What does it mean that Herman Cain (pictured) won the straw poll at this weekend's Wisconsin Republican state convention?
Absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. Wisconsin Dems and Repubs alike have a long history of supporting losers in straw polls.
But it does make it very clear that the GOP has an extremely weak field.
Cain's win in Wisconsin, while meaningless, does show some Tea Party strength. But here's a key ingredient:
Cain’s chief of staff, Mark Block, -- not a convicted crook -- is a former Wisconsin organizer for Americans for Prosperity, a leading tea-party group. When last heard from he was part of a vote caging scheme to suppress voter turnout, but apparently it shriveled up after being exposed to daylight.
So maybe Block was able to organize 80 loyalists to show up long enough to vote for his guy.
A year ago, the GOP straw poll was won by Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor, with Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney close behind. Pawlenty was a distant third this year, well behind Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. Despite his second place finish in Wisconsin, Daniels announced today he is not running. Palin came in sixth this year with 22 of the 301 votes cast.
Perhaps more interesting is the fact that Ted Kanavas, a former state senator, got more votes than Tommy Thompson for US Senate. Maybe the right wing of the party is sending Tommy the T a message. But the numbers are so small and the participants so out of the political mainstream none of this means anything.
So why write about it? Somebody has to, don't they?