Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, I missed this column in the Freeman from right-wing radio talk show host Mark Belling about the impending Scott Walker Gubernatorial Campaign.
I’ve been hearing the same thing that Belling writes about with regard the Walker ramping up his campaign within the next 45 days. Not only is he trying to be the only one from the GOP side in the limelight in terms of fund raising and media attention – and yes, there will be attention for him – he’s obviously trying to bluff any other potential contenders into keeping their powder dry.
The one thing in Belling’s article that I will naturally disagree with are the chances Walker has at knocking off a two time incumbent Governor like Jim Doyle.
Heck, in the 2006 election, he wouldn’t have even gotten his own Party’s nomination, so assuming he makes it through that process to begin with, how does he think he’s going to fare any better against a Governor Doyle who handily beat the GOP candidate Scott Walker couldn’t even beat himself?
While conservatives here in Milwaukee like to hold up Walker as some sort of prototypical Republican candidate who is wildly popular in the rest of the State, I have my doubts about the degree to which that is true.
First off, “Republican” Scott Walker in Democratic Milwaukee County doesn’t run as a Republican. The County Executive position is non-partisan, so he’s never had to run for that position with an (R) next to his name. If he did, he would lose handily. So while it’s true that Walker is a Republican in a Democratic County, that in itself isn’t that amazing.
Secondly, while the “hold the line on taxes” spiel gets conservatives here all hot and bothered, the scorched earth that such a policy leaves behind is hard to ignore. There’s more to governance than putting your fingers in your earns and screaming, “no no no no no no no!!”. Scott Walker has been County Executive in Milwaukee County for six years now. The fact is that we’re worse off than when he took office in nearly every regard. His argument of, “Just look at what I did for Milwaukee County!” might resonate with the entire population of Wisconsin in a positive way if things here were going well. They’re not, and that will reflect poorly on him despite his almost guaranteed excuse that it’s not his fault. Again, good leaders take credit for the good and the bad.
Finally, his record. I touched a bit on this above, but seriously, what has he done for Milwaukee County other than say, “NO!” for six years?
The one positive I would like to see out of this, but doubtfully will, would be Scott Walker leaving his position as Milwaukee County Exec. to campaign full time. However, he’s been campaigning for the last three years anyways while totally ignoring the problems Milwaukee County faces, so maybe having him out of the office more often will actually clear the road for some progress around here.
I live in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Milwaukee, WI with my wife Jen, our daughter Emerson, and son Carter.
He might be able to win if it were possible to get elected by the rest of Wisconsin by saying “I *really* stuck it to Milwaukee!” But even with the rest of the state’s disregard for the city, I don’t think that would work too well.
Walker’s most recent budget proposal was 14% higher than his first one. The only year that the budget didn’t blow up midyear, if not sooner, was the year he took himself out of the process by vetoing the entire budget.
The transit system is crumbling, and it will cost the citizens of the entire state to get it fixed, just so he can have what he thinks is a talking point.
But the biggest reason he won’t make it past the primaries, if that far, is because he is from Milwaukee. Even if he used the “stick it to ‘em” line, the upstaters would never vote for him.
The real question everyone should be asking is when was the last time Wisconsin had a governor who did not possess a college education? It’s quite apparent what a lack of a college education has done for Milwaukee County in the position of County Executive.
I had an interesting conversation with a aide to Walker (at a Thankgiving dinner), there’s no doubt that he’s going to run for governor.
However, I don’t think he’s electable.
Smitty, just curious if you think that because some of the reasons I pointed out above or you have others. Curious to hear the position from a conservative.
Let’s play this game…
Jim Doyle has been Governor in Wisconsin for six years now. The fact is that we’re worse off than when he took office in nearly every regard. His argument of, “Just look at what I did for Wisconsin!” might resonate with the entire population of Wisconsin in a positive way if things here were going well. They’re not, and that will reflect poorly on him despite his almost guaranteed excuse that it’s not his fault. Again, good leaders take credit for the good and the bad.