Discussion for article #233566
I understand the authorās point here - having no firm opinions absolves Walker from attacks for his positions. However, I just canāt believe that āI donāt knowā would win a national election.
I guess his MO is to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. Thatās certainly a strategy to win the GOP nomination. However, if Jeb Bush pretty much sews up the plutocrat primary well in advance of an actual primary campaign, Iām not sure how much good that approach is going to do Mr. Walker. After a point his only hope will be to out-crazy Bush and hope that the right-wing base turns out to propel him past the āfront runner.ā
We know heās already got the ClueLess wing sewn upā¦
There is nothing new in Repugs communicating in code. For example āVALUESā has always been code for RACE. Walker hopes that he has been such a jerk as governor that he can wink, nod and shrug his way past any questions just like George Bush Jr. did.
Lets just say thats theres a lot of people handling Walker through his walk into the primary. The handlers have to spin his shit record as gov of wisconsin, his koch bros connections and his being kicked out of college for cheating.
The Iowa caucuses are 11 months away, so a lot of things can still happen, but at the moment Iām picking Walker to win them. Heās from a neighboring state, so heās already well known to Republicans in Iowa and they like what they see. It also makes it easier for him to open and control offices to run his campaign. He has the midwestern cred that will appeal to Iowans better than someone like Bush or Christie (is he even still in the race?). A win in Iowa can set him up as a serious candidate and help propel him to win the nomination, even though Bush is the establishment candidate with the money.
Best example of this happening before: Illinoisan Barack Obama vs. Hillary Clinton.
Walker is an idiot and despicable, but donāt count him out.
In a sane world, Iād say the college dropout candidate really isnāt going to profit over the long haul by racking up a huge lists of things he says he doesnāt know.
But we donāt live in a sane world. We live in a world where the political reporters of the MSM are soooooo bored with all this sober, sensible, prudent effective governance and, in particular, a president who regularly commits the unforgivable sin of not even pretending like he thinks theyāre smarter than he is. (God, they fucking hate that!)
That very attitude gave us the systematic campaign of slander that was their coverage of the Gore campaign. And just look how very exciting and news-filled and fun the years that followed were!
When people ask me why Iām an Obama supporter, my answer is direct, and it is true:
Because he bores me.
I agree, it could work in the primaries especially with such a nice complaint media that will feel its rude to press him to hard. If this was a Democratic candidate the press would be outraged and in his face, mostly because not to be would cause them to be called out as liberalistas.You see it all the time when the press gets a hand job answer and follows up, after the second hand job they just accept it and give up, they never persist. Walker knows this, its the one thing he learned in college after he learned were the forms were to drop out.
Itās no slam to call him No Drama Obama.
Iām glad you wrote this, Amanda. As a Wisconsinite, I can tell you this is exactly how he has been elected twice and survived a recall. Itās why heās dangerous. He never fully clarifies, never fully answersā¦and he hopes people assume that he is a moderate and an all around normal guy. He has never been challenged on his answers here in the local press (if you can call it press) and he gets through debates by never looking at his opponent and just repeating things over and over, to make it sound like they are believableā¦and we are the idiots for believing otherwise.
Just like he said he was not going to push āRight to Workā this sessionā¦and didnāt see it as a pressing issue for WI. Instead, it will get pushed through our legislature in an emergency session this Fridayā¦and Walker has said he will sign it.
It is the same thing he did with Act 10, womenās health issues, education, etc. He never qualifies what he will doā¦and if he does qualify, he denies heāll do it because āpeople in Wisconsin arenāt talking about thisāā¦and thus, the people are always lulled into believing him.
I beg the press not to underestimate his smarminess and underhandedness and really be prepared to ask him the tough questionsā¦like how 6 of his closest staff went to jail, Or why he took out the Wisconsin Ideal out of the UW charter, or why he is kicking 100 million dollars of loan payments down the road. He needs to be challenged by serious journalists who are ready with follow up questions.
Didnāt Tim Pawlenty try this strategy in 2012?
It will be interesting on how he behaves during the debates. He canāt come off as weak and unsure then while the rest of the field is sharpening their knives.
Alfred E. Newman was not mendacious. He was not cruel.
Take that back, GoET!
Tim Pawlenty never gained traction back in 2012 because GOP primary voters were waiting for āThe Oneā, that would surely be among those candidates that had not declare as early as Pawlenty.
Thereās a desperation to the early popularity of Walker. GOP primary voters see the Clown SUV a-coming down the road and heās the only prospect with no clear deficiencies - so far.
Walker is not a national figure. The more voters find out about him and his connections to those Midwestern billionaires, the less he will be relevant nationally. Income inequality is going to blow him out of contention.
Another smirker, like the smirking chimp we had from 2001-2009. You know, the one that let Al Qaeda attack us, lied us into a war with Iraq, and crashed the economy. Scottie has messed up Wisconsin so badly they have twice Minnesotaās unemployment rate. So, yes, Murricans, vote for this tool and youāll get what you deserve.
Beware the Koch whore.
The headline says āinto the White House,ā but the actual piece only talks about how he may appeal to GOP primary voters. This strategy may work to get through the primaries, but itās a much tougher sell to a broad presidential electorate.
Paul Waldman had a piece today arguing that Walkerās extremism wonāt hurt him even on a national stageā¦ that āswing votersā donāt really care, though he acknowledges minorities will. But if those āswing votersā who wonāt care decide national elections, why was Obama elected twice? Waldman also argues that a Republicanās craziness hasnāt been a general election factor since 1964ā¦ but I disagree. Palin clearly dragged down McCain, and increased the margin of Obamaās '08 victoryā¦ and that was from the no. 2 spot.
He canāt just shrug his way through a national campaign and never define himself. And he canāt be his true crazy self without consequences. I do see him potentially getting the nomination. But I also seem him as very, very beatable. Liberal pundits basically declaring āItās all over. He canāt be stopped. No one will care heās a lunatic,ā are to my mind neither helpful nor accurate.