Ron Johnson Shows No Loyalty

Ron Johnson

There are events that occur when all parts of the political spectrum can agree as being improper. I suspect one of those moments is playing out now as voters in the 7th congressional district consider their options for the upcoming primary.

On the Republican ticket two candidates are vying for the vote. Tom Tiffany and Jason Church are hoping to advance to the spring general election. Tiffany is a name that most in the state have heard, given his many years of service in the state legislature. Church is a newcomer to running for office so you can be excused for not recognizing him.

But Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson knows Church. It was Johnson who hired him to work as the northwest regional director for his office. Church has undertaken those duties for the past six years.

Now that that the heat of the primary election is nearing its peak would be the time for anyone who wishes to lend a hand to a candidate to offer an endorsement. One must assume Church was thinking that his boss, a most influential statewide politico, would show him the loyalty to his candidacy that Church demonstrated to the Senator over the years.

While there are plenty of precedents, for instance, why a major political figure would wait for a crowded primary to shake out before endorsing, this primary election is far different. First, it is a two-person race. Second, one of the contenders has been a reason why Johnson gets good PR and his press coverage has legs in that region of the state.

I find it unacceptable when elected officials fail to show that loyalty is a two-way street. They would never accept such behavior to be shown to them but regard their loyalty in return to be something that can be dismissed. That should bother us all, regardless of which side of the political aisle we call home.

The odds heavily favor Tiffany in the GOP district. No one would knock Johnson for putting a hand on the shoulder of Church and provide the ‘favorite son’ endorsement. It would not move the final outcome away from where all know this race to be heading. But it would show that there is a modicum of respect, and loyalty, from the one who has so long benefited from Church work.

I know we have moved miles away from the standards we all once accepted as the norms in our nation when it came to the way politics was conducted. There is still time for Johnson to take the road that loyalty demands and midwestern values preach.

Let us hope for the sake of decency Johnson takes that road.

Gregory Humphrey writes for the Caffeinated Politics blog.