Liz Mair works for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. She has been hired to do communications outreach. She is very good at her job. She is also a friend of mine. I have known Liz for a number of years. In 2012, Liz worked for Governor Rick Perry.

I am very saddened to see an organized effort by conservatives to have Governor Walker fire Liz Mair.

Liz is most definitely more liberal than either Scott Walker or me. She and I disagree on a number of issues, particularly social issues. But I also know she is very competent at her job and works for the candidate without pushing her own agenda. She has proven this time and time again.

Leftwing activists recently ganged up on Elizabeth Lauten. She was a staffer no one knew who worked for a Congressman no one knew. The left drove her from her job and ruined her career because on her personal Facebook page she made comments critical of the President’s daughters.

It is really appalling to see self-described Christians showing as little grace towards Liz Mair as the left showed to Elizabeth Lauten.

Were Liz Mair in a position within the Walker campaign to shape public policy on the social issues on which we disagree, I’d openly suggest the Walker Campaign look elsewhere or find balance. But Liz is not doing that. She’s doing social media outreach and helping the Walker campaign push their message out.

I really am appalled that so many Christian conservatives are showing such a lack of grace and overwrought outrage over a communications consultant.

I think an early test for Scott Walker is going to be if he is willing to stand up to the sound and fury of people outraged by a staffer’s tweet in the way he stood up to union activists. He should stand up here and keep Liz Mair. This tempest in a tea pot will die down. And if it doesn’t, it is just freaking Iowa.

The Iowa Caucus picked Bush over Reagan in 1980, Dole over Bush in 1988, Huckabee over McCain in 2008, and Santorum over Romney in 2012. It’s straw poll has only picked the right candidate once since 1979.

Scott Walker, it is just not worth tossing a well qualified person because she tweeted a personal opinion before being hired. Out the people who screw up on the campaigns, not the people not on campaigns. But as it stands, a whole lot of people who’ve screwed up the last several GOP campaigns are getting promotions and commissions while we’re lining up the circular firing squad over someone who will have no impact on shaping policy, but is quite effective at communicating it.

UPDATE: I see from the Associated Press that Liz Mair has resigned from Governor Walker’s campaign. Given Liz’s work history, I will put it to you this way — Team Walker has botched this. There’s just no way Liz Mair resigned with it being her idea. I haven’t talked to her yet, but there’s just no way. So instead of Walker owning this, he’s passed the ball and made a staffer off herself. That’s unfortunate and plays into the “not ready for prime time” theme already developing around Team Walker. At least it is early.

But the voices who decided to stir this pot need to DIAF as far as I’m concerned.