Commentary: Historically, governors rose to president but senators now have an edge

The Portland Press Herald ^ | December 31, 2014 | Jonathan Zimmerman

[SoFloFreeper]

2DV: I hear you. I know California wasn’t AS liberal as now, but it was still more leftist than the average state.

[Principled]

Nice read, thanks Vet.

I dig history

[2ndDivisionVet]

No it wasn’t. How would a Ronald Reagan win the governorship if it had been? Southern California, especially, was quite conservative back then. Much has changed.

[kearnyirish2]

Christie hasn’t damaged the Republican Party in NJ; he’s more like the only reason we have one. He has all the right enemies to prove his conservative credentials; I don’t think he is presidential material, but in comparison to the Dem governors we have (and even the last Republican - Whitman), he is a solid conservative. Tax-cutting, pro-life, anti-teachers’ unions...

[kearnyirish2]

Christie won twice in NJ, and we’ve laid off many public employees in response to his stabilization of property taxes here. He isn’t perfect, but our property tax bills don’t increase as much as they had in the past. He knows we have to keep NJ attractive to companies and individual taxpayers.

[Beagle8U]

Mudbro works too.

[Principled]

Everything you say about Walker is true -

but I think so many omit from consideration the intense, seething anger held toward 0bamacare, amnesty, etc.

Walker doesn’t show that he has that bulldog in him to remove it. He doesn’t talk about repeal. He’s just... there... albeit getting stuff done as you say.

Someone like Cruz though IS a bulldog about wrong-headed, America-destroying policies. He DOES say what people want to have done. He gets us going.

So, no disagreement - just amendment ;)

[Beagle8U]

“2. On Right to Work, we saw that Ohio Governor Kasich over-reached and got nothing in Ohio for his efforts. Walker had to twist arms for the original Act 10, and he likely wouldn’t have won his first term if he didn’t exempt Police/fire/emergency services from it. If the State Legislator passes it he, may well sign off on it.”

Michigan passed RTW but exempted police and fire from it. The unions rolled over and played dead, they didn’t attempt to fight it once it passed.

[Dr. Sivana]

Walker doesn’t show that he has that bulldog in him to remove it. He doesn’t talk about repeal. He’s just... there... albeit getting stuff done as you say.

Walker deep-sixed the mil-madison high speed rail in week one.

The bulldog in Scott Walker is easily aroused by over-reaching Dems. He didn't campaign on Act 10. He DID campaign on getting the budget under control. And there is no lame duck like a lame duck Dem governor with next term's money to spend. Walker was behind the eight ball.

The unions stupidly thought that by letting the deal wait until Walker was in, they could neuter him early, and so didn't make a deal when Doyle was on his way out the door.

Walker finds out in short order that the Unions/Dems are not negotiating in good faith, and drops the A bomb.

Also keep in mind that Walker took NO Obama money and set up no state exchange. He basically told the Feds ... you want'em? You got'm. One thing that Walker has that Reagan had, and Cruz may or may not, is the inability to be made into a DEMON in the eyes of the general public. The guy is mild cheddar mild, and talk about him stomping on the necks of the working man wears thin REALLY quickly.

BTW, I really like Cruz, too. Both men have a lot to offer. I hope they aim their cannons at the Bushes, Cristies and Romneys, and not at each other.

[bert]

You apparently have not being paying attention. The man is ferocious and has severely bitten his opposition to the point of drawing blood

[Principled]

You apparently, haven’t read my post. Try reading it slower.

[Principled]

I have no argument with Walker’s cred. But just as soon as he gets popular, he’ll be demonized too.

That Cruz knows us well enough to recognize the seething anger over 0bamacare and amnesty and is able to articulate what needs to be done is a strength that Walker lacks - and that strength is what attracts the demon attacks... you know, flak and over the target.... and Cruz lacks the track record of getting things done.

Each has a strength the other lacks - Maybe they’ll end up fixing America as a team?

[offwhite]

Pure propaganda. The Democrats have only senators to run, so now senators “have an edge”.

[txhurl]

bttt!

[2ndDivisionVet]

O’Malley is a senator?

[cuban leaf]

I think after the Obama experience, voters are going to be loathe to elect another Senator as POTUS for a LOOOOOONG time.

---

Likewise a black man - even if he IS qualified. Liberal guilt has been satiated. The next one will have to actually make a darned good case, beyond his race, to get elected.

[2ndDivisionVet]

[Dr. Sivana]

I have no argument with Walker’s cred. But just as soon as he gets popular, he’ll be demonized too.

Oh, Walker knows Wisconsin well enough, and should be a quick study for the U.S. Few are as angry as Wisconsin Talk radio mistress Vicki McKenna, and she's good with him.

Walker got the Palin treatment squared. Wall-to-Wall. It got to a point of supersaturation where it just didn't stick any more. He did all he did WHILE having to face a Recall election. That and the flee-baggers set him back a few months.

After a point the demonization backfires. Carter was successfully accused of showing a previously unknown "mean streak" when running against Reagan. Al Gore's sighing and sanctimonious condescension cost him at least one state in the general election.

I am good with either Walker or Cruz. Walker is the farthest right we can get without getting a party fracture of some sort. Cruz will force the fracture but get new elements in the party that will be an upgrade over what we lose in Romneyites, who are the WORST of the Republicans. Long term, a Cruz type will be needed. If we need to plug the hole before we bail, Walker might be the better way. I'll go with whomever is more likely to knock out Bush/Christie/Romney when the primary comes. Guys like Jindal and Rubio can play if they want to get cred for the VP spot or a claim in 2024.

[Principled]

I think we’ve decided it.

Walker/Cruz for 8, Cruz/Haley for 8, ... ...

[Dr. Sivana]

Christie hasn’t damaged the Republican Party in NJ; he’s more like the only reason we have one.

As you live there, I will take your word for it. He is an upgrade over Christine Todd Whitman.

I used to live in CT and was a listener to WABC-AM NYC, and Bob Grant used to harp on Jersey ALL THE TIME. When Florio's toilet paper tax etc. was so unpopular that 3/4s of the state legislature went Republican, the Republicans did NOTHING with their mandate. So Christie doesn't have a lot to work with. Chris Smith is your one star at the Fed level.

In Massachusetts, the legislature is down to something like 19% Republican, with Connecticut not much better. This is a big change from when Reagan won Massachusetts in 1984, and there were still patrotic social conservatives in the Dem party (e.g. John Silber). William Weld Republicans like Romney only appeal to a small cache of voters in Massachusetts who will abandon them if they aren't socially progressive. At some point, things get so far out of whack that you have a little club (like in Philadelphia) that no longer thinks of winning, but only getting a few crumbs off of the tables to make them shut up, with big issues completely ignored.