Posted on 03/09/2015 8:38:11 AM PDT by SoConPubbie
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., was speaking to Iowa farmers over the weekend and, as the Washington Examiner's Rebecca Berg reported, he shifted his position on ending the mandate that fuel contain ethanol.
Though he previously indicated opposition to the mandate, now visiting Iowa as a likely presidential candidate, Walker said, "It's something I'm willing to go forward on, continuing the Renewable Fuel Standard." The fact that he later floated the possibility of phasing it out didn't help the damage that was done to his reputation.
The ethanol mandate has little rationale beyond being a big government regulatory handout to farmers, many of whom happen to reside in a state with the first presidential nominating contest.
Walker's move not only was a deep disappointment to economic conservatives who, based on his record in Wisconsin, see him as a principled supporter of limited government, it also undermines one of the central rationales of his candidacy.
The governor vaulted to the top of Republican presidential pack based on his record of fighting special interests, particularly public sector unions. The logic of his candidacy is if he was willing to stand up for what he thinks is right — in the face of an organized campaign to destroy him by the national Left — then he can do so on a larger stage.
The concept of "political courage" was a theme of his 2012 recall election in Wisconsin, and this time around, he's trying to highlight this character trait as a way to make up for his lack of experience with national and foreign policy issues.
"If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the world," Walker said at the Conservative Political Action Conference last month in response to a question about the Islamic State.
Though it was clumsily worded, the message he was attempting to send was that even though it may take him some time to get better up to speed on international affairs, he's demonstrated the character to be commander in chief.
Along these lines, my colleague Byron York also quoted Walker at a Club for Growth conference last month as saying, "Foreign policy is something that's not just about having a Ph.D or talking to Ph.Ds. It's about leadership."
Despite his well-deserved reputation for bold leadership in Wisconsin, on the campaign trail so far, Walker has started to become more defined by his pandering.
The comments to Iowa farmers come in the wake of his reversal on immigration and his muddled answers on the Export-Import Bank, Department of Homeland Security funding and other issues. His goal seems to be to avoid offending anybody. True, this, to some extent, is to be expected in any presidential campaign.
But if one of the arguments Walker is going to make to those who say he isn't ready for the international stage is that, like Ronald Reagan before him, he's a governor with strong convictions, he's going to have to take stands that are unpopular among some audiences. And the fuel standard seems like an easy one.Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, spoke at the same conference, but he came out against the standard. "There are a lot of politicians who are going to tell you whatever you want to hear," Cruz said. "I'm willing to bet I'm not the only person here who's been disappointed with politicians in Washington, who's tired of people blowing smoke."
Whatever support Walker may have lost among the Iowa agricultural community by taking a similar line, he would have gained respect among economic conservatives and reinforced his Image of somebody willing to fight special interests.
To turn his own argument against him: If Walker can't stand up to Iowans, how will he stand up to the Islamic State?
Well, that doesn't make a BIT of sense
Those are voters in Iowa. ISIS doesn’t vote! ... LOL ...
With all that has happened in the oil patch, ethanol is on shaky ground. Walker knows this.
However, as a politician, he can’t show his hand. Have patience, everyone.
Same for immigration. Just give the secure the border mantra, which is more than a mantra. Be vague on everything else.
so ... if ethanol didn’t exist ... would they lose 47% or would that 47% go in a different dirsection ?
Here ya go, 2016 Republican Presidential Nomination(RCP averages of five polls)
Walker at 16.2% beating Bush and the rest , Cruz at 4.4% coming in at 8th.
See ya in Iowa !
When corn prices are up farmers buy new equipment, plant fence row to fence row. When corn prices go down because of record yields they cry the blues.
I hope that was tongue in cheek...
Walker will do well enough in Iowa. He’s got the support of Gov. Branstad’s people as well as support from actual conservatives like Brad Zaun.
Paul will poll strongly too, but to no avail. Libtards have a hard ceiling.
Cruz doesn’t need to win. He just needs a strong showing against Walker and Paul (if that’s how things actually happen).
Cruz backers need to stay in the meetings and get to the next level, not just cast a straw vote and leave.
I think you know how I would answer that. But let’s be clear: What we read today is a media effort to destroy Walker, because he is viewed as a potential candidate while Cruz is seen as the longest of long shots.
We have no idea how “the crowd” reacted to Cruz, but ethanol is the golden calf to Iowa. Iowa gets little on gov’t grift; the coasts get billions in welfare and EBT funds.
It’s very problematical. The media will want to report that Walker bombed in Iowa.
Uhh...he stuffed the unions/goons in Madistan. Keep your eye on the ethanol...keep your eye on the ethanol!
Walker has committed $220 million in state support for the arena and has claimed that growth in revenue from Bucks players, employees, and visiting teams will pay for it. Well the Bucks have been in Milwaukee for some time now. The state has been collecting income taxes on players, employees, and visiting teams for some time now. What additional revenue is he expecting? Does he expect the Bucks to significantly raise the player salaries? Hire a large number of backoffice staff or hand out big raises to the ones they have? I would think that the revenue stream from those sources should be pretty stable. And since the state has been collecting them from years then applying it to a stadium in the future means the money comes from sonething else. Why is that "something else" less important than the new stadium for billionares is?
It's just wrong to use extra income for the government to do things it doesn't need to do.
Not an important issue. Corn ethanol will eventually be phased out because there is no real upside to it any more. Plenty of oil being produced now.
The BIG solution is to find some other use for the excess corn being grown by our super-duper efficient farmers.
Apples and oranges. The Islamic State don’t vote.
On a related note...Lindsay Graham has been trolling around soviet Red Hampshire’s presidential waters over the past few days...he just referred to ‘ISIS’ as ‘ISIL’...knows his audience, doesn’t he?
Excess corn not a problem. Before the ethanol boom, corn acres had been dropping for decades.
Plenty of room for more acres in hay, wheat, cotton, rice, etc.
Iowa farming would be little affected. Corn is a natural, a tall grass on what was tall grass prairie. Biggest change will be outside of the prime Corn Belt.
What, Walker can’t evolve later like King Putt always does?
“OK ... does corn for ethenol pay more than corn for flakes, or oil, or syrup ?”
Probably not. But the lobby is probably more powerful.
As a resident of Wisconsin and a strong Walker backer, if he comes out for continued ethanol subsidies, I may switch to Cruz.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3265920/posts
See how they will pile on Walker with this? They are proud of themselves! Both articles in the Wash Examiner; they will split the bylines so it looks like there are multiple attackers.
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