Podcast: Last Minute Fundraising Appeals
It’s likely your email in box is stuffed with last-minute political fundraising appeals.
In today’s podcast we examine 11th hour fundraising. Is it a scam or can campaigns actually spend money right up until Election Day…
Campaigns and Elections,Dailytakes On Air
The Week in Review
Clinton’s and Trump’s paths to 270 electoral votes.
Wikileaks and Bill Clinton, Inc.
Russ Feingold’s arrogance.
Does Senator Johnson have a chance?
News from the state legislative races.
Trump’s short and long-term impact on the GOP.
I discussed all this and more today on the RightWisconsin Week in Review with Charlie Sykes (and Kevin Binversie) on AM 620 WTMJ in Milwaukee.
Listen, here:
Brian Fraley, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Luther Olsen, RightWisconsin, WTMJ
Trump’s Last Two Weeks Shaping Up to Be a Burn it All Down Tantrum
Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Stephen Loiaconi called me for my take on the last two weeks of the election and what it will mean for tight down ballot races.
A Democratic takeover of the House remains a longshot, but if Trump’s support keeps dropping, it is no longer an impossibility.
“The Republican Party’s grip on the Senate is tenuous, at best,” said Republican strategist Brian Fraley. “With Trump surrogates berating vulnerable GOP senators who have not drank enough orange Kool-Aid, the Trump campaign’s last two weeks is shaping up to be a burn-it-all-down tantrum that could put the balance of power in the House in jeopardy, too.”
“Trump may damage the brand, relationships, donor stream and infrastructure of the Republican Party so much, that a rebound in 2018 will be a lot tougher,” Fraley said.
Read the rest of the article here.
They Did What I Said They’d Do
A little over a week ago Fox 6 Milwaukee asked me why Donald Trump was coming back to Wisconsin when he was down seven points:
“Well he can’t win. But this isn’t about winning. This is about coming to Wisconsin and thumb his nose at Paul Ryan,” said Brian Fraley, a Republican strategist who is a Ryan supporter and has been outspoken against Trump.
Sure enough the other night at Trump’s rally in Green Bay, supporters chanted “Paul Ryan Sucks!” while Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brad Courtney stood on stage flustered. Courtney later put out a statement reaffirming the party’s support of Ryan. As I have said before, picking a fight with the most popular elected Republican in Wisconsin is just one of the thousands of stupid things Trump has done in the last six months.
Last night Fox 6 ran another story and wanted my take on where this puts the speaker now and for the future.
“There has to be tremendous anguish going on there, and a lot of conflict,” said Brian Fraley, GOP strategist. Fraley, a Ryan supporter who is outspoken against Trump, says the speaker is in a tough spot.
“When you have this kind of cult of personality, where does someone that’s an ideological thought leader and a proven conservative like Paul Ryan — how does he work with that?” Fraley said.
Paul Ryan hasn’t commented on the chants but numerous Wisconsin conservatives spoke out in support of him including the governor. You can watch the full Fox 6 story here.
It IS a Binary Choice
It is true. For Wisconsin Republicans, this fall presents a binary choice.
I choose the party of Paul Ryan over the cult of Donald Trump.
Trump can’t win here. He only came to Green Bay to thumb his nose at Paul Ryan. It’s a sign of an insecure person. A bully.
Meanwhile, I spent the weekend in Ohio. Clearly, Trump’s grip on that state is in jeopardy. But he’s 7 points down here. Smart campaign, one driven by facts, not emotions, would focus attention on OH, NC and FL not Wisconsin. But then he wouldn’t get to feel good by having some goons chant ‘Paul Ryan sucks’ in Wisconsin. (Irony alert: If you go to a GOP election rally in Wisconsin and chant that towards the most popular Republican elected official in the state, it is YOU who is the actual RINO). More…
There Will Be Long Term Shake Out No Matter Who Wins
Veteran journalist Craig Gilbert of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called me last week for my take on what Trump has done to the Republican Party of Wisconsin.
Its leading Republicans are in limbo, rendered mostly mute about Trump amid mounting allegations over his treatment of women. They aren’t recanting their support for their nominee. But they aren’t defending him or campaigning with him, either. The state’s top GOP officials will be absent when Trump holds a rally in Green Bay Monday.
….But while Ryan has angered hard-core Trump backers, “a lot of Trump’s most ardent supporters in Wisconsin never were (staunch) Republicans,” said Brian Fraley, a Trump critic who once served as the state GOP’s political director.
“There is going to be a lot of long-term shakeout with this no matter who wins, and no matter how large the defeat is,” said Fraley, who said he hasn’t given money to the party because he doesn’t want any of it to help elect Trump.
