Posted on 06/14/2015 4:23:49 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
National Review has a piece that essentially asks that question but limits it to the continuum of Republican candidates for President: Forget Reagan — Could Scott Walker Be the Next Calvin Coolidge?
Here the parallels are obvious. Walker’s famous showdown with the public unions elevated him onto the national stage. The liberal press was confident that this confrontation with the unions would be the end of Walker, but the Wisconsin voters felt differently. The manner in which Coolidge, Reagan, and Walker handled their respective crises won the admiration of the American people. ...
Walker’s style of communication seems to fall somewhere in between Coolidge’s and Reagan’s. While not so sparing of words and quirky as Coolidge, he is not the natural communicator that Reagan was. However, the main point the pundits seem to be missing is that Walker’s personality and message do come through forcefully to voters.
You know, I think this guy (and It's not The Meatball) really likes Walker.
I want to like Walker. Like Fox Mulder and the author of that piece I WANT TO BELIEVE but I just don't. Not yet anyway.
Part of that is because I'm me and I hate all that is good and pure in this world. I also hate things that are evil and impure, like politicians.
Walker is a puzzle to me.
What most people know about him is he beat down the unions, won three elections in four years in Wisconsin and he's the Great Beige Hope we've been waiting for since Silent Cal went home to Massachusetts almost 100 years ago.
To me though, he's a cipher.
Is he the take no prisoners, stand up for what's right while shrinking government guy that stared down union thugs and runaway Democrats or is he the guy who inelegantly flips on amnesty and ethanol mandates and can't quite bring himself to say that the Export Import Bank is a den of thieves that needs to go?
There's something I call the "Soda/Root Beer Expectation". Did you ever think a glass was full of something, like Pepsi, take a drink and be a little disgusted because it's root beer? Now you may like root beer just fine but you were expecting the taste of Pepsi so the root beer just tastes wrong.
That's my worry about Walker. We have this expectation of how he will sound and act based on the Wisconsin union fight (how much did you see of Walker compared to frothing union idiots like Ed Schultz?) that may not be accurate. I think a lot of people have sort of filled in the blanks on Walker based on who his enemies are. I'm not quite sure the real Walker will meet the expectations many of us have in our minds. He may wind up getting in trouble not because of who he is but who we think and want him to be isn't bad, just not what we were expecting.
My hope is he's the "better liar" I've been waiting for. A guy who sounds moderate and non-threatening but then slashes government like a drunken Freddy Kruger turned loose on a summer camp.
I just can't quite bring myself to believe that Walker is that guy. At least not yet. Maybe he will send enough signals to comfort the small government right without scaring off soccer moms.
Something to watch for from Walker and the rest of the GOP is their embrace of so-called "reform conservatism". The "reformicons", and Rubio is one of the first to embrace parts of their agenda, are basically the reincarnation of the Bush era "compassionate conservatives".
Will Walker embrace the refomicon path? I hope not. But if he does, he's not going to be the next next Reagan or Coolidge but the next W. One of those was enough, thanks. But if he's really the Terror Of Madison that many on the left think he is, I'll make Brandon seem like a fair weather friend. We'll see.
Addendum: None of this matters. Jeb is going to be the nominee. Sure, no one likes him but he's raising tens of millions of dollars. When you have to tell donors to keep the contributions to a million dollars...for now, you're going to have a lot of money. He'll do what Mitt did...spend it destroying every conservative around. Sure it'll be harder because the field is stronger this year but the establishment always gets its man (1980 being the main exception).
Isn't it a tad early to be cracking open that bottle of liquor...?
Walker is a very successful Governor who beat back the hordes of vicious union thugs...twice, balanced his state's budget...
Not bad for someone who can't handle money
Here's a tip...for free...
Since when has Presidents "handed America Money" ?
Per the Constitution that's Congress job...regardless of our current POS in office who thinks he is King of the treasury...
Based on your handle, which plumbers union do you belong to ?
One thing we can be assured of, if Scott Walker should get elected president. He will make the bloated federal government smaller. He’s already done that in Wisconsin, and he has already said, in no uncertain terms, that he will do the same with the federal government. Should he get elected with a republican majority in congress and the senate, he’s already promised that the 1st 100 days will be a surprise to every body. He is a very interesting candidate
More Walker Accomplishments:
Passed a state budget (2011 Act 32) on time, without tax increases, that leaves Wisconsin in the black for the first time in over a decade:
*Turned a $3 billion deficit into a $300 million surplus
*Instituted the first permanent property tax cap in our state’s history
*Cut bonding (state borrowing) by nearly 20 percent
*Cut more than 1,000 government jobs, including 735 long-term vacancies
*Paid off its $60 million debt owed to Minnesota under the former tax reciprocity agreement between the states (2011 Act 32)
*Paid back the $200 million from Gov. Doyle’s unconstitutional raid of the Patients Compensation Fund (2011 Act 32)
*Enacted sweeping business tax reforms that will save Wisconsin’s job creators over $130 million a year when fully implemented.
