Posted on 01/25/2015 4:57:52 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
DES MOINES, Iowa — Scott Walker’s stock is soaring after a triumphant return to Iowa.
The Wisconsin Republican governor delivered a pitch-perfect speech to a room packed with influential Hawkeye State conservatives on Saturday, walking them through his robust resume and ideology with a passion that surprised many.
Activists say Walker came out on top after 10 hours of candidate speeches.
“It was a clear Walker victory. He had expectations coming in here, he was on everyone's shortlist and he had to meet those expectations and I thought he far exceeded them,” said former Iowa Republican Party political director Craig Robinson. “I thought his speech was just perfect, and I thought his delivery was perfect. The delivery really surprised me.”
Walker held his own against Ted Cruz, the event’s other star. While the Texas senator always turns in commanding performances with conservative crowds, the governor next door helped himself the most by making a strong first impression with many Iowa activists who simply knew him from his showdown with the unions.
He offered something for almost every type of conservative, rolling through his record of both social and fiscal accomplishments, drawing big applause by knocking “radical Islamic terrorists” and touting legislation he backed to relax gun control laws and cut taxes.
He spoke about his faith in a natural way, and in one sentence managed to mention that he was both the son of a pastor and had Iowa roots (Walker spent his early years in the state before his dad moved to a church in Wisconsin).
Most importantly, he did it all with a folksy yet fiery delivery that had observers gushing and brought the crowd to their feet.
The biggest question surrounding Walker heading into the weekend is whether his charisma could stack up against the other White House contenders. It was a worry Walker shared — one Republican who talked to him backstage said the governor expressed concern that people would view him as “bland.” But as the strode onstage with his shirt sleeves rolled up and paced about the floor, those worries vanished.
“Walker found a way to talk about himself, talk about the country and talk about Iowa in perfect proportionality, and he did so with a style that was very easy and engaging,” said Republican pollster Frank Luntz. “He connected to these people — you could see it.”
Iowa GOP power brokers say Walker has also performed well in casual conversations and private meetings.
“He was quite impressive in terms of him talking about specifics about what he’s done in Wisconsin and the kind of leader he was,” said Iowa Republican National Committeeman Steve Scheffler, who met with Walker last week at the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting in San Diego. “People want somebody like him who has a track record and isn’t afraid to take on the powers that be, whether that be Scott Walker or whoever.”
Walker hasn't had the luxury of spending as much time in Iowa as some of the other candidates who spoke on Saturday, thanks to his own competitive reelection he first had to survive last November. And, like every candidate, he still has plenty of work to do in the inaugural state with just over a year until the pivotal caucuses.
While he’s landed two top GOP strategists with Iowa experience in former Republican National Committee Director Rick Wiley and David Polyansky, a Texas-based strategist who was a top advisor for Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), he still hasn’t hired a full-time Iowa staffer.
Some Iowa conservatives also say he needs to develop more knowledge on topics he hasn’t dealt with as governor.
“He was very personable. When the questions were about his resume he was really good because he has a pretty good resume. When the questions got into a broader context about policies beyond his resume his answers were pretty canned, pretty typical formula talking points,” said Iowa conservative radio host Steve Deace, who interviewed Walker on Saturday. “It’s his first time out as a candidate but I do think he’ll have to provide a lot more substance on issues than when I got a chance to talk to him.”
But Walker made a big splash in his first Iowa appearance of 2015, stealing the spotlight from his likely foes.
“That's the first time I've ever heard him live and he was tremendous. It was a great speech,” said Sam Clovis, a conservative kingmaker and the GOP’s 2014 nominee for state treasurer. “That was something special.”
Notice Walker doesn’t say anything about his open borders position on immigration while speaking at King’s summit?
I don’t want him anywhere near the presidency.
I agree. The Dems are going to nominate the Wicked Witch of the West. She comes across as a bitter old shrew. The GOP needs to nominate someone the exact opposite, young, dynamic, with a proven track records. And, electable.
His voice is very good, I mean just the quality of his speaking voice. I was surprised when I heard him. Eh, to me that means a lot, I’m into voices for some reason.
