The U.S. Senate seat up for grabs in our state provides us with an interesting forum for right-wing political discussion. Tommy Thompson, Mark Neumann, Jeff Fitzgerald and Eric Hovde each offer unique positives as well as specific negatives that have to be assessed and weight by each of us in coming to our decision of who to support.

While most of the Wisconsin electorate were focused on the Walker Recall election, may of us engaged activists have been kicking the tires on these candidates since winter. Here’s my take on the whole thing:

Tommy Thompson

The longest-serving Governor of the state has real upside in name recognition and appeal to traditional Independents and some Democrats. Against Tammy Baldwin he would be a shoo-in. However, while he characterizes himself as the original Wisconsin conservative, and compared to Tony Earl who he defeated in 1986 he was, we all know he became a big government guy and as HHS secretary a big FEDERAL government guy. He will have a difficult time convincing the activist army, especially staunch Conservatives, Libertarians and Constitutionalists. His age is a big factor. Even my 85 year-old mother characterized Thompson as a has-been.

Mark Neumann

Mark served admirably in Congress in the 1990’s, challenging the Republican establishment on spending issues. This history represents his greatest strength along with endorsements from current U.S. Senators Jim DeMint and Rand Paul. Mark’s personal educational initiatives deserve acclaim. However, Mark embraced the “green” agenda based upon man-made carbon dioxide emissions destroying the planet and based some business ventures and products upon subsidies derived from such nonsense. The most renowned example is the energy producing home of which I have looked into in detail. I determined it to be propped up with a gaggle of politically derived subsidy payments which will be gone when free marketeers like myself get a say in the matter. When people base their mortgage payment on such a house of cards it becomes a moral issue, for their future can literally disappear before their eyes when the political seas change course. Mark could really help his cause if he publicly renounced his “green” embrace as a mistake and that anthropogenic global warming theory is a scam ala Tim Pawlenty. Lastly, some folks are still miffed about how Mark attacked Scott Walker prior to the Republican primary in 2010.

Jeff Fitzgerald

The hero of the Wisconsin Assembly which spearheaded the legislative effort to enact Governor Walker’s Act 10 reforms and a plethora of other pro-business initiatives, Jeff can tap into popularity within the activist army and the Republican Party in general. But his actions also bring higher negatives among Independents and Democrats. It’s pretty safe to say any crossover vote for Jeff in the general election will be very limited. He’s young and has much legislative experience including in leadership positions, both big positives. But his limited business background and historical reputation of a rather bland conservative prior to the election of Walker hurts him among the libertarian-leaning rank and file GOP members now dominating the Republican Party in Wisconsin. Jeff apparently is aware of this fact for he answered all the questions thrown at him at an event on July 11th I attended as if he were Dr. Tim Nerenz. I think Jeff would make an excellent U.S. Senator for Wisconsin but poses the highest risk of losing to Tammy Baldwin among the four. But I feel he would still beat her nonetheless.

Eric Hovde

Political newcomer, hedge fund manager, developer and community banker, Eric injects the Ron Johnson motif to the race. His strength in his business background has been cited by supporters and endorsers such as State Senator Leah Vukmir, the Iron Lady of Wisconsin. Frank Lasee, our best State Senator on energy and environmental issues like wind turbine siting, support for frac sand mining and the elimination of the renewable energy portfolio standard, has also thrown his support behind Hovde.

Eric embraces his political outsider status and most in the activist army score this as a positive. But others think his lack of political experience and vetting will hurt him in the general election along with the hedge fund manager label. Some polls over the last 2 weeks show Eric having overtaken Thompson and leading the field. Some Neumann supporters claim Hovde has supported high speed rail and green energy subsidies. But my examination of the statements in context do not support such a conclusion. A clear statement by Hovde on such matters would do much to clear the air, much like the case for Mark Neumann. His call to audit the Fed excites all liberty minded folks, i.e. the vast majority of voters on the right in Wisconsin.

So where does Steve Welcenbach stand in this race?

Simple. I am supporting Eric Hovde.

“You’re just supporting him because he’s advertising in Reality News!”

Nope, but it sure helps. Of course, the same option has been available to all the other candidates and their campaigns.

Ron Johnson has shown the entire country what we really need in Congress - citizen legislators. Ron has been tough, outspoken and independent. That model really does need to be duplicated across the country. And I believe Eric is another big move forward in getting our Senate reinvented.

As Leah Vukmir stated back in June, business acumen is the most needed commodity in the U.S. Senate and in shortest supply. Johnson reversed the vector. Hovde will add to its magnitude exponentially.

Eric also took an hour+ of his time back in January a few days after his speech at the Walker rally in Wauwatosa to sit down with me in his Madison office and discuss all issues. I was impressed with his technical and scientific knowledge, especially in the areas of chemistry and geology. He did not shy away from “The Deep Hot Biosphere” when I gave him a copy but embraced it in a candid display of his intellectual curiosity. He convinced me that he would educate himself and be competently knowledgeable of all the technical aspects involved in energy and environmental issues. And you all know how near and dear these issues are to my heart. Frank Lasee’s endorsement appears to be well founded.

In the end, I will support whole-heartedly the Republican candidate who manages to win the primary and nomination on August 14th for the U.S. Senate. Tammy Baldwin would be an absolute disaster. But we have a real opportunity here in Wisconsin to move the movement forward in a quantum leap toward true individual liberty and a return to strict adherence to our Constitution. Let’s do it.