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Scott Walker Would Be the Most Conservative GOP Candidate Since Goldwater
Mother Jones ^ | February 11, 2015 | Kevin Drum

Posted on 02/12/2015 2:35:12 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife

For those of us who are sort of fascinated by the rise of Scott Walker as a Republican presidential contender, here's an interesting chart from Jason McDaniel, a political science professor at San Francisco State University. It shows the relative conservative-ness of GOP presidential nominees in the past six contested elections, and it demonstrates what an outlier Walker would be if he won next year's primary: he'd be the first candidate since Ronald Reagan who's more conservative than the average of the Republican field.

And by McDaniel's measure, he'd actually be the most conservative recent nominee, period—even more right-wing than Reagan:

Walker is well to the right end of the conservative spectrum, residing in the ideological neighborhood of Ted Cruz and Rand Paul....It is not a stretch to argue that if nominated, Walker would be the most conservative Republican nominee since Barry Goldwater in 1964.

....In contrast, Jeb Bush’s ideological position closely resembles previous Republican nominees. Bush most closely resembles John McCain in 2008....In Scott Walker versus Jeb Bush, party elites and primary voters are presented with clearly contrasting visions of the future direction of the Republican party....If the recent history of Republican nomination contests is any guide, the party is likely to decide that Scott Walker is too ideologically extreme to be the Republican nominee in 2016.

Of course, the fact that this chart seems surprising is one of Walker's big strengths. He may be as conservative as, say, Ted Cruz or Rand Paul, but he doesn't seem as conservative. He doesn't have Cruz's bombast and he doesn't go around hinting that we should go back to the gold standard, like Rand Paul. In practice, that may put him closer to the center of the field than his actual positions warrant.

Still, McDaniel's data is worth taking note of. If Walker remains hardnosed in his views, it may be hard to hide this from the voters. Eventually he's going to say something that will cause the Jeb Bushes and Chris Christies to pounce, and that might expose him as too much of an ideologue to win the mainstream Republican vote. It all depends on how well he learns to dog whistle and tap dance at the same time. But then, that's true of everyone running for president, isn't it?


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Editorial; Government; US: Wisconsin
KEYWORDS: 2016; conservatism; walker; wisconsin
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So they're going to give Walker a daily anal exam. But after reading that piece [which wonders why he didn't get a degree and quotes someone who pokes fun of his being an Eagle Scout] they're going to be hard pressed to make Walker look EVIL! But they are gearing up .

From what I've been able to garner, Scott Walker didn't finish his degree because he had a job and went into politics. Oh! And there's that other consideration, getting married and starting a family. [He married a widower 15 years older than he is and they decided to start a family ASAP.] He describes it nicely in this talk to the Christian Businessman's Committee in Madison, WI.

1 posted on 02/12/2015 2:35:12 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
Pro Amnesty Scott Walker is NOT ELECTBLE.
Ted Cruz is our ONLY CONSERVATIVE CHOICE.
2 posted on 02/12/2015 2:42:15 AM PST by Yosemitest (It's Simple ! Fight, ... or Die !)
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To: Yosemitest
Ronald Reagan: A Time for Choosing [Televised Campaign Address for Goldwater Presidential Campaign - 10/27/64]
3 posted on 02/12/2015 2:44:45 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Don’t you love how they define “average”?
How about we compare with George Washington?!


4 posted on 02/12/2015 2:52:21 AM PST by Lake Living
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To: Lake Living; All
Here is a good piece on how the Left sees (hopes) that the GOP-e will take Walker out - which translates to any candidate that isn't GOP-e approved.

Why Progressives Shouldn’t Overreact to Scott Walker’s Rise in Polls

5 posted on 02/12/2015 2:58:57 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife; All

Once again the Progressives show they know zilch aboout Conservatism.


6 posted on 02/12/2015 3:01:16 AM PST by txradioguy (Republicans Don't Need A Back Bench...They Need a BACKBONE!)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

After Goldwater lost to the little girl-H-Bomb ad we had years of war...without end in sight by LBJ (how many kids did you kill today?). Eventually we had the most conservative president with Reagan.
Loved Goldwater....but late in his senatorial career he spouted things like not needing semi auto weapons to hunt deer? Wow!


7 posted on 02/12/2015 3:01:19 AM PST by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

I like that speech by Reagan, but Amnesty will destroy Scott Walker with the base.


8 posted on 02/12/2015 3:01:50 AM PST by Yosemitest (It's Simple ! Fight, ... or Die !)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
He married a widower 15 years older than he is

Did he now? ;)

9 posted on 02/12/2015 3:03:44 AM PST by Pontiac (The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirit.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

What difference does it make? With Walker’s pro-amnesty/open borders stance, he’d be the last president elected who even pretended to be conservative.


10 posted on 02/12/2015 3:06:18 AM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

BTW ....shouldn’t a barf alert be almost mandatory with MF Jones? Just saying


11 posted on 02/12/2015 3:06:30 AM PST by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

I can just imagine the crap they are going to pull with Walker, and it’s not just the Democraps who throw garbage but the RINO party as well so they can insert their token RINO nominee. Walker has to remain tough and aggressively deny every last bit of BS they throw at him and NOT drop out like say a Herman Caine. These are extremely evil people he will be going against and he has to be strong through faith and just keep speaking truth.


12 posted on 02/12/2015 3:06:35 AM PST by GrandJediMasterYoda (Obama: 11 acts of blatant treason and counting.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

They are desperate to tie Walker to Goldwater before we tie him to Reagan.


13 posted on 02/12/2015 3:12:38 AM PST by ez (RIP America 1776-2014. Long live the oligarchy.)
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To: ez

Better tie Scott Walker to Obama, the way they both want ILLEGALS in this country to lower wages for the working class.


14 posted on 02/12/2015 3:25:18 AM PST by Yosemitest (It's Simple ! Fight, ... or Die !)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Yup! Both Democrats AND Republicans are already going after him, but that only improves my opinion of the man. I hope he’s a solid compromise candidate for libertarians and (true) conservatives.

On the other hand, I can’t stand Dauphin Jebbie Bush of the GOPe aristocracy—the anointed one. Jebbie epitomizes EVERYTHING that’s wrong with the GOP today. He’s basically indistinguishable from Hillary.


15 posted on 02/12/2015 3:37:30 AM PST by CitizenUSA (Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Rand Paul a “conservative” you say? I just fell out of my chair.


16 posted on 02/12/2015 3:54:28 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet (The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me.)
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To: Yosemitest
Pro Amnesty Scott Walker is NOT ELECTBLE.

For a guy who isn't electable, he sure gets elected a lot.
17 posted on 02/12/2015 4:00:50 AM PST by Dr. Sivana (There is no salvation in politics)
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To: Pontiac
Lol!

Well, that should draw some looks - maybe even some progressive votes ; )

Of course, I meant widow.

18 posted on 02/12/2015 4:01:43 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Rand gets a bit kooky with shades of his dad, but his voting record is top tier conservative. He isn’t going to get my vote for president in any primary, but we are lucky to have him in the senate. He is better than about 95 of the other senators.


19 posted on 02/12/2015 4:02:48 AM PST by wolfman23601
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To: Dr. Sivana; sickoflibs

LOL


20 posted on 02/12/2015 4:05:58 AM PST by Impy (They pull a knife, you pull a gun. That's the CHICAGO WAY, and that's how you beat the rats!)
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