Many people in political circles know Mandela “reducing prison populations is sexy” Barnes dated Francesca “admitted anti-capitalist” Hong, and it allegedly didn’t end well. I wonder why. I could imagine it all breaking down during an argument about Karl Marx except, on second thought, they’d probably agree on that.
I have multiple sources on this, very high level, including Democrat sources, and pretty much everyone knows this and won’t report it. It’s not a state secret. It’s not the only interesting name floating around, either.
It’s interesting that the top two Democratic candidates for governor were once in a relationship that allegedly didn’t end well, and I wonder if it fuels their competition or strategies against each other. I wonder if it had anything to do with the leak of the anonymous, unsourced, desperate “Barbie movie” smear letter this week trashing Barnes for (consensually) dating around.
It was published by an anti-capitalist website and contained no names or evidence. The media all have it but won’t print it. I won’t print it either because it has no names or evidence. But the “allegation” that Barnes dates around is incredibly well-known on both sides of the political aisle. The anonymous “Barnes dates!” smear letter was also circulated to many delegates at the Democratic Party’s convention.
Barnes is a bachelor so he can date around in a free country. I mean, I fail to see why that’s supposed to be scandalous. I suppose the volume of it matters. But I’m more worried about Barnes wanting to blow up local government budgets by abolishing Act 10 than him being a well-known local horndog. I don’t think it’s great, to be clear, but absent any non-consensual claim (haven’t seen any), it’s probably not going to move the needle much despite Democrat operatives’ best desperate efforts. It’s also a trope so they better tread carefully.
If some women were hoping for more, they probably shouldn’t have. I mean they were dating Mandela Barnes. This is all well-known, that he is, shall we say, an active bachelor. What did they expect? A proposal with a bunch of roses in front of the Eiffel Tower and an EE Cummings poetry reading? It’s Mandela Barnes.
By the way, does Barnes even have a job or a car? I heard he bikes to events. What did his PAC really do? When was he last on BadgerCare? Why does he want to free half of the prison population and support policies that would destroy local governmental budgets? Those are all more important questions of course.
Having a Single Governor Would be New for Wisconsin
That being said, having a single governor – male or female – would be unusual for Wisconsin, especially one with a revolving door of dates.
Before election day, former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards joked with reporters: “The only way I can lose this election is if I’m caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy.” I mean that’s pretty much it. For this kind of stuff to be politically fatal, it can’t just be some women upset that Barnes allegedly whispered sweet nothings in their ears and then moved on. Consensual relationships, even a lot of them, aren’t going to be a campaign killer probably, especially without names. Barnes is hardly running as a family values candidate.
On the other hand, I suppose a bachelor governor is unusual. Folks may desire the stability of having a First Lady or First Man. They might cringe at the possibility that the governor’s mansion could turn into Porky’s. It’s definitely something new for Wisconsin. And Barnes’ life has some instability in it – storming out of an interview after being asked about delinquent property taxes, lying about his college degree, and being a parking ticket scofflaw.
One wonders what else lurks in the shadowy environs of Dem and Republican oppo books. The Democrats learned the hard way recently (Graham Platner) about not properly vetting a candidate
Having piles of short-term relationships can indicate instability or even narcissism, in general. Folks don’t want a Drama Governor with a disco ball in his office. They want a guy like Tony Evers who spends his time smearing blacktop on potholes and playing pickleball (although he confessed to someone I know that he really doesn’t play pickleball much.)
Tony Evers Met Kathy in Kindergarten!
State Grandpa Evers’ aw shucks family man routine, carefully crafted as it is, works with voters. They don’t want drama. They just want roads fixed, taxes down, and criminals caught. It’s pretty simple. I mean, Evers met his wife Kathy in kindergarten in Plymouth, and people find comfort in stability like that. Political gold. Jim Doyle has been married to his wife Jessica since 1966. Scott Walker met his wife Tonette in 1992 by slipping her a note at a barbecue joint’s karaoke night. I’m not sure why, but I just have a hard time imagining Walker doing that. I wonder if he tucked the note into a brown paper bag and regaled her with stories about Ronald Reagan.
