Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Thoughts on Gov. Scott Walker's Presidential Candidacy

After winning three statewide elections in four years,
this following winning two local elections here in
Milwaukee, a Democrat stronghold, Wisconsin
Gov. Scott Walker is regarded as presidential
material by more than a few conservatives in
the Republican Party, here in the Badger State and
around the country. Although Gov. Walker has
not formally declared, he has hired a high-powered
political consultant and has assembled a group of
advisers.

What would a Walker presidential candidacy mean
to Wisconsinites, to the Republican Party, to the GOP's
chances of capturing the White House in the 2016
election?

Your proud Peasant's state's governor has something
that too many Republican politicians these days sorely
lack; a strong spine. Soon after first being elected,
Walker and the GOP-won legislature crafted and passed
Act 10, the sweeping reform legislation which, among
other things, curbed the power and influence of the
state's public employee unions, giving taxpayers badly
needed relief and giving state and local government units
(including school districts) more latitude to make budgets
by eliminating structural obligations which used to eat into
the revenue available to allocate to whatever these units
would otherwise have had for their needs. Moreover,
Walker and the Republicans in Madison eliminated a
sizable budget deficit left by Walker's predecessor,
Democrat Gov. Jim Doyle, and making a budget surplus
in the process. Walker faced fleeing Democrats leaving
the legislature and the state(!) to deny Walker and the
GOP a quorum to hold a vote on Act 10, and dealt with
hordes of hostile, sometimes violent and oftentimes
destructive protesters at the Capitol. Walker and his family
even received death threats from some of these unhinged
radicals. But Walker pressed on; he got his bold reform
package passed, and Wisconsin's economy has benefited
from it --- jobs are making a comeback, employers are
no longer considering leaving Wisconsin while employers
from other states are considering moving to or expanding
here. Contrast this to President Obama's governance and
its bitter fruits.

Gov. Walker appeared at the recently concluded Conser-
vative Political Action Conference (CPAC), an annual
conservative confab, in which this year has served to
showcase many Republican presidential hopefuls;
this after appearing at an Iowa GOP gathering
in which Walker wowed the crowd with a rousing speech
detailing his philosophy of governance and his legislative
triumphs. He came away with the lead in that state's straw
poll, and placed a close second to U.S. Senator Rand Paul
in the CPAC poll.

Hostile members of the media have tried to trip him up,
but to no avail. At a GOP dinner in New York, Walker
was invited to rebuke a comment by former New York
mayor Rudy Guiliani that President Obama didn't think
that he loved America, but Walker deftly stated his own
love for America and that the president "can speak for
himself". During a trip to Europe to promote trade with
Wisconsin, Walker was asked his thoughts on evolution
but would not discuss them; after all, he was there on
a trade mission for his state, to open up new markets and
strengthen existing ones. Very businesslike. He certainly
never placed his foot in his mouth and swallowed hard,
like a few GOP candidates for various offices in 2012
had (remember "The misery from Missouri", on whose
gaffe I commented here on this blog?). A smart, disciplined
and savvy, if thus far undeclared candidate, he just won't
take the bait that his enemies have placed before him.

The Republicans have so far been leaving much to be desired
in Congress since winning one chamber, then the other, to
take complete control of the place. They have wimped out on
their promises to turn back Obama's bills for immigration
amnesty and Obamacare, and as for the actual or potential
candidates from that party for the presidency next year
there are some reticent sorts, mainly establishment
favorites who will be hostile to the true conservatives and
their plans for real reform in Washington. Walker is a
breath of fresh air, and this Wisconsin conservative hopes
that if he does declare himself a candidate, that he will be
able to muster enough money for a strong effort; the
establishment types will be giving their cash to Jeb Bush
or Chris Christie, A real reformer and stalwart conservative
like Walker would give them dizzy spells! But in order to
take back our country, we conservatives must first take back
the Republican Party. And Gov. Scott Walker would be just
the candidate to achieve both.


MEM

No comments:

Post a Comment