I was Russ Feingold's communications director for his tough 1998 re-election campaign. While all supporters offer well-intentioned advice, few offer quality advice. It's kind of like when your car is making a funny sound-- ask 10 people what the problem is and you'll get 15 different answers.
Joe Wineke was the guy that could quickly diagnose the funny sound the car was making, and more importantly, knew the smartest way to fix it.
Later, I often got a first-hand look at how Joe kept the car running as DPW Chair from 2005 to 2009. Obviously those were good years for Democrats, but a skilled party chief knows how to help maximize gains in good years and minimize losses in bad years. And Joe did just that: Making unprecedented gains in the Wisconsin Senate, Assembly and Governor's office.
There is a lot of talk about about how to fix the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. I would argue that winning campaigns are just like anything else: There are right ways and wrong ways to do it, and, most importanly there hundreds of little things that have to be done fundamentally the right way.
Like a good mechanic-- there is a no substitute for experience and knowing what works and what doesn't and the fundamentally right way to do the little things.
Joe is that experienced mechanic.