WMC & Belling Do Not Admit Defeat; Blame RINOS

After all protracted ideological struggles, it is always important to examine the cheerleading and excuses served by the losers.  The losing side that is healthy, viable, and still on the upside of the mountain will be candid and frank.  Losers in the downslide tend to lay blame and spin a story for the media, glossing over any internal errors or political distance between themselves and the electorate. Introspection will be the order of the day.

Enter WMC; turn on spin machine: "Tax Debate Shifts from Raising Taxes to Tax Relief Strategies."

“While we wish the Senate had passed a tough cap on taxes, we need to remember that it wasn’t too long ago that the Legislature fought over which tax to increase. We are slowly shifting Wisconsin to a debate about how to provide long-term tax relief."

“The voters of Wisconsin want tax relief, and this issue will continue to dominate the political debate in the years to come. This is the beginning of the debate; not the end.”

Translation:  "We lost, but we framed the debate and will come back again and win this thing."  You thought only Democrats used this old chestnut?

Then, there's "The Mouth of Mwauky" Mark Belling, working the blame engine:

The inescapable conclusion is that rank-and-file Republicans from our part of the state have made it clear to their elected Republicans to give them tax relief but those  from the rest of the state have not.

There are several reasons for this. There are literally no conservative media voices in outstate Wisconsin to focus on these issues. There are virtually no organized groups. Even the majority of conservative bloggers in Wisconsin are from the Milwaukee area. But the biggest factor, I believe, is that most elected Republicans have sold out. In our area, they can’t afford to cross the public because it would mean a likely Republican primary challenge (remember what happened to Peggy Rosenzweig and Mary Panzer). In the rest of the state, however, elected Republicans are free to vote like Democrats without fear of consequences.

Translation: The Milwaukee JournalSentinel and its broadcast megaphone don't reach outstate where those RINOS live.

Rich Eggleston on Xoff, nails it:

If there were only more talk radio hosts outstate like him, Belling lamented, and if Republicans outstate were only more willing to eat their own, the outcome might have been different.

Of course, there were other reasons, rooted in Wisconsin's tax system, reasons a talk radio guy may not understand.

Or maybe Republicans outstate are just smarter.