Posted on 02/12/2015 12:58:55 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
As I write this, the No. 1 “most read” story on the Washington Post’s website is its investigation into the college years of Scott Walker, headlined: “As Scott Walker mulls White House bid, questions linger over college exit.” Most of the time, you don’t need to read such a story to know what it’s about: for Republicans, every silly comment or stunt in their teenage years is in the public interest, and for Democrats the same investigative practice is racist, racist, racist. (Though in 2016 it will be sexist, sexist, sexist.) But there is one aspect of this story that is tangentially related to issues that a rational voter might actually care about. It’s just not what the Post thinks.
The story didn’t come up with anything newsworthy–not even a case of Walker cutting somebody’s hair, like the alleged monster Mitt Romney apparently did. The headline alludes to this monumental failure of journalism: “questions linger” is journospeak for: “we asked a bunch of questions.” In other words, the story is about the media, not Walker. And “questions” only “linger” because their answers were a nonstory. When a newspaper gets its questions answered but still wants to talk only about its questions, they’re basically Geraldo at the opening of the vault.
So why should anyone care? For one, the questions about Walker not finishing school will keep coming up in part because leftists will seek to tie it to Walker’s education policy. A good example of this comes from MSNBC’s David Taintor, who offers the following lede to a story about Walker’s education budget cuts:
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a potential 2016 GOP contender who never earned a college degree, has proposed a huge cut in funding for the University of Wisconsin system over the next two years.
Now, is that framing of the issue, to borrow a phrase from A Few Good Men, galactically stupid? Yes, it surely is galactically stupid. But that only makes it more likely that others on the left will use this formulation.
When you combine the budget cuts with the Post’s story on how Walker wasn’t an engaged student and never earned his degree, you see the left painting a certain picture: Not only did Walker not graduate, but he’s out for revenge against the system of higher education that was so unwelcome to him in his youth. A more benign version would hold that he just doesn’t value what they do, but that’s hard to square with the fact that his son attends Marquette, the same school Walker dropped out of.
Is Walker’s college history truly relevant to his budget approach? No. But the line of questioning, and the liberal focus on Walker’s dropout status, is quite relevant to the debate heading into 2016. That’s because Walker’s success despite not obtaining that degree represents a real threat to the government’s education cartel, the public unions it sustains, and the maintenance of the pipeline of left-liberal groupthink and its young adherents.
There is not, and has not been for a long time, a question of the existence of overwhelming liberal bias at institutions of higher education. The inquiries into the phenomenon focus on why that structural bias exists and persists. Whatever the reasons, it’s easy to understand why the liberal establishment wants to protect the biased architecture of American education.
And protect it they do. A college degree has become a kind of certification for entry into many of the higher reaches of the American economy. The government benefits from this financially by running the student-loan scheme, which drives up tuition costs and thus benefits not only big government but its liberal allies in academic administration.
And it’s a self-perpetuating cycle, which is why Democrats are so keen to guard it jealously. The system as it’s currently set up means educational attainment correlates, in general, to higher income. But that education gets increasingly expensive, which puts it in easier reach of those with higher income, who tend to have more education, etc. As the Economist notes, “the best predictor of an American child’s success in school has long been the parents’ educational level”–though money, which is also now related to educational level, “is an increasingly important factor.”
The Democrats’ approach thus perpetuates inequality, which they blame on “the rich” in order to win national office, which they use to perpetuate this system of inequality–another cycle.
Scott Walker calls this whole scheme into question. It’s not that his experience teaches that you don’t need a college degree to get a good job; it’s that you shouldn’t need to need a college degree to have professional and/or political success. Kids shouldn’t be discouraged from going to college and getting their degree as long as the current system persists, in which it usually makes sense for them to get that degree (if they can).
The point is that the system itself shouldn’t persist, at least in its current form. Walker, then, is living proof that the system can and should be reformed, and the world won’t end. Walker is representative of the potential of those outside the liberal economic elite and those who are severely underserved by the government’s college racket and union-friendly approach to education. That’s why Walker’s personal story matters, and why it’s such a threat to the left.
He’s not Marxist enough for the Compost.
Pray America is waking
None of these articles about the new budget, by the way, even mention the FACT that the UW Madison system hid $600 MILLION dollars while requested tuition hikes.
