, this has nothing to do with the party establishment; it's simply that one candidate is serious and the other is out of touch with reality. It's that simple.
I’m really glad you guys decided to endorse Nick Reid, the choice was obvious! This is starting to say a lot about Jeff, in the face of overwhelming evidence that he cannot win either the primary or the general election, and that he is helping Obey by staying in the race, he continues on.
I’m sorry but somewhere along the line, this became more about Jeff than that people of our district. If he really cared about the people who aren’t represented in Washington right now, he would get on board with Nick
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don't forget Reid won both your straw polls handily.
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People,
So does this mean if Jeff wins the primary you pukes will be so bitter that you will not vote for himin the general election?
7:43 AM, clearly we are not on the same page. The question you ask I am not willing to grant, simply because of its nieve first point: "If Jeff wins."
7:43, does this mean that if Jeff did his job as a candidate and raised the funds to get his message out, you wouldn't support him?
I guess neither one of us have to worry about responding to our questions and both would never happen.
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If Jeff Tyberg wins the primary (and that's a huge if) it will only be because the Democrats did a better job of getting their voters out to vote for him as a weak, unfunded candidate for Obey to smash to bits. I guess that's why some of us wanted to smash Jeff to bits for allowing this possibility to materialize in the first place.
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