The Republican Party of Wisconsin's attempt to make its 2008 convention in Stevens Point a show of unity on the eve of a difficult election campaign fell apart when U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner used his speech to trash Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch.
The state's senior Republican at the federal level was furious with the top state Republican's moves to block implementation of the Real ID Act.
And he suggested that Huebsch had abandoned Republican principles during the recent debate over the state budget repair bill. "We need to act like Republicans and vote like Republicans," the Menomonee Falls Republican declared, in a pointed jab at Huebsch, a West Salem legislator who leads an Assembly chamber that has a narrow Republican majority.
Sensenbrenner has led the push for Real ID, a federal law that demands states implement strict security, authentication and issuance procedures standards to limit access to state driver's licenses and state ID cards. Ostensibly, the program is designed to make state identification documents acceptable by the federal government for what the Department of Homeland Security describes as "official purposes."
But civil libertarians and strict-constructionist readers of the Constitution have objected to what they see as a "big-brother" initiative. And they have sought to stall development of the program.
In Wisconsin, last week, Huebsch and other Republicans joined Democrats in backing a budget repair bill that strips Real ID of funding necessary for its implementation.
A total of $22 million that had been earmarked for Real ID was instead directed to the general fund. Democratic Governor Jim Doyle vetoed the move, earning high praise from the state's senior Republican.
Sensenbrenner had no such kind words for Huebsch on Saturday.
"Unfortunately Speaker Huebsch decided to push it through the Assembly, and he did so in a manner that does not fix the problem of over-taxing and replaces transportation fees with more state borrowing. Exactly the same move that helped destroy the Republican brand nationally," griped Sensenbrenner. "Everyone sees this as a political shell game that simply postpones hard decisions."
Huebsch did not respond directly but instead told delegates that, "We as Republicans do not place our faith in government but in each other."
In a straw poll of delegates regarding their pick as a candidate for governor, Huebsch tied for sixth with former Congressman Mark Neumann, who has been sidelined since he lost a U.S. Senate race to Russ Feingold a decade ago.
The survey, conducted by the WisPolitics crew, asked: "If a 2010 primary for governor were being held today, which Republican would you choose to be the party's nominee?"
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker was the big winner, with 157 votes. Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen got 24. Former Secretary of Commerce Bill McCoshen had 9, Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald got 8 and former Governor Tommy Thompson took 5.
Huebsch had four supporters.
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