So much I want to say here, I actually have to take a very deep breath. And another one. Trying to organize my thoughts, and give them the best and most fair launch I can.
OK, so let's start with what is. Scott Walker is polling in LOW single digits. Yeah, he out distances the likes of Perry, Huckabee and Jindahl, but not by much.
He who was months ago the object of GREAT GOP interest, has most definitely not capitalized on that. In fact, he has fallen greatly short of expectations, so far. And I think he will continue to do so.
Now, I know there are those here who will tell me that it is to early to dismiss him and anything can happen this far out. And of course, it's hard to argue that anything can happen.
What I will argue, is that IF ever and when Trump implodes, and I've long since stopped holding my breath for that, Walker is NOT the candidate that will wick Trump's numbers in any way that is noteworthy.
To borrow from a post I wrote on another thread, "that would be like asking those voters to listen to someone reading a phone book without passion, compassion, charisma or charm, after they all just left the circus of Trump."
Walker has been like a hurricane that dodges most places but hits one really hard: Wisconsin. And like a hurricane or a tornado, I think Walker has been extraordinarily lucky in a game that definitely requires at least some luck. As with many storms, it's all about time and place.
A very large part of Walker's luck has been about the Koch brothers' financial support. He absolutely would not have foiled the recall, or won 2010 or 2014, without them. And despite my wonderment at it all, seems the Koch's are going to go right on funding him, despite many signs they might want to reconsider their investment,
So, why? Thom Hartmann did a good job of taking this on today. People forget that Walker has NO personal wealth whatsoever. Didn't come from wealth. So if you're a Koch, and you want to be a puppeteer, probably best to start with someone who is in awe of that you can give them, that they've never enjoyed before, or won't enjoy without you.
IF the Koch brothers are really about being Republican, and winning the election, they certainly have better places to put their money right now. But I'm just kind of betting they give comparitively nothing to Jeb or Trump or Rubio or the rest of them. Why? These guys are not AS open to being totally controlled. Walker SO is---look no further than the famous FAKE Koch call to Walker of years ago, and his incredible boot licking when he thought he actually was talking to a Koch. Really, this is how dumb he is, but I digress.
I think sometimes people give more credit to the Koch brother's than they should. Not in money credit, of course they have that to burn. But in their ability to strategize and see beyond their own weaknesses in thinking. Really, I think they are like many including those who are not rich---once we invest in something, we have a hard time letting go, even when all signs say we really should.
Make no mistake about it, like hitting gold in Las Vegas at a moment in time, the Koch's did the same with Walker, an excruciating long moment in time for Wisconsin that has not ended yet.
But, times always change and no one could predict what the GOP race would look like at this time. And it suggests that NOTHING the Beltway pundits thought to be true, from Jeb, to Christie to Walker is looking like a good call right now.
WHATEVER happens with Trump, if it ever does happen, he has changed this race in ways the GOP STILL doesn't get, and in ways the Koch brothers STILL don't get. And he has changed this race in ways I think Walker will never recover from, not that I think he started out with a huge chance to begin with. But, in Walker's career, it has always been imperative that he have the wind at his back. Otherwise known as luck and money.
I really think that all the Koch men, and all the Koch horses and all the Koch money can't put Scott Dumptey Walker back together again. Because no matter HOW MUCH MONEY IS BEHIND YOU, when on the national stage, you have to be able to go it alone and say the right thing at the right time. Walker shows abso-freakin'-lutely NO ability to do this.
I really thought this was the year that the GOP was going to try to put a girdle on its outliers, reduce debates, re-brand, etc. etc. Instead, it's the Democratic party that has put a girdle on the outliers by reducing the debates. Who knew, but that's for another diary.
So the GOP charges forward with many debates, and a media that can't get enough of it all, particularly Trump. And I highly doubt Walker is going to even begin to quench their blood thirst, other than in sudsing around in what a disappointment he has been.
Still, I've see more interviews and articles on Walker, nationally, than even comes close to Ben Carson, #2 or tied w/Trump, depending on the poll. Where is Ben in the media? Don't see a freaking thing.
But Walker, Walker of the Canadian Wall, oh yeah, they're covering him. And they're covering his other gaffs too, which seem to be every time he opens his mouth. This is reflected in his numbers today. He's had plenty of opportunity to excite and ignite, and all he can do is pour a cold bucket of ice over his campaign, every GD time he opens his mouth.
Scott Walker is an empty suit on the end of Koch strings, and I DO NOT THINK, he has a freaking chance in hell to be the GOP candidate. Too late, too much water over the damn, even so early.
Because he will not be able to do better than he has. It won't change. He doesn't have it, and he never will, outside the borders of Wisconsin at a certain point in time that I suspect has finally passed, or is well on its way to doing so.