Chicken Little doesn’t have the cajones
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Dan Bice is out with a brutal story on how career politician Ron Kind has become the “Chicken Little” of Wisconsin politics.
Kind floats his own name for higher office every two years, but never follows through.
As one Democrat consultant put it: “He doesn’t have the cajones.”
Kind is on the NRCC’s Democrat Exit List, so one way or another he will not be a member of the House in 2023.
In case you missed it…
For Two Decades, U.S. Rep. Kind Has Been All Talk But No Action On Running For Higher Office
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By: Daniel Bice
April 6, 2021
U.S. Rep. Ron Kind is known for three things.
Kind has some of the best hair in politics.
He has a good golf swing.
And he’s the biggest tease in Wisconsin politics.
For more than two decades now, Kind has talked about running for higher office and then not followed through.
The first time this happened was in 2000 when the Wisconsin Democrat said he was “taking a real hard look at” running for governor in less than two years.
He decided not to run.
Now, Kind is kicking around the idea of running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate next year, saying he was “taking a look” at the idea.
Sound familiar?
“Nine hundred times the bridesmaid and never the bride,” joked one prominent Wisconsin Democrat.
An exaggeration, of course. But it is true that Kind has broached the idea of running for statewide office — four times for governor and three for U.S. Senate — on a total of seven occasions in the past 21 years.
Instead of taking the risk, however, the moderate Democrat has always chosen to stay in his relatively safe congressional seat representing the La Crosse area since 1997, for 13 terms in office.
…
But Republicans didn’t hesitate at chiding Kind for, once again, broaching the idea of seeking a promotion to higher office.
“Ron Kind is a career politician who loves to get a headline from pretending he’s going to run for higher office,” said Mike Berg, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “One way or another, he won’t be a House member in 2023.”
Republicans aren’t the only ones who are dubious that Kind, who just turned 58, will end up running for the seat now held by U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Oshkosh.
No political insider on either side of the aisle is taking Kind’s most recent talk seriously.
He has become the Chicken Little of Wisconsin politics. No one trusts what he says about his political future.
“It’s just not going to happen,” said one veteran Democratic campaign consultant.
Of the many times he has talked about vying for higher office, Kind was probably most serious about a decade ago.
In 2009, he traveled the state meeting with party leaders when considering running for governor the next year. Former Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, ended up taking the post.
Two years later, Kind was again talking about leaving the 3rd Congressional District to run for greener pastures. This time it was an open U.S. Senate seat, which eventually went to Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat.
“Now is not my time to run for the U.S. Senate,” Kind said in a written statement.
‘There’s a certain risk adverseness there’
Why the hesitancy? Wisconsin insiders have many theories.
“There’s a certain risk adverseness there,” said one Democratic consultant. “He doesn’t have the cajones.”
He has certainly carved out a niche where he is. There’s a certain comfort in that. He’s also climbed the ranks in the U.S. House of Representatives, having recently served as chairman of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of centrist Democratic representatives.
By contrast, there would be no guarantees if he ran for governor or U.S. Senate.
“Running statewide is hard,” said GOP consultant Mark Graul.
…
Kind had his toughest race in a decade in 2020, and the Republican-controlled Legislature will soon be redrawing district lines for congressional seats, a matter that could end up in court. As a result, he might not want to run for reelection.
In addition, Kind could win a Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in the state if four or five candidates enter the race. He would need only 30% to 35% of the vote to come out on top.
…
All Kind has done is talk.
But that is something he is good at, keeping his name circulating in the conversation about various political contests.
“Every politician likes to be loved,” said Graul, the GOP campaign consultant.
And Kind seems to need it every election cycle.