Donald Trump, edge messaging, Republican Party, Republican Party of Wisconsin, RPW
Campaigns and Elections,Fraley
I am voting for Evan McMullin
Well, it’s a time for choosing.
When I cast my vote for President, I will be voting for a conservative Republican whose agenda I believe in, whose commitment to liberty is beyond doubt and whose grasp of the issues and ability to work with GOP House and Senate members would serve the party and more importantly America, well.
I am going to vote for Evan McMullin.
I am not ‘done’ with the Republican Party. Rather, I remain committed to the Party of Lincoln. And Reagan. And Thompson. And Walker. And Schimel. And Vukmir. And Kooyenga. And Hutton. And, me.
The most important race for Wisconsin conservatives and moderates this fall is the re-election of GOP United States Senator Ron Johnson. But when it comes to the Presidency, the GOP’s official nominee is so woefully deficient, I’ve looked elsewhere.
And I was #NeverHillary decades before I was #NeverTrump.
Fortunately, I do not have to settle for the lesser of two evils. More…
Bombshell Trump Video Cost Him Undecided Voters
Late Friday night I got a call from Mike Gousha’s producer asking if I could come on a special taping of a segment for UpFront the next morning. I was asked to to give perspective on Trump’s campaign imploding Access Hollywood tape. The Cap Times also put together a story on my comments from the show…
Donald Trump’s chances to win Wisconsin in the November presidential election were decimated when footage of lewd comments he made about women surfaced on Friday, a conservative analyst said.
Brian Fraley, who runs the political consulting firm Edge Messaging and has worked on a number of Republican campaigns, said in an interview on “UpFront with Mike Gousha” that the video will cost Trump Wisconsin, a state that was previously within his reach.
“He’s done,” Fraley said.
In the video, Trump brags about being able to use his celebrity status to kiss and grope women. But those comments probably won’t cause many of his supporters to disown him, Fraley said.
“I think the erosion of Trump support both here and nationally could be minimal, because Trump being a vulgar, obnoxious misogynist is kind of unfortunately baked in the cake, right?” Fraley said.
Rather, Fraley said he thinks these comments have cost Trump the opportunity to win over undecided voters. He said Trump had a shot of winning Wisconsin, as he was performing well in the 8th, 7th, and northern parts of the 3rd congressional districts.
Here is the entire clip…
My Thoughts on Charlie Sykes’ Semi-Retirement
I first met Charlie Sykes more than 25 years ago when I was a Senior at the UW. He was speaking at a conference of collegiate journalists in Evanston, Illinois and as the author of ProfScam was emerging as one of the most insightful critics of higher education at the time. He was so entertaining that when I found myself organizing the next year’s conference I had to lock him in on the panel. That’s right, I put Charlie I my panel long before he put me on his!
On Tuesday, my friend Charlie announced his retirement from his weekday radio show and weekly television program. After 25 years in local broadcasting, 23 with WTMJ, he’s heading into semi-retirement. He’ll continue to write and contribute to the conservative movement, but he’ll no longer have to drag himself out of bed at 4:30 every morning.
I’ve had the honor and good fortune of working for him and even guest hosting his show on occasion over the years. I can assure you he’s not going to disappear, as much as his many critics may hope he will. At 62, he’s just taking greater control over his schedule. Kudos to him.
A full analysis of his impact on local, state and national politics is intertwined with a look at the power of the medium of talk radio in general. Along with his colleague Jeff Wagner, and local talkers Mark Belling, Jay Weber, Vicki McKenna and Dan O’Donnell down the dial at WISN, Sykes has helped create and maintain an important crucible for conservative thought and news analysis in Southeast Wisconsin.
Rather than examine the medium itself, however, Sykes’ announcement affords me an opportunity to examine his unique impact on the community and causes I care deeply about. More…
#NeverTrump, 620 WTMJ, Brian Fraley, Campaigns and Elections, Charlie Sykes
U.S. Supreme Court Rejects John Doe Appeal – My Take
As many of you have now heard, Monday the U.S. Supreme court rejected an appeal by Democratic D.A.’s John Chisholm of Milwaukee, Dane County’s Ismael Ozanne and Iowa County’s Larry Nelson to revive the egregious attack on conservatives across the state AKA the John Doe investigation. WISN 1130-AM’s Jay Weber called me early this morning to discuss my thoughts on it. You can listen to the segment here. It starts around 19:40.
You can also read my take on what it was like being part of this witch hunt here and here.
I am also currently involved in a class action lawsuit the MacIver Institute has filed against Chisholm, other employees of his office, and senior staff of the now- defunct Government Accountability Board for illegally seizing MacIver’s digital records during the infamous John Doe II investigation. That includes years of my private emails and records. Read more about that here.
To be continued…
