Scott Walker, ready to buy your vote
Scott Walker, serial liar and current Sith Lord Emperor of the Koch subsidiary formerly know as Wisconsin, has once again
pissed off Republican leaders in Wisconsin. How? By inventing a brand new myth about how he not only had to overcome "Big Gubmint Union Bosses", but also "battle" Republicans in order to pass his infamous union-busting Act 10.
"A lot of people don't know this. The establishment in my own party really wasn't that eager to reform things either," Walker said during a campaign speech Thursday in New Hampshire. "You see, they kind of liked the title, they liked the position, they like the bigger office in the Legislature. They didn't want to rattle things up too much. They didn't want to shake the boat."
The GOP governor added, "I told them it's put up or shut up time."
(bolding is mine)
That's right. If you believe Walkers current line of horse manure, not only has he been tough and "unintimidated" bashing teachers, librarians, and nurses, he's also had to get tough with his own Republican pals in order to get things done.
Walkers' latest manufactured fable isn't sitting well with Wisconsin Republican leaders. They aren't happy with being the butt-end of his shiny new talking point on how much he deserves to be the next President. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) has pushed back hard on Walker's new mythology describing the Republican caucus as united in supporting everything Walker wanted. Other Republican Legislators have joined him in disputing Walker's claims.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), however, has been silent on the issue for now. We'll see how long that lasts if Walker continues to promote himself as the single handed bringer of RW extremist laws to Wisconsin by beating down his own political cronies.
So, Republicans, how do YOU like being labeled as another group of bad guys that Walker has had to overcome "to get things done". Given enough time and Walkers' creative imagination when it comes to his own image, it sounds like you'll soon be likened to Big Gubmint Union Bosses that Walker had to wrestle with. Welcome to the other side of Scott Walkers' Divide and Conquer Strategy. Bwahahahaha!
Wisconsin Republicans are currently elbowing each other as they see the leadership vacuum that has developed while their Dear Leader is away. They see a Governors Office that will need a new occupant in the future and I'm sure many are at least considering measuring the drapes. With their severe gerrymander and weak State Democratic Party, they believe they only have to fight among themselves over who the next Dear Leader might be.
While fiercely campaigning for the White House, he's left the smoldering ruins of Wisconsin to show off his "success" as Governor while promising to "reform" the entire country in a similar fashion. With failing poll numbers since his lousy performance in the first Presidential debate, serial flip-flops, and inability to answer questions on the fly, Walker has had to amp up his claims and invent new myths on his "bold leadership".
So intent was Walker on his Presidential run that he left the state soon after election day, barely returning except to sign bills designed to bolster his Presidential bona fides. He also dropped a nearly 1800 page budget so laden with extreme policy items that it nearly sank itself with the enormous weight of those non-budgetary changes.
With Walker away on his Presidential campaign and even with press scrutiny of the extremist policy changes Walker had tucked inside his budget, Republicans in the Legislature added even more of them to the must-pass budget. The came from a wish list of items that would never, ever survive committee hearings or a full vote of the Legislature. Our Walker-loving media even woke up from their coma to notice and even called upon Walker to return home to put an end to the chaos that Republicans were causing.
Wisconsin is noticing. Walkers latest approval rating was a record low 41% with 58% disapproval. Even tens of millions of dollars in Koch money might not be enough to buy back Walkers' reputation back home. It might require the second coming of Jesus to accomplish that. Frankly, he might just be toast in Wisconsin.
JOHN DOE NEWS
One more thing. Republicans in our Legislature are pushing forward on plans to gut our current John Doe Probe laws. Future probes will be limited to felony criminal activity, last only 6 months, and will not be allowed to expand even if other criminal activity is discovered. They will no longer be allowed for campaign or election related activity (quite useful for the GOP these days).
Considering the massive Republicans majorities in our Legislature, the bill is expected to be quickly passed and signed in to law.
Frankly, we would be better off with Grand Jury statutes if our John Doe laws are going to be so severely restricted as to prevent future investigations.
Stay tuned.
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UPDATE: New Poll Numbers
The troubles for Scott Walker continue.
His job approval rating is at its worst in three years of Marquette polling, at 39% approval and 57% disapproval. Walker trails Clinton, the former secretary of state, in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, 52%-42%, while former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush trails Clinton by a smaller margin, 47%-42%.
(bolding is mine)
It gets worse:
... fewer voters feel Walker is thinking of them, with 37% saying he cared for people like themselves and 59% saying he didn't.
...
A majority of those polled felt Wisconsin is lagging other states in job creation and is on the wrong track.
That's going to leave a mark.
His last serious dip in approval had Walker claiming that the reduction was due to the chaos of the budget. He claimed that his poll numbers would improve after the budget was completed and implemented.
Clearly, that hasn't happened.
So far, no comment from Walker or his spokeperson.
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