James Fitzhenry, managing editor of the Oshkosh Northwestern, avoids boosterism for his hometown Senate candidate, Ron Johnson, in his opinion column.
The column is linked to the video of Johnson's disastrous interview with a Tea Party group that drove him back into hiding. Says Fitzhenry of the interview:
...it provides a fascinating snapshot of the state of American politics in 2010: the anger, distrust, contradictions, conspiracies and, dare I say, hope for something different...
There were echoes of the strident rhetoric that has dogged [Kentucky Senate candidate Rand] Paul when Johnson answered a question about liberals taking over government. Johnson's tone was more ominous than simply a political party with a different philosophy temporarily having the upper hand in Congress and the White House.
"What the liberals did, is they were very successful at taking over the levers of power, really. Within the universities they took over the schools of journalism, education and law. And as a result, they exert far greater influence over our politics than I think their ideas ever would. Basically, we're a center-right type of nation. They've entrenched themselves there. When you control our media, when you control our courts … and when you control education, you are in very serious control of the situation. I'm outraged by that," Johnson said...
Ultimately, the interview shows that the same forces that propel you to the top can also lop you off. The candidate steeped in tea and poured over the airwaves of talk radio cooled down considerably under the persistent and pointed questions from what was supposed to be a sympathetic crowd.