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Before I get into the latest political rumblings let me take a moment to thank all of our Vets today.  Thanks for fighting for us, thanks for wearing that uniform and standing proudly for our country.  You should be proud of yourselves.  If you are not a vet, seek one out today and show your appreciation.

Back to politics.  The big question as to who will run for the Democrats in the race for Wisconsin Governor could be answered this week, or things could get even murkier.  Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett’s office says he will make a decision by the end of the week.  My guess is he will run (no one else is from the Dems), but if he doesn’t things will get VERY interesting! I’ll keep you posted.

Since we last spoke the House passed their version of the health care reform bill (pause for applause…. noone told the audience).  It includes a public option but excludes public money for abortions, that’s how they got moderate Dems on board.  It’s one step closer but pretty far from being done.  The Senate says the bill is dead on arrival, the public option is the big sticking point.  Stay tuned again.

PAWLENTY WATCH: The future Presidential/Vice Presidential Republican nominee is keeping his name out there.  According to AP, Governor Pawlenty will be the keynot speaker at a New Hampshire Republican Senate Majority Committee PAC fund-raiser in Concord.  Since announcing last June that he would step down at the end of his second term next year, the 48-year-old Pawlenty has set up a political action committee, assembled an experienced team of political strategists and has spoken out on several national issues.  Last weekend, Pawlenty spoke at a Repubilcan fund-raiser in Des Moines, Iowa, the state that hosts the first Presidential caucuses.  Pretty busy for a MN Governor.

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For those of you who saw my piece Monday about 8-year-old Sevanna’ Utesch, I wanted to update you about how she was doing.  For those of you who missed it, you can check it out here.

The last time we talked with the family, Sevanna was finishing 3 weeks of treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and was ready to head home.  I got a call from Patti today and she says that Sevanna was back home last week, and had her first day back at school yesterday!

Patti says that she is doing well and the family is keeping a close eye on her.  After 40 procedures, we can all hope that she continues to get healthy.

I hope her story helped put prospective on how important this health care debate is.  It’s more than just an abstract debate, it affects people’s lives.  Please also watch Part II tonight to hear from Dave Wester.  We also met him at a town hall meeting.  He has stage 4 cancer and was denied a life-saving treatment by his insurance company.  His story is just as imporant as Sevanna’s and shows that this topic is not just one-sided.

Also coming up later this week, Cynthia Schweigert answers some of the pressing questions people have about this debate by talking to the CEO’s of both local hospitals.  Look for those Wednesday and Thursday.

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Tomah Mayor Ed Thompson announced today that he intends to run for State Senate.  He will run as a Republican against incumbent Kathreen Vinehout for the 31st State Senate District. Thompson says he is concerned that state government is hampering job creation and failing to protect seniors in a down economy.

This is not even close to the next step into politics that Ed, or his brother Tommy for that matter, have taken.  Ed is the Tomah Mayor for the second time, he also ran for Governor as a Libertarian back in 2002.

His well known brother Tommy was the longest running Governor in Wisconsin history.  He was also the Secretary of Health and Human Services under then President George W. Bush, and was a candidate for President in this past election.

So Wisconsin’s political brothers keep at it.

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I’ve been saying for a year that Pawlenty will be either the Presidential or Vice Presidential Republican candidate in 2012, so I’m keeping tabs on him with my PAWLENTY WATCH.

Today the Gov has interjected himself into the race for a vacant New York congressional seat.  He is breaking ranks and backing a conservative third party candidate instead of the Republican nominee for the seat.  I say ‘breaking ranks’, but he is actually joining several other 2012 candidates in supporting Doug Hoffman over Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafave.

According to AP, Pawlenty said he agreed more with Hoffman’s positions on government spending, taxes and union organizing legislation now before Congress.

This is yet another example of the Gov trying to help ‘rebuild’ a damaged party and at the same time making himself look as conservative as possible.  Keep and eye on this guy, or I will for you.

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Since Governor Jim Doyle announced he was not seeking a third term, most of our news about candidates have been who is NOT running.  Today there was a surprising one added to the list.

The Republicans have two candidates, Scott Walker and Mark Neumann.  So far the Democrats only have people saying they won’t run, Rep’s Ron Kind and Paul Ryan, and State Sen. Jon Erpenbach among them.

When Doyle made his announcement aides close to Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton said she would run.  She has said in the past that she was interested, and she won a straw poll at the Democratic Convention by a landslide.  But today Lawton announced she will not run.  Citing ‘very personal reasons’ the Lt. is now part of the not-running crowd.  It’s surprising to me, and I’m guessing many others across the state, and now leaves even more question marks for the Dems.

The front runner now looks like Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (fresh off his state fair mauling).  Speaker Mike Sheridan, also surprised by the announcement, has said Barrett would make a great candidate.  We’ll see.

It just makes me wonder.  There are several names, Kind and Lawton among them, who have always seemed ambitious and chomping at the bit for higher office, so why are they shying away now?  There feels like there is something else happening here.  Maybe we’ll find out down the road.

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