Couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.
Things haven't been quite so rosy for Wisconsin absentee
Dictator Governor Scott Walker (R-I ♥ Billionaires) this week. Bwahahahaha!
Even better, the media is noticing (yes, even here in Wisconsin!) that either Walker or his staff have been doing nothing but stepping on rakes this week. Couldn't happen to someone more deserving.
He fired a recently hired campaign aide because the head of the Iowa GOP whined about a few tweets. Well, she "resigned" will be the "official" story (full details available from Rachel Maddow- video from the show isn't available). Even the RW has a problem with that.
And as Jonah Goldberg wrote in The National Review, throwing Mair "under the bus for this, suggests not only that he’s got some problems getting ready for prime time, it also suggests he can get rolled by the Iowa GOP establishment. What happens when he gets to Washington?"
Even Erick Erickson, the outspoken editor-in-chief of the conservative website RedState.com, said that the governor had "botched" the episode and that it played into a narrative that he wasn't ready for prime time.
But, as Scott Walkers
long sleeved, pale blue shirt campaign costume will tell you, it's Walkers way. He panders to power. Always. Forever. Their wish is his command. While pretending to be a "strong, bold leader", he'll kiss the butt of anyone who he thinks can help him achieve his ambitions.
And lie? Of COURSE! He's skillful, pliable, bendable, will do or say whatever it takes to get his goal. Remember, this is a guy who pretends to be a moderate when campaigning for County Exec or Governor and turns hard right wing after the election is over. The "I say what I'll do and do what I say" meme is pure, unadulterated, Walker bullshit. He never reveals what he will do.
With Walker, it's government by surprise. During his 2010 campaign he promised to negotiate with state workers over their contract. AFTER the election, he busted their unions. During his 2014 campaign he said he was uninterested in banning abortions or imposing Right to Work (Mooch) on private sector workers. AFTER the election? He's already signed a Right to Mooch bill less than 2 weeks after it was introduced and now is drooling in anticipation over signing a 20 week ban on abortions.
So, yes, he's been folding like a cheap suit when faced with the demands of Iowa Republican Caucus voters. Flip-flopping like a mackerel, even his pals at PolitiFact Wisconsin, who bend over backwards to find a scintilla of even perceived truthiness where Walker is concerned, have repeatedly given out Full Flips and Pants on Fire.
Then, there was the hoo-ha Walker created with his often told fable about being the first person to touch the Reagan Bible. The Curator of the Reