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A big thanks to Chuck, the 6th most frequent Gop3.com commentor and a personal friend, for putting together this guest blog post on the Future Wisconsin convention from this past weekend.

I had a great time Saturday at Future Wisconsin 2007.

In case you have yet to attend the event, Future Wisconsin is an annual conference of conservatives in Wisconsin, unmatched in the quantity or quality of its attendees. The event is well-organized by Mr. Bob Dohnal and the Wisconsin Conservative Digest with the assistance of Mr. Tom Keeley. In spite of Saturday’s threat and presence of heavy snow, hundreds of our state’s most right-minded minds descended upon Wauwatosa to discuss Wisconsin, strategy and the future of conservatism.

After digging my car out from under the snow, I arrived at the banquet hall in time to take in the panel discussion
on “How to Develop Good Public Policy.” The conversation centered on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to conservatives and our abilities to broadcast ideas and affect legislation. There was near unanimous agreement on two points, the potential gains from growing talk radio and the absence of an individual or institution to guide the conservative movement. Coincidently, various members of the panel and audience considered talk radio host, Mark Belling to be the de facto leader of the Wisconsin conservative voice. This consensus was reached after considering Belling’s contributions to the debate on the automatic gas tax increase and ethanol mandates.

Around noon, we broke for a delicious buffet lunch. Atop the menu for me was: turkey, stuffing, potatoes, pastries and a medley of vegetables. It was at this time when Jessica McBride, Master of Ceremonies, shared her top ten reasons for optimism in the State of Wisconsin. Her number one reason for excitement was “no Attorney General Kathleen Falk.”

After lunch was perhaps the best of all. We returned to our seats to hear Congressman Mark Green give a very moving address on the importance of conservatives in government and an incisive look ahead in Wisconsin. One of the largest points of difference between conservative and liberal legislators, according to Congressman Green, is their desire to spend additional time in Washington. Congressman Green shared that during his time in Congress, he spent only two weekends inside the Beltway. Once was because of an important vote and the other was for a family vacation. This can be partially juxtaposed with five-day workweek initiative of our 110^th Congress.

After Mark Green spoke, I spent the next hour meeting amazing people. Future Wisconsin is an outstanding event to network with conservatives throughout the state.

I returned to my seat in time for State Rep. Jim Ott’s presentation on global warming. To those who may not know, Representative Ott was a long-time meteorologist prior to running for public office.

All told, I spent over five hours at Future Wisconsin 2007. It is truly a remarkable event. If I were to offer a suggestion, it may be to incorporate more focus on actively solving obstacles impeding the conservative movement over and above pure discussion of the issues. Suggestions aside, I wish Future Wisconsin all the best with next year’s event and encourage conservatives across the state to attend.

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