Tommy Thompson has been married to Sue Ann since 1966. He asked her to lunch when she came to the Capitol to lobby for school funding. Beyond that, I think I will leave that one alone…
I mean, we’ve never had a First Lady replaced with “who you’re happening to date this Friday” (or a First Man who may have been in this country illegally, but that’s another story.) I’d imagine there would be a lot of women willing to go to the governor’s mansion to Netflix and chill, but that’s not really what voters are signing up for.
Hong has the same issue, without the prolific dater reputation. A divorced single mom in the governor’s mansion would be unusual for this state. I’m not saying it’s disqualifying or even bad. We just haven’t seen it before. But there are a lot of divorced single moms in the world (yes, I’m one too, so you don’t need to hit me with that. But I’m not running for governor, so who cares. I’m not criticizing being one). Single moms are some tough cookies. It could actually help her relate.
Then again, Hong’s life hasn’t really been marked by the stability voters are used to in a governor – there’s also a psychiatric hospitalization, bipolar diagnosis and lithium overdose years ago (she’s spoken publicly about it), a failed business, and piles of credit card debt.
Tom Tiffany Met His Wife at the Thirsty Whale
All of this paints quite a contrast with State Dad Tom Tiffany, who has been married to his wife Chris for 30 years.
Tom is stable. I saw an oppo book on him compiled for a previous opponent once and it was even more boring than Joel Brennan’s. The biggest hit they had on him was that he supported Ted Cruz like lsots of people in the 2016 primary instead of Trump. It basically made him sound like an Eagle Scout.
Tiffany and his wife met at the Thirsty Whale in Minocqua and ran a tour boat company together. They also have three daughters. Tom Tiffany, girl dad and loving husband, softens him. His campaign should put his family more front and center, especially to counter Democratic video clips making him look grouchy.
More Chris and fewer dairy farms please. It’s kind of hilarious to imagine Tom Tiffany at the Thirsty Whale picking up a woman. I’ve been to the Thirsty Whale. It’s iconic. It pitches itself as a family friendly restaurant and lively bar. I wonder what Tom’s pickup line was: “hey, date me and I’ll show you how to call to the wolves on the Willow flowage?” Actually, that might work better than sometimes jobless Mandela telling chicks, “you know I was lieutenant governor once…”. Then again, maybe not. (He tried to make it falsely sound like he’s STILL lieutenant governor in a text message to voters recently.)
Tom Tiffany really did call to wolves on the flowage. And they answered him back. I learned this from a woman who went on one of his boat tours. She also said he was kind, gracious and extremely knowledgeable about the flowage. For the love of God, please get that into an ad.
Minimizing the Gender Gap
Barnes as a political Casanova could help him minimize the gender gap, though. Does dating a lot of women even hurt him with male voters? Dubious. I was talking to a couple politically savvy friends about this the other day, a man and a woman, and they both started laughing and decided most men would say, “way to go.” But you can’t say that publicly.
Frankly, the Democrat side could use a little masculine energy. I mean, it’s the party of estrogen, dweebs and man buns.
Hong was married and is now divorced. I don’t know the timeline of their relationship just that piles of sources say it happened.
As for the other candidates, there was even a Politifact once about Kelda Roys, alleging that she ticked off some people in the LGBTQ community by “trying to represent herself as a member of the LGBT community” when her partner is actually a heterosexual man. That’s more about phoniness. Kelda is a chameleon who morphs into whatever she thinks will get her votes. Right now she’s cosplaying an almost-socialist ICE abolisher, posting weird videos of her giving speeches at a podium in a seemingly empty room (her basement?)
Sara “Russell” Rodriguez won’t say whether her husband overstayed a visa despite claiming ICE targeted her and her family.
Joel Brennan, who is the Democrats’ most electable candidate but isn’t getting any traction because he’s too corporate appearing, has more the typical political family story, married to wife Audra, two kids in college.
The media are total hypocrites when it comes to whose personal relationships they turn into big headlines and whose they won’t touch, though. They’re only interested in trawling through the personal lives of conservatives even though a governor’s family often ends up in the public eye.
If Tom Tiffany had dated Andy Manske, it would be a big story. He didn’t. Thank God. I didn’t look up whether Andy has a girlfriend because he’s not going to win (sorry, Andy. I’ve come to find you endearing.)
Table of Contents
