Oct. 25, 2001

Mr. Murphy is No T.R.
By Craig Peterson

Many who enjoy political history still talk about a 1984 commentary written by then-Milwaukee Journal Business News Editor, Anne Curley, who belittled the ability of one Republican state Assemblyman who had his visions on the governor's office.

"With people like state Rep. Tommy Thompson of Elroy carrying the Republican banner in Wisconsin, it's no wonder Democrats control the Legislature and governor's office," Curley wrote.

She went on to opine, "The cartoonish Thompson once again chose high-decibel, low-IQ rhetoric over substance last week at the annual legislative conference of the Wisconsin Association of Manufacturers and Commerce. His bellicose partisan attacks on Gov. Earl and other Democrats were too corny to be taken seriously by any but the most visceral conservatives, and his crude style had to be an embarrassment to many of the business people from whom he seeks approval."

In many ways, I see similarities between Todd (I knew him before he had three names and adopted Teddy Roosevelt's initials) Murphy's recent commentary and Anne Curley's 17-year-old column, in their wacky, out-of-touch with reality, portrayals of Republican leaders.

I too have known Governor McCallum for over two decades. And while I am not part of his inner circle, nor ever have been, as a legislative staffer in the early Eighties and lobbyist for the past 15 years, I have witnessed his growth from junior state senator to capable chief executive officer.

Mr. Murphy describes Governor McCallum in his early legislative years as uninterested in public policy. Nonsense. For several years Governor McCallum was the only Republican senator on the Joint Committee on Finance. I can't begin to tell you the hundreds of hours I shared with him sitting through budget study groups, many which started at 7 a.m., with others beginning in the early evening. The Finance Committee, perhaps more than any other legislative committee, sets the tone and agenda for public policy in the state. Of course, Mr. Murphy's career in Governor Dreyfus's office lasted only two years, so his institutional memory of the Legislature may be foggy.

In his column, Mr. Murphy feigns surprise when "something happened that few could have predicted. George Bush squeaked out an Electoral College victory. Tommy Thompson became the new president's Health & Human Service secretary and Scott McCallum became our governor."

Few could have predicted? Where was Mr. Murphy during the last presidential campaign? What "Republican political strategist," as Mr. Murphy is described, did not expect Governor Thompson to leave Wisconsin if Bush was elected. Wisconsin politicos had seen this move coming two years earlier.

Then for Mr. Murphy to say initial expectations for Governor McCallum were low is also nonsense. On the contrary, people expected Governor McCallum to pick-up right where Governor Thompson left off, thus creating unrealistically high expectations. Lobbyists and legislators forgot it took Governor Thompson a while to hit his stride, to get all the right people in the right places. Governor McCallum had to set a tone that complemented Governor Thompson's tenure, yet be his own person. The bar was raised to a height no state politician had been expected to leap before. Governor McCallum was, and is, expected to fill the shoes of an icon and legend.

Mr. Murphy then blames Governor McCallum for the state's fiscal mess. He points to the fact Wall Street lowered Wisconsin's bond rating after the Governor signed the state budget. Wall Street, it seems, is distressed Wisconsin doesn't have a large enough reserve fund. This situation, oddly enough, began under Mr. Murphy's short legislative tenure. It was after all, his former boss, Governor Lee Sherman Dreyfus, who started the state down this precarious financial path by campaigning on the notion most of Wisconsin's reserved or "rainy day" funds be drained to dangerously low levels. As Governor Dreyfus' legislative liaison perhaps Mr. Murphy remembers lobbying legislators on the governor's behalf, assuring them Wisconsin doesn't need large surpluses to protect its bond rating and to guard against slow times.

Further, to say Governor McCallum hasn't quite connected with people in Milwaukee is also nonsense. As a PR practitioner, I have been amazed how he has managed the media and business community in Milwaukee. And just because one conservative radio team calls him names doesn't mean those Republican listeners will be jumping on the Jim Doyle bandwagon. Former Mayor Henry Maier was at his strongest when the media tarred and feathered him.

Other misconceptions Mr. Murphy attributes to "Capitol insiders:"

--He works a 30-hour week. This is crazy. Anyone who has worked with any governor knows the job absorbs 24 hours of your day. Days and evenings. Weekends and holidays. It does not stop.

--He plays basketball four times a week. In the middle of the workday. I think I read somewhere President Bush runs and exercises several times during the workweek. Is this the sign of a weak leader? I don't think so.

--He micro-manages. And Tommy Thompson didn't? I remember running into Governor Thompson as he was going to the Capitol at 9 p.m. on a Saturday night to read Building Commission contracts. It seems Governor McCallum had a good role model.

--Can't get good people to work for him. This is also crazy. For the most part, Governor McCallum's cabinet secretaries are holdovers or worked somewhere, at sometime, in Governor Thompson's administration.

--His staff is inexperienced and ill-prepared to run a statewide campaign. Please see the above response. But talk about being ill-prepared; I'm sure Mr. Murphy has many stories how a rag-tag group of moderate Republicans once got a red-vested Republican elected for one term. What was Mr. Murphy's campaign experience prior to 1978?

The list of inaccurate remarks in Mr. Murphy's commentary goes on and on. And while I understand a commentary is based on opinion and not fact, I was disappointed the reasoning behind the column was so weak.

If Mr. Murphy believes a primary is good for Republicans and Governor McCallum, that's fine. It is his opinion. But to advocate his position based on misleading facts and innuendo does little to advance his position. As Mr. Murphy's tablemate says in his column, "Some cats get it, some cats don't. Know what I'm saying TR?" (I believe I heard this same dialogue when my 4-year-old was watching ``The Aristicats.'') I don't think Mr. Murphy gets it.

In closing, I respect and admire TR. He was one of the greatest political minds of the last century and recognized as an American hero by Republicans and independents. He enjoyed the respect of the press and people. Mr. Murphy, you are no TR.

--Craig Peterson is executive vice president at the Milwaukee public affairs firm, Zigman Joseph Stephenson