Wisconsin Democrats Sounding Like John McEnroe

By Sean Sullivan  //  May 31, 2012 | 11:57 a.m.

If you're both a sports fan and a politics junkie, you've probably noticed the many similarities between the two domains. Here's another: The team that is constantly chiding the referees is typically also losing the game.

In Wisconsin, the Democratic side has been actively working the refs. During the last two weeks, Democrats have spent time casting doubt on a nonpartisan survey and rebuking a media outlet's endorsement of Gov. Scott Walker. This says a lot about the scoreboard in the recall campaign.

On Wednesday, Tom Barrett's campaign raised doubts about the latest Marquette Law School poll that showed Walker leading by seven points, in light of Democratic surveys released last week each showing a pure tossup.

The Marquette poll is an outlier, argued Team Barrett. "The MU poll predicts the electorate to resemble 2010, which is reflected by its undersampling of younger voters, and an oversampling of some of the reddest counties in the state," said Barrett spokesman Phil Walzak.

Ironically, the Barrett campaign pointed to a Democratic poll which surveyed even fewer young voters as a more accurate indicator.

The Sunday before last, following the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's endorsement of Walker, the state Democratic Party issued a scathing 371-word press release that not only excoriated Walker, but also took a shot at the paper.

"One need only read the Milwaukee Sentinel editorials AGAINST the Civil Rights Movement and FOR Joe McCarthy to remember how silly and reactionary a news organization can look in the hindsight of the ages," wrote state Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate. Democrats argue their grievances are justified, but even so, process arguments don't tend to move the needle much in campaigns. But they are quarreling nonetheless, just like the frustrated point guard having a poor shooting night complains to the referee about his fourth foul, even if he knows deep down his venting won't change the outcome of the game. Barrett is not out of the running yet. Even the Marquette poll shows this. To borrow another sports adage, "that's why they play the game." But his team's rhetoric sure sounds like it knows it is down, with the clock running out.

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