I have supported Mark Neumann’s candidacy in the Wisconsin Senate race, but was also somewhat ambivalent about Eric Hovde. Above all else, I did not want to get in a situation where conservatives were divided and Tommy Thompson won.Goal number one in Wisconsin must be to stop Tommy Thompson.But it is time to set the ambivalence aside. With one week to go we should not mince words — if Eric Hovde is the nominee it is pretty doggone clear he will be returning home to Washington and dabble too much in the ways of Washington that conservatives are unanimously opposed to.As this campaign enters its final week, there is no more need for clarity on Eric Hovde. He, like the other candidates, has a record and it is one conservatives should reject in favor of Mark Neumann’s conservative record.

Hovde is a donor to Democratic politicos. He gave money to Jim Doyle, the former liberal Wisconsin governor. He gave money to a left-wing activist turned legislator in the Pennsylvania State House.Hovde’s business took in stimulus funds from Washington. Hovde advocated for stimulus funds for high speed rail and green energy subsidies. He even said one of the benefits of green energy subsidies would be to combat “global warming.” Hovde has denied taking TARP money, but his company urged investors to profit off a shift in U.S. tax law. Ironic given he advocates for closing corporate loopholes.While Hovde says he opposed how TARP was structured, that’s just nuanced bull shiitake mushrooms. Hovde is perfectly comfortable with taxpayer funded bailouts. He just would have done TARP differently. It’s like getting someone pregnant, just not via the missionary position.It gets worse. Eric Hovde is a person who played Washington to improve his fortunes.Let’s be clear here — there is nothing wrong with that per se. It is perfectly legal. The problem is both the left and right agree the deck is stacked against small businesses who can no longer compete in Washington, DC for the attention of politicians fixated on businesses too big to fail.And that is where Eric Hovde is wrong. He shows no willingness to fix the world from which he profited. We don’t need more of the same in Washington, DC and Hovde would be just another pretty face content in the status quo.Mark Neumann is the only Republican running in Wisconsin who understands that Washington is out of touch with America. He will not succumb to the status quo and, most importantly, won’t be returning home.Ultimately, Eric Hovde won’t fight Washington because Washington is where he lives and makes his fortune. No man storms and demolishes his own castle, even when that castle is the source of all our ills in this country. Wisconsin conservatives no longer need be ambivalent. We must stop Tommy Thompson. Mark Neumann is the only choice to stop him.