Hovde's Bait Advertising Campaign for Senate.

It always struck me odd that Eric Hovde, of all people, would market himself as the guy fighting Wall Street excess and corporate power. Big surprise to find out he’s benefited in other ways, taking money he now says he doesn’t want. It's called bait advertising. Anyone buying this ruse?

Eric also won his last debate, says Eric Hovde.

jsonline: Hovde, a multi-millionaire with real-estate and investment holdings, has said he is running for U.S. Senate to cut government spending and deficits. But meanwhile, Hovde's Madison real-estate firm has been collecting about $2,700 a year in subsidies meant for tobacco farmers … he knew nothing about the payments arranged by lower-level company employees until he was contacted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and The Associated Press. If elected, "it's just another thing that I would try to kill," Hovde said.

That and anything else the press might turn up that directly contradicts Hovde’s slick media portrait.

John Kraus, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D), who is running for the Senate said, "People are going to have a hard time understanding why a Washington DC hedge fund banker who manages an offshore account in the Cayman Islands is taking advantage of government subsidies for farmers in Wisconsin."

But Hovde made this whole thing worse by comparing his “small” subsidy to opponent Mark Neumann’s green energy subsidy for an emerging alternative fuel industry, which I support.

Hovde noted that the tobacco subsidy payments were much smaller than the roughly $500,000 in federal grants received by solar energy companies owned by Neumann. Those grants came through the economic stimulus law signed in 2009 by President Barack Obama, which has come under heavy criticism from Republicans. "It's just a night and day difference," Hovde said of his subsidies compared to those given to the energy companies.

It is different, like apples to orange. Maybe Republicans were wrong to criticize subsidies for the green energy market, while continuing similar subsidies to the outdated fossil fuel industry. Maybe Hovde can come out against tax cuts for the wealthy too.