*Protected our votes by requiring a picture I.D. at the polls (2011 Act 23)
*Became the 49th U.S. state to recognize its citizens’ Second Amendment rights to carry concealed weapons (2011 Act 35)
*Created a commission on Waste, Fraud, and Abuse that has already reported a potential $260 million in savings (Executive Order)
*Limited manufacturer liability only to those products they actually produced (2011 Act 2)
*Created a state tax credit for Health Savings Accounts (2011 Act 1)
*Passed legislation requiring a 2/3 supermajority vote to raise income or sales tax rates unless a statewide referendum supports the increases (2011 Act 9)
*Repealed higher auto insurance requirements enacted in the 2009 budget (2011 Act 14)
*Expanded the prohibition against tax money being used to subsidize abortion (2011 Act 32)
*Repealed in-state tuition for illegal immigrants (2011 Act 32)
*Repealed a mandate on local law enforcement to collect racial data during traffic stops (2011 Act 29)
*Expanded School Choice to Racine and potentially Green Bay (2011 Act 32)
*Required a successful drug test in order to receive unemployment benefits 2011 (2011 Act 32)
*Wisconsin became a Right-to-Work State
I tend to agree. Cruz is flawed. His recent performance on Iran, immigration and TPA exposes some of Cruz's non-conservative tendencies.
Those do not disqualify him to be POTUS.
Yes, Walker is flawed also.
I do not think the recent criticism of Cruz is unfair. We need to be realistic about our candidates and properly evaluate them.
“Thank you, that’s a brilliant perspective. I had noticed a difference in the way he took on these issues but I never thought out his process into steps like that. It does make sense and it explains how he has had such great success when other very good conservatives failed to gain traction on the same problems.”
Folks in Wisconsin are baffled as to why Walker is asking the same questions on the national stage as he did on the WI state stage. It is because he now has new students that need to get up to speed. At minimum, I hope he helps shape the debate.
What a joke of a list, just wait until you see Hillary's list of accomplishments. /S
I simply do not understand some of the vitriol tossed at Walker on FR...
He is head and shoulders above every other candidate that has shown they can govern...
My biggest Cruz concern is is lack of actually governing...he has plenty of executive experience...granted
Cruz is on the mark on many, many issues, but the Executive Branch is 1/3 co-equal part of the government...
Can Cruz handle a dysfunctional Congress ?
In all fairness, this TPP deal is a good litmus test of a real conservative, not just a foreign multinational corporation internationalist.
To defend America, we need another “trust-busting” president, with a clear philosophy that any and *every* corporation that wants to do business in the United States must *contribute* to the United States in tangible ways, not just with the provision of goods and services.
They must either be “pro-American” as *we*, not they, define it, or they can take their business elsewhere.
A “free market” does *not* mean that anyone who wants to sell their goods here can. A “free market” can exist between nations, but it does not mean that corporations are “free” to take but not give.
Right now, America is haunted by several oligarchical industries, that owe no loyalty to America, do not hire Americans or buy substantial amounts of American products, yet wish to change our form of government to a more socialist one, while combining our interests with those of foreign powers. To hell with these oligarchs.
If they want to do business in the US, first they must have an established US branch, under US rules, paying US taxes, hiring Americans, and purchasing American products.
And despite previous court decisions, if they are so large as to utterly control an industry, or are “too big to fail”, then they are “too big to maintain their present form” and need to be systematically subdivided into competing interests. It doesn’t matter if a single corporation dominates an industry, or a dozen. Too big to die means too big to live.
That is because he hasn't come out in support of TPP.
LOL...you obviously haven’t been paying attention. Check out FR and Walker...it is right there for you.
Walker is the GOPe default candidate. He generates all the excitement of a flea circus. I have grave doubts if he could win a general election.
(1) As a state legislator, Walker voted for a budget that included in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.
(2) As Milwaukee County Executive, Walker signed a petition in 2006 in support of the Bush-McCain Amnesty.
(3) On 13 March 2015, Walker told the New Hampshire Union Leader that he would not deport illegal immigrants, and that he would allow them to stay in the country and obtain legal status, but not citizenship.
What they (Freepers) have for Walker and the TPP is very much like what they had for Walker’s stand on ethanol, and we all know that proved to be 180 degrees out of phase.
Why listen to anyone who says something like this?
You don’t recognize a humorous aside, aka sarcasm?
Because it was one aspect of an overall budget deal under a Democrat Governor. As soon as Walker was elected, he ended in-state tuition.
(2) As Milwaukee County Executive, Walker signed a petition in 2006 in support of the Bush-McCain Amnesty.
Yes, a county resolution supporting the Bush-McCain "immigration reform". But Walker added to that resolution that it does not constitute a support for any amnesty.
(3) On 13 March 2015, Walker told the New Hampshire Union Leader that he would not deport illegal immigrants, and that he would allow them to stay in the country and obtain legal status, but not citizenship.
Which is the same position as Ted Cruz has....work permits and fines while going to the back of the line for citizenship. Deporting is not going to happen.
Many of you want to point to Walker's words. But just look at what Walker did as governor. Every time the decision regarding illegals needed to be made, he took the conservative route.
What are you talking about?
Walker supports eliminating ethanol subsidies.
No, not overnight. He wants to phase out the subsidies over a short period of time so ethanol producers do not have to go out of business overnight.
What most people, including yourself, do not know, is that it is illegal for ethanol producers to sell their product into the fuels market.
Yes, the only way ethanol gets into our fuel is through this stupid EPA program.
Cut subsidies and ethanol producers are forbidden from competing in the marketplace with other fuels.
Walker proposes opening the markets to ethanol and phasing out the subsidies so the ethanol producers can compete openly and honestly in the market.
That is conservatism, capitalism and just plain smart.
There are a lot of important issues out there but to me Size of Government is Issue One.
Yes he does, but for a long time many Freepers insisted just the opposite, that he was in favor.
Many still are trying to keep the lie going here on FR, for example: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3299573/posts?page=24#24
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