Striking that "more conservative than thou pose"

This week the Shepherd Express published a piece entitled, "Why Republicans Dislike Leah Vukmir". In it they discuss her wildly extreme positions on the issues. They also quote one Republican Capitol staffer who said, “Many Republican staffers believe that she is so extreme and heartless that she is dangerous.” Very strong words, especially coming from one of her fellow Republicans.

These nasty Republican reviews of Vukmir reminded me of a few similar quotes that were presented by Milwaukee Magazine last year. In that piece they named Leah Vukmir as "one of the worst" legislators in Madison. A key reason for this ranking appears to be because of the bad perception of her by fellow Republicans. Here are some of the choice quotes that were offered in the Milwaukee Magazine piece:

“Vukmir should be a star but is an absolute dud,” says another Republican. By withholding her vote and claiming the “more conservative than thou” pose, Vukmir forced her caucus to cut deals with the Democrats and give up more ground. “She just has no strategic sense,” he despairs, adding that Vukmir is despised by most fellow Republicans.

“It’s all about Leah,” grumbles a current Republican staffer. “Given the choice of reaching a compromise or having an issue to campaign on, she will choose the latter.”

If these statements are any indication, it seems that Vukmir carries quite an auroa of right-wing condescension toward those that don't share her extreme views. This sense was verified for me through a couple of emails that Vukmir wrote in 2008. They were about referendums that were being promoted by a large coalition of groups. Those referendums called for legislators to act on health care reform in 2009 and to guarantee that every Wisconsinite received the same quality health care that legislators receive.

Responding to the issue on August 13, 2008, Vukmir emailed Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce's RJ Pirlot. In that email she commented:

"It seems that the flowery language of this referenda question can capture even the stalwarts of community taxpayer groups. You may need to do some outreach work."

The very next day she sent an email to right-wing talker (and apparent BFF) Vicki McKenna. In that email she suggested the following plan of action:

"You may want to talk about this issue. Please don't single out Jean or the Tosa Taxpayers Alliance. She is pretty sharp and means well, and that is what concerns me."

I don't know exactly what she means by this comment but it sounds like this normal ally may have expressed some level of support for the referendum. What I do know is that Leah Vukmir's email about her absolutly drips with right-wing condescension.

Vukmir also suggests that McKenna "could blast SBT for not being better journalists..." I assume that she is referring to the (Small?) Business Times who reported on the referendum issue the day before. In the end it doesn't really matter exactly who she was referring to there. What does matter is that it didn't meet Leah Vukmir's extreme standards...but then again who actually does?