Scott Walker has the least negatives of any other candidate running. That is why they fear him. They can not call him an extreme right republican. His record in Wisconsin is clear and proven effective. There are more private sector jobs, less tax on middle class, and unions are required to push the healthcare cart a little. Both his parents were US citizens and Walker was born in United States. He is as natural citizen as it gets. Media can not slime Walker for advocating government shutdown either.
OK, so he dropped out to join Red Cross before finishing his degree. Remember that Truman and Reagan were the least educated presidents, Carter and Obama the most educated. Which were most effective in getting things done for the better? Truman ended WWII, and Reagan ended the cold war.
Personally, I think he’s feared by the Left mostly because they’ve failed to get under his skin in the past. He retained a good-natured attitude no matter what they threw at him, and they threw everything they had along with everything they could plausibly make up.
This is probably the area that he and Reagan have most in common, a tendency to stay focused and not get rattled by the opposition. Compare that to the peevish behavior of our current President whenever he’s opposed, and to Hillary’s too, for that matter.
Blowing up at just the right time can generate some good press, as both Gingrich and Christie have demonstrated, but keeping your cool consistently pays bigger dividends over time. People respect that in a leader.
“Truman ended WWII, and Reagan ended the cold war.”
Liberals don’t like how either was done.
“Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a potential 2016 GOP contender who never earned a college degree, has proposed a huge cut in funding for the University of Wisconsin system over the next two years.”
Waiting for the Post article stating “President Barack Obama, who never earned a military rank, has proposed a huge cut in funding for such and such Defense program”.
They fear Anyone who can be elected and threatens their stranglehold on power.
It would be refreshing, although also probably a political mistake, to hear Walker say to those decrying the UW budget cuts, “Hey, the entire university system has become a hotbed of liberal activists who seek to indoctrinate our youth with their Leftist ideology. As our present President once said, ‘We won.’ So don’t expect your gravy train to go on as if you haven’t chosen sides and lost.”
My tagline is relevant here, and I think Walker believes in implementing it.
Walker may not have a degree, but he does have a birth certificate.
Walker’s lack of college can be turned around to be a feature for him. He is not an Ivy League snob, yet he was successful otherwise.
What are Cruz’ negatives? I reject everyone who is not four square for border security and against amnesty, including Walker apparently. Period.
Good luck finding anyone to vote for in the next election. You won’t find a single candidate on either side who will advocate deporting every single person in the country illegally, including children brought here by their parents and are now adults. But discuss one single exception, no matter how reasonable, and the NO AMNESTY crowd pushes the reject button because deportation is the only option that can’t be considered amnesty in some form. In fact, even the act of deporting someone who should be jailed here would, by many, be considered a form of amnesty since they hadn’t paid their debts and were being “let go.”
If you’re willing to be reasonable, people will listen to you. If you’re not, don’t expect to be satisfied with your choices.
If I recall correctly Reagan was a college graduate. He went to Eureka College in Illinois. To the elitists who are pushing this college meme, I’m sure Eureka College doesn’t count as a real.college. Not Ivy League, no.prestige.
You may be onto something. I kinda like Walker
Read it and a lot of the comments. The leftist’s fear is palpable.
They all say the same thing, including Ted Cruz:
Secure the Border - No Path To Citizenship
Completely useless.
Half the illegals arrive here legally, as tourists, as students, for health care (like “anchor baby” pregnancies).
They just don't leave.
And, when they do catch illegals, every Democrat president, and probably most Republican presidents, will use Obama’s current policy, which is “catch and release,” which means illegals just get a court date they never show up for anyway.
The “No Path To Citizenship” promise will linger in the Federal Court system for a few years.
Then, the GOP leadership will walk away from that issue, too, just like they will walk away from ObamaCare, and from deficit spending, and from unsustainable Federal debts, and EVERY other issue, any time the political heat goes up a few degrees.
This college degree stuff is a red herring. Sarah Palin earned bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho in 1986 – which did not stop the left from doing everything the could to destroy her. Supposedly, they did not consider the University of Idaho capable of issuing a “real” college degree.
‘Cause they have already unloaded all the mud they can against Walker and they are out of ammo?
I said nothing about deportation. That is a straw man argument. I am for Cruz and anyone else with courage who will stand for the rule of law. Bob
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.