Come back and fight alongside us, Dave!
Dave Obey is exactly what we need now in Wisconsin. His progressive principles and integrity are impeccable, and at least as important, he has the courage to fight for them.
Yes, I know he is 70. Yes, I know he is occasionally “irascible.” Yes, I know he said he was tired. So what?
Was he tired, or was he terminally frustrated with Congress, particularly our hopeless helpless Senate? Aren’t we all? Writing Congress off as a lost cause doesn’t mean that he has stopped caring about The People. I didn’t see any sign of tiredness (video here http://www.jsonline.com/...) when he walked up to the Capitol in the cold yesterday and questioned the police and the people standing in line there, unable to get in. Being governor would give him a more active, more satisfying role than the House did.
As for his age, Shirley Abrahamson, also 70, last year decisively won another ten-year term as Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. As the Isthmus commented (roughly recalled), nobody doubted that she could serve out her term - possibly another.
Regarding any “irascibility,” Justice Abrahamson is also known as a very direct speaker, and she campaigned as a tough protector of the people. She won decisively. In debates, she demolished her right-wing opponent with both intellect and toughness, something Congressman Obey would easily be able to do to Scotty Walker. Wisconsin people respect toughness and integrity.
This is no time for a mellow, agreeable candidate. We need strength and clarity now. The issues become clearer every day. We face real evil and are very close to disaster. Our candidate needs to be able look our enemies in the eye and speak the unvarnished truth to them and to us.
We have large numbers of energized volunteers now, and will have many more by the time we’ve recalled our first few Republican senators. A year from now, recalling Walker, we will be able to provide an even better ground game for Obey than we did for Obama in 2008. We need a candidate who will stand firm, fight as hard as we will, and then follow through on his promises.
Let’s draft Dave Obey. He’s a principled fighter in the tradition of Fighting Bob LaFollette. I think he knows that we need him. I don’t think he’ll be able to turn his back on us.