Gov. Scott Walker (R-FitzWalkerStan) not so popular back home these days
With Scott Walkers latest extremist moves, obvious lies, and flip flopping on long standing positions to align himself with Iowa Republican Primary voters, his reputation in Wisconsin is
more than a little dinged up.
In the automated survey (taken March 6-8) of 1,071 registered voters, 43% approve of Walker’s performance and 52% disapprove, a decline in his rating from before the 2014 election.
(item in italics is my addition)
Well, that's expected when you lie about wanting Right to Work, a ban on abortions after 20 weeks, flip-flop on long-standing issues to pander for Presidential Primary votes, get a national outing by non-pandering media, and spend the vast majority of your time jetting from place to place speechifying and courting donors for a Presidential campaign you repeatedly assured Wisconsin voters that you weren't interested in.
The PPP Poll also finds more bad news for Walker.
Overall only 35% of voters in Wisconsin want Walker to run for President, compared to 58% who don't think he should run. Those findings are pretty much par for the course for a Presidential candidate in their own state- voters are rarely enthusiastic about their native sons aiming for the White House.
Walker's approval numbers have also significantly dipped over the last few months though. Right before the election last fall we found him with a 49/47 approval spread. That's now dropped to 43/52. His numbers with both Democrats and Republicans are pretty much where they were four months ago. But he's seen a large decline with independents- where he was on narrowly positive ground with them before the election at a 48/45 spread, he's now dropped down to 36/57. The new right to work law is likely part of what's causing Walker problems- only 42% of voters support it, pretty much mirroring his approval rating.
(bolding is mine)
But Walker is doubling down on his White House bid by massively increasing his staff. He has to win the White House in order to outrun the pile of debt he's been massing in Wisconsin; the same strategy he used to outrun the debt he ran up in Milwaukee County - leaving it for the next guy to deal with as he moved to his next, higher political office.
Walker 2.0 (second term) is following the same strategy as Walker 1.0 by hiding as much as he can in his 1800 page Budget and ramming much of his extremism through the Republican dominated Legislature as fast as he can. As with Walker 1.0, the public forgets by the next election allowing him to lie, distract, divert, and attack his opposition in order to boost his appeal.
Walker 2.0, however, finds it's not that easy when the national media is breathing down his neck and finding some of the extremist moves in his budget. He's had to back down on some of those proposals by pretending they were "drafting errors", claiming ignorance, or blaming low level staffers. I'm certain that there's lots more hidden in that Budget that won't ever be found until it's become law.
IN OTHER MOST EXCELLENT NEWS:
Russ Feingold leading Our Dumb Senator, Ron Johnson in Recent Poll
Oh, yeah.
Former Democratic Senator Russ Feingold leads GOP Sen. Ron Johnson 50% to 41% in a new Wisconsin survey by Public Policy Polling
In the automated March 6-8 survey of 1,071 registered voters, Feingold is viewed favorably by 46% and unfavorably by 35%. Meanwhile, 32% approve of Johnson’s performance in the Senate, while 40% disapprove.
For the first 4 years of his term in the US Senate, Republican doofus Ron Johnson gave almost no interviews, held no town halls, and became known as a guy who embarrassed himself repeatedly by not attending briefings or doing any prep work before shooting off his mouth at committee meetings.
He has held a few town halls in the past year, but only in Republican strongholds and has made himself available for interviews with friendly media.
No matter how many moneybags he has, his reputation as a moron can't be easily changed.
Wi-GOP Changing the John Doe Probe Law
With their Legislative majorities, Wisconsin Republicans are ensuring that no further corruption will be revealed or investigated by changing the John Doe Probe statutes.
The bill by Tiffany and Rep. David Craig (R-Big Bend) would end the ability of district attorneys to use the often-secret procedure to investigate a host of crimes, former Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann warned lawmakers.
Prosecutors would no longer be able to use the Doe law to investigate identity theft, mortgage fraud, dealing small levels of heroin and cocaine, theft reaching into the millions of dollars, misconduct in office, perjury and campaign finance and ethics law violations, McCann said.
A Democrat, McCann secured two felony convictions in 2005 of former Sen. Chuck Chvala (D-Madison) after a long-running John Doe investigation. That probe also netted convictions of four other former lawmakers — three Republicans and one Democrat.
"None of those cases could have been brought if this proposed bill had been in existence," said McCann, who noted he was testifying as a former prosecutor and board member of Common Cause in Wisconsin.
He said passing a bill that would end the investigation of Walker's campaign — and having Walker sign it — would bring to mind political scandals involving Huey Long and Tammany Hall. He said it would create difficulties for Walker's presidential ambitions because it would appear he was trying to permanently stop the probe, which has been suspended for more than a year.
(bolding is mine)
As with much of our labor law, University mission, environmental concerns, the concept of community/public good, and other long standing statutes and traditions, the John Doe Probe dates well before Wisconsin became a state in 1848. Walker is undoing them as fast as he can to better serve his corporate donors.
He's also paving his road to the White House on the smoldering ruins of what was once a very fine state to live in or visit.
We will keep fighting back.
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