Anyway, thanks for posting this, I shared it on Facebook.
I think we may have a battle royal on our own side, Walker v. Cruz!
I really don’t know much about Cruz, other than some folks just love him.
But, as the ace of spades guy put it: Scott Walker sits on a throne of his enemies skulls.
I would vote for Walker!
Walker/Palin or
Walker/?
I don’t know much about Cruz, however Walker has been a Governor and I think he can and would do the job needed.
“The Hill”, which is a Democratic Party propaganda outlet like most of the MSM, is making the classic move to kill the Ted Cruz momentum in Iowa by building up Walker.
The one they fear more than a anything is Ted Cruz. I don’t dislike Walker. Love it that he took down the rabid Obama bot unions in Wisconsin. But we are not going to split the conservative vote and end up a Romney or a Jeb Bush. It’s Cruz all the way.
No we don’t.
Voice is important. Exhibit A is in the White House. That’s all he has. Media skills is not an option for our candidates any more. It’s the whole ballgame. That leaves Walker, Pense, Cruz and Rubio as our only real options. The rest are below average on tv. I wish Jindal would be in that mix, but he doesn’t have it.
Depending in the candidate I’d like to see Jindal possibly as the vp.
Kohl’s is still building new stores in new markets.
I sensed that there was a thread linking Kellyanne Conway, then Mike Lee to the points made by Cruz. They were both very persuasive in talking not about "who" should be the candidate, but "what" the candidate should be.
Cruz hit it out of the park talking about, "if you campaigned against amnesty, show me where you stood up and fought against it"; "If you campaigned against Common Core, show me where you stood up and fought against it"; "If you campaigned against tax and debt increases show me where you stood up and fought". Those were pretty good shots at Bush, Walker, and Romney.
Also, the guy that isn't mentioned is Trump. I thought his speech was a "take no prisoners" solid stand for conservative principles and free markets. If he stays in the hunt he is sure to make debating difficult for the moderates.,p.Lastly, Kellyanne Conway showed some real smarts, too. She could be a key player behind the scene.
Note that this article was published in The Hill.
Who do you think they do not want to be president? Here is a hint - his initials are T.C. and he was fighting Obamacare and defending the Constitution while Walker was sitting on the sidelines.
Note also that the article quotes GOPe types saying Walker had a great event in Iowa. This is all part of the GOPe/liberal partnership to demonize and sandbag the true conservative - Ted Cruz.
We in Wisconsin sure don't want to waste a great governor on being POTUS. Walker has already shown he has more to offer our people than to waste it on ungrateful “gimmedats” and illegals.
“Media skills is not an option for our candidates any more. It’s the whole ballgame.”
Yes, I agree. It seems really silly, not to say stupid, but it’s the way it is.
Thanks for posting. I watched his speech yesterday; and, quite frankly, I was pleasantly surprised. I like Walker, think he’s done some good things in WI, especially while fighting the unions and Dims. However, I agree with what some Freepers have said on previous posts, he has come off a bit unpassionate. Yesterday, IMHO he was quite different - didn’t seem to use a teleprompter or notes, had some passion, good speaking voice, etc. I thought he did well.
Walker is acceptable to the GOP Establishment and unacceptable to me.
I thought that Cruz told the story of his parents drinking a lot and splitting up for a while was to pre-empt the media attack machine. He used a bad time as an example of finding faith in Christ. That’s gotta bug the lefties.
I'll bite. Tell me how. Tell me what he's compromised on as Governor. Or even as Milwaukee County Exec. Please give us some details.
Ted Cruz is my pick, but Walker is OK with me.
I've been donating to Ted, and we will have to see how this all shakes out.
Sarah has long been a favorite of mine but I don't believe that she is serious about running.
Not sure what speeches The Hill actually watched, but I watched almost all of them. I like Walker and his speech was fine, but by the time Ted finished, the crowd was standing in uproarious applause and looked like they would walk on hot coals to support him. Cruz is simply a tour de force in articulating a conservative vision for “reigniting the American dream”.
Cruz is my choice, but I could eagerly get behind Walker.
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