Scott Walker's exit from the Klown Kar has inspired The Washington Post's hair-on-fire correspondent, Jennifer Rubin, to jump on the I-told-you-so bandwagon:
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker reportedly will announce imminently he is suspending his campaign. Readers of Right Turn know this comes as no surprise to me.
Oh, that is
priceless. 'No surprise'?
Poor, clueless Jennifer Rubin; amongst the myriad things that she doesn't understand is this new-fangled 'interweb' thingy. Does Ms. Rubin imagine that her previous columns all vanished down the memory-hole, beyond recall, and that all her readers have amnesia...or a very poor internet connection?
Or is this 'unsurprised' Rubin a different Rubin from the one who wrote the following less than six-months ago?
Candidates over the course of a campaign, or multiple campaigns, can either stagnate — recycling talking points, never reflecting on or refining their own views — or grow...No one has done this more than former Texas governor Rick Perry...Now Perry makes an effective case: This is a conservative who has done a lot and is prepared to be commander in chief.
...
A month or so ago, there were legitimate questions as to whether Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was up to speed on foreign policy and could project the gravitas we expect of presidential nominees...He, too, made a persuasive argument as to why his background prepares him for the presidency...
So there you have two candidates, different in age and life experience but serious men, thoughtful on foreign policy and credible as the next chief executive and commander in chief. They did not emerge as presidential-ready candidates overnight, but they are showing respect for the office and the voters and displaying self-discipline and tenacity in making sure they are ready to serve. The GOP could do a lot worse than these two. Other candidates should see how they are impressing voters and making the argument for mature, proven leaders.
But that, evidently, was Ms. Rubin's clueless doppelgänger, writing in the pre-internet age. The new, shiny Ms. Rubin has a
very different take:
His (Walker's) failure to master policy issues beyond his state, his uninspiring speaking style, his frequent flip-flops (likely born of indecision about policies he did not know well), his mistaken effort to race to the right to catch up to Donald Trump, and his failure to win Iowa contributed to a flop comparable to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s 2008 effort.
Or, indeed, 'a flop comparable' to Gov. Rick Perry's 2015 effort. But wait! Can this be the Perry who, in Rubin's words:
'...makes an effective case: This is a conservative who has done a lot and is prepared to be commander in chief'
And can this be the same Scott Walker that doppelgänger Rubin said was:
..impressing voters and making the argument for mature, proven leaders..
It most certainly can.
So, what happened to all those 'impressed' voters? I guess they went the same way as all those voters who (Rubin assured us) would never make Romney the GOP nominee:
However, if there is one point of consensus among plugged-in Republicans on the 2012 field, it is that Romney can't win unless he does a mea culpa on RomneyCare. Since he didn't and he won't do that, he's not going to be the nominee. Other than Romney admirers (and even some of them!) it's hard to find serious Republican players who disagree with that.
They went the same way as
that 'Romney landslide' Rubin predicted in 2012. Of course, the day after Romney tanked, Rubin was busily trying to pretend that she'd seen
that coming too.
The rest of the GOP field must live in terror of Rubin's endorsement, AKA The Kiss of Rapid-Onset Candidacy Cessation Syndrome.
You know, The Washington Post could save itself considerable pain, embarrassment and money.
Instead of soliciting the views of a simpleton like Jennifer Rubin, just send a stenographer out to the nearest bar and take down the opinions of the soberest person there. I mean, what the hell, Fred Hiatt: when you've hit bottom, the only way is up.
But spare a thought for Mrs. George F. Will; she deserves our sympathy. In addition to being married to George F. Will--a hard row to hoe in anyone's book--Mrs. Will was employed by the Walker campaign. She will now have to find another GOP no-hoper to, remora-like, attach herself to.
She could try her luck with Donald Trump; but he's waiting for Gen. Douglas MacArthur to turn up.
Still, good luck ma'am. At least that's one job the GOP have created.