His finesse and leadership to bring together his Republican colleagues and fix a crushing $3.6 billion budget deficit still commands respect to this day. His reforms freed up schools and municipalities to enact cost-saving decisions which also removed the corrupting influence of public sector union influence peddling from local and statewide politics.
Walker has reformed a number of public sector interests, from taxes to gun ownership, and has expanded local control, school choice, and voucher programs.
He also cut property taxes six times in a row.
Democrats have conceded that Walker is a force to be reckoned with.
Liberal Democrats in Wisconsin wanted to extended the governor's Act 10 reforms to all public employees, including police and fire. Democrats have endorsed and supported him on Facebook with a group page. Obama supporters also voted for Scott Walker, despite his widely-known ideological differences with the current President.
Western Journalism reports:
Exit polls conducted for and published by the New York Times reported that Wisconsin’s recall voters still favored President Obama over challenger Mitt Romney by 51 percent to 44 percent. But of the 51 percent favoring President Obama, fully 18 percent reported voting for Governor Walker. Thus about 9 percent of recall voters were Obama supporters who voted to retain Scott Walker, and this exceeded his overall margin of victory in the recall election.
Just recently, Rhode Island Democrat Matt Fecteau claimed that Walker is a commendable candidate, compared to his challenger.s
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| Matt Fecteau |
To clarify, Fecteau is not a Republican or conservative by any stretch. An engaged Democrat from the most Democratic state in the union, Fecteau has even challenged the liberal establishment. Last year, he took on former assemblyman, Providence mayor, and now Congressman David Cicilline. Despite losing the primary in 2014, he did significant damage, winning more votes than expected against a third-time incumbent.
In my interview with Fecteau, he commented:
Also focusing on the very little good which “Prince David” has done for his district, liberal Democrat (and former Patrick Kennedy intern) Matt Fecteau explained to me his reason for a primary challenge against a fellow (?) Democrat: “He is ineffective to get the job done.” Citing his bipartisan drive to create a National Infrastructure Bank and bring jobs back to Rhode Island, Fecteau criticized Cicilline’s incapacity to cooperate in a gridlocked Congress.
Despite his appeal for bipartisanship, he retains a partisan dislike for George W. Bush, witnessed by his criticism of former President George W. Bush's speaking fees at a wounded veterans' fundraiser.
Consider his opening remarks on an Election 2016 Facebook thread, which began with this tweet:
Congratulations @GOP, I thought last crop of prez candidates was bad, but these #TakeCake. #GOP #RaceForWhiteHouse #Election2016 #GOP
I responded, as have many commentators, that the Republican bench is one of the deepest and most impressive in decades.
Fecteau responded:
Matt Fecteau Walker not in bad shape
Jindal is polling 27% in LA, and single digits nationwide (from a poll I saw),
Jindal may not be popular in his home state, but that does not reflect on his diligence to protect individual liberties, and to promote education reforms for the best interests of all Louisiana residents.
Cruz made a lot of enemies who will derail him,
So has Clinton, which explains the rising number of Democratic challengers (including Independent Socialist Bernie Sanders of Vermont).
Paul is not a bad candidate, but made a number of mistakes
Haven't we all. US Senator Rand Paul is not my first choice, either, but he has had the courage to filibuster legislation and executive nominees which he opposes. Rhode Island's junior US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has given long, drawn-out speeches about climate change, but never filibustered when he had the chance.
Perry, wow, just wow, no.
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry has offered more leadership and commensurate success than many legislators. I did not agree with his decision to extend in-state tuition to illegal aliens. Walker repealed a similar measure in his first budget.
Trump is making headway just simply because he tells people what he thinks, no matter how stupid it is....
Trump possesses that franc-parler which makes Maine Governor Paul LePage a star. At least he knows how to handle email servers. The moral courage to speak one's mind is a necessity in this country, now that Americans are getting killed by illegal aliens in sanctuary states, and the United States' public debt is reaching Greek levels.
Unlike Trump, Walker trumps the press better thanhis Republican counterparts, considering the long litany of media fails which have not derailed his campaign or candidacy.
Rhode Island Democrat Matt Fecteau is right: Walker is not in bad shape at all. He has been polling very well in a number of potential contests and heads-up. He was polling #1 in Iowa, and has not announced his campaign, even though he has officially filed.
Granted, Fecteau added to his remarks:
Matt Fecteau Walker is not in bad shape doesn't translate to liking him. He isn't in bad shape as a Presidential candidate compared to the rest.
I could not agree more. Walker is a standard-bearer in the Republican Party, and an era-definer in American politics. Not bad at all.
Anonymous left the following comment. I have edited some of the remarks because of profanity:
ReplyDelete"Scott Walker is a duplicitous piece of s*** Though Wisconsinites successfully pressured lawmakers to take out provisions that would have levied a special tax on bicycles, gutted the state’s government transparency laws and reduce a planned $300 million cut to universities to $250 million, a host of controversial provisions — several of them slipped in at the last minute — made it into the final draft.
The 11th-hour additions include a repeal of wage protections for construction workers on local government projects, the elimination of workers’ right to one day off per week, loosened regulations over payday lenders, and a provision to expedite approval for a tar sands pipeline that would bisect the state. Another change made over the Fourth of July weekend eliminates the state’s long-standing living wage law and replaces all references to a “living wage” with “minimum wage.”
"During this week’s debate, Democrats offered 31 amendments aimed at undoing some of these provisions and restoring some money to the state’s schools, but all were rejected by the Republican majority.
"Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle used scatological imagery in describing the finished budget — which lays off hundreds of public employees and could shift up to $600 million from public schools to vouchers for private and religious schools — but nearly every Republican in the Assembly voted to pass it.
"Walker: a Koch-sucking duplicitous piece of s*** and unelectable in national politics."
Let's see:
DeleteWalker cut funding from the bloated UW system, which preaches hatred of America, prosperity, businesses, individual liberty, capitalism.
He removes the arbitrary prevailing wage, which hurts cities and puts out a lot of potential bidders who can provide good construction at a cheaper price. Prevailing wage laws are inherently racist, and thus Walker has done something that helps minorities, too.
He restored the language "minimum wage", as a recognition of the fact that people were never meant to stay let alone live on entry-level employment.
He loosened regulations on payday lenders. Honestly, with stronger economic growth and easier access to credit, men and women can avoid risky debt and increase their potential.
He expedited approval for a tar sands pipeline that would bisect the state? Why, that means at least one state could move on energy production, even while President Obama blows off nations and corporations in the name of an discredited environmental agenda.
Walker will lay off a bunch of (overpaid) public employees and provide voucher funding to bolster school choice.
Wow! I look forward to voting for Scott Walker not once but twice in 2016!
He is absolutely Presidential material. The more that the Left attacks him, the stronger he stands out!
Thanks again for sharing this information.