2008 Primaries, Messaging, Views on News, public relations • July 30th, 2008

Darling vs. Wasserman

by Chris Lato

Few races are shaping up to be as painful to watch as Democrat Rep., Dr. Sheldon Wasserman’s effort to knock incumbent Sen. Alberta Darling off her perch in River Hills.

Darling has been painted as a RINO (Republican In Name Only, for those not in the know) but I still have to think Dr. Wasserman, a straight-up Democrat, has his work cut out for him in this race.

With that in mind, after weighing their options, it appears conservative groups are starting to emerge to support the alleged RINO. Dan Bice reports:

Changing course

In politics, some things just don’t happen.

Third-party candidates don’t win major races. Politicians don’t admit to running negative campaigns.

And Wisconsin Right to Life doesn’t back former board members of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.

Except this year.

Without fanfare, state Sen. Alberta Darling, who has described herself as “pro-choice” in the past, won a qualified endorsement from Right to Life in her contest against state Rep. Sheldon Wasserman. In the early ’90s, Darling served on the board of Planned Parenthood, the chief advocate of abortion rights.

This is considered the hottest local race in the fall election.

Barbara Lyons, head of Right to Life, said her group has never previously backed Darling, a River Hills Republican, during her 18 years in office. Lyons noted that Darling had voted with the organization 77% of the time in the past four years, whereas Wasserman, a Milwaukee Democrat, had a 0% rating.

Asked to describe Darling’s abortion stance, Lyons said, “She’s more pro-life than not.”

So what changed?

Darling didn’t return a call. Her campaign Web site doesn’t mention the endorsement.

Sen. Glenn Grothman, the go-to guy for foes of abortion rights, has a theory.

“As we get older, we get more conservative,” the West Bend Republican said. “I think that’s happened to Alberta.”

And that’s not all, folks. With the good doctor accused of conducting a whisper campaign that Sen. Darling is too sick to be effective, and Darling’s team pointing to her golf swing as a sign of strength, and both sides questioning each other on how many doors they’re knocking on, this race threatens to cross the line into farce. Some might say we’re already there.

I have met, spoken with and/or interviewed both Darling and Wasserman over the years. They both seem like smart people. That’s why I’m surprised at how low and childish this race has become, so quickly. I fear both sides are getting caught up in the name-calling. It can easily happen when no one surrounding the candidates is taking a step back from the fray and is in a position to advise a bit of discretion.

If the candidates asked, I would say this: be the first one to take the high road. Turn your nose up from the foolishness. You’ll look like a winner. Let surrogates do the bashing if need be - don’t let attacks go unchallenged. But personally stay above it all.

Otherwise, don’t be surprised if you’re greeted with a lot of constituents slamming doors in your face as this race grinds on.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 at 11:11 am and is filed under 2008 Primaries, Messaging, Views on News, public relations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.