Monday, August 4, 2014

Dem of the Day - Joel Gratz

By Jeff Simpson

The Democrat of the day today is Joel Gratz!

Joel Gratz is head of the Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee.  Gratz was charged with recruiting candidates and turning the assembly blue!  Gratz also runs a polling & campaign services company(how convenient).  Even though I do not own a polling and campaign service company, I am pretty sure when you let 25 of 99 seats go unchallenged, that's 25 seats you can not win.  

The son of a lobbyist, who has been in this position since 2011 has a passion for

My passion throughout my career has always been most focused on the importance of democratic majorities in the legislature.
You do the math.  

Meanwhile, here is a snapshot of his work.

In the 47th Assembly district, Gratz successfully challenged and was able to get a Green party candidate kicked off the ballot to allow Robb Kahl to run unopposed!  

In the 33rd Assembly district, Steve nASS's old seat, Gratz left that seat completely unchallenged.  The candidate there sure has some great ideas:


Describe one area in which you differ from your party leadership.
Bill Lurvey:  I differ with leadership on right to work. I would be interested in passing a bill to make Wisconsin a right-to-work state.

Good job Joel, keep up the great work, Robin Vos appreciates it!





12 comments:

  1. Palli Davis HolubarAugust 4, 2014 at 11:50 AM

    When will the democratic party leaders recognize that the green party is an ally?
    We have a similar situation in Ohio in the 4th Cong. District the second district, arguably the second most absurdly gerrymandered district after the Florida 3rd. When the district & state democratic party powers that be could not determine a candidate: out of the grassroots a hard-working, politically progressive & astute kindergarden teacher emerged - Janet Garrett. It is yet to be seen if democratic leaders are going to jump on her bandwagon, provide her with the professional guidance and enough funding to challenge the first term far right incumbent with more than her sincerity and boundless energy.
    Apparently, some democrats don't believe in representative government or are too short-sighted to imagine they could build leaders from the ground up, not just followers on the sidelines.

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  2. Jeff, you are absolutely clueless about politics and campaigns. You clearly have no knowledge of the makeup of many Assembly districts. You think the Democrats should pump scarce resources into every Assembly district, no matter how hopeless? That's idiotic. Joel Gratz is doing a whole lot more to put Democrats in power than your uniformed whining.
    AnonyBob

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  3. We should be putting up candidates in all races, then maybe the resources would come. I know he was able to keep a challenger away from a Walker supporter who "represents" the most progressive district in the state and then cant find anyone to run against a bunch of yahoos whose main goal is right to work?

    No thank you!

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    Replies
    1. Honestly, Jeff, the 47th isn't the most progressive district in the state.

      Is it progressive... sure. But most progressive is not nearly accurate.

      Delete
  4. So Jeff, tell me about all the highly qualified, wonderful Democratic candidates that run in Ozaukee, Waukesha or Walworth counties. If there were, do you think resources would magically flow to them? Not so much. And as further evidence of your lack of experience with Assembly campaigns, why do you hold Gratz responsible for recruitment? Legislators, especially leadership, are the primary recruiters. Gratz reports directly to Peter Barca, whom you consider a statesman. Barca calls the shots, Gratz just executes. Your beef is with ineffective leaders. Your other shots against Gratz were just cheap, Rovian character assassination. (His father is a lobbyist? Hmmm...for WMC? Or Planned Parenthood? Who cares!? Gratz had a polling firm? "Convenient" or maybe just a good qualification for running a campaign operation.)
    Finally, I gotta ask what you consider to be the most progressive district in the state, that's represented by a Walker supporter. Really, Chris Taylor is in the bag for Walker?
    AnonyBob

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  5. We should have a candidate in every single race. Period. End of story.

    No where have i ever called peter barca a statesman. I actually called for his stepping down from leadership when we lost seats in the last election.

    Lobbyist says enough for me. I dont care if he represents WMC, Planned parenthood or runs capital navigators and was lobbyist of the year.

    Polling firm, yes its convenient because there is so much incest in politics. Quick we have a fundraising deadline, give me money so i can pay gratz a salary and then also pay his polling firm to tell me exactly what he wants me to hear.

    Fair enough on the Chris Taylor district, the 47th is probably third most progressive district in the state but if you wanted to find the rep in 2010 he was standing on stage with Scott Walker waving the i love Walker flag.

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    Replies
    1. By any real count, the 47th isn't even in the top 10 of dem vote percentage. Better learn the numbers a little better.

      Delete
  6. Let me ask you this anonybob. Do you think we will win the Assembly this year?

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  7. Some seats are simply unwinnable, why waste resources? Does the GOP put much into running against seats on the Isthmus?
    Sorry on Barca, I thought it was you who lauded him as being a statesman during Act 10. Somebody posting here did. Agree he should have stepped down last time. He'll be challenged this time.
    Lobbyists: that's a pretty extreme and ignorant view you take. Besides, we're talking about his father, fer chissakes.
    Gratz did (does still?) respected, accurate polling.
    Robb Kahl also appeared on Barrett's stage. At the time I believe he represented a labor organization, so he had to maintain relations with both sides. Since being elected as a Democratic state rep, he's been a solid vote for the Democrats in the Assembly. Quit frothing.
    Finally, no, we won't win the Assembly. No credible observer thinks so.
    AnonyBob

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  8. Howard Dean showed us how its done, put candidates in every race and you will be surprised at what you win.

    Now with 25 seats unchallenged they can all have roger rivard moments and you will never be able to capitalize. Competing in all of the races shows the dems in those districts that you acknowledge them. It also helps bring turnout for the Governor race.

    Another problem when you dont run in all the races is you damm well better win all of the ones you are supposed to then.

    I have zero time for lobbyists. I am also sure that daddy lobbyist and mommy long time aide had absolutely nothing to do with son living off the inner workings if the party. Dems can play the crony game as much as anyone.

    While the dems have many many problems, one of the biggest is their ability to accept failure. If a Packers coach had the failure rate that Gratz did they would run him out of town.

    I agree that we wont win the assembly, we dont have the people in place to win anything, but lets get real here. The current assembly has attacked our public schools, women, left us with a huge deficit and even voted FOR Cancer and against cancer victims yet through it all we cant seem to gain any traction.

    But maybe in 10-20 years we will win back a couple seats.

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  9. AnonyBob,

    So when Dems don't run someone in a district, the GOP doesn't use those funds against Dems in other districts?

    W/R/T polling, if state Democrats had access to decent polling it would tell them that legalizing pot is a really good issue. If Dems would have run on that issue, they would have had a shot at taking back the Assembly.

    I would never encourage anyone, who did not already have a serious illness to you use it, but the prohibition against alcohol didn't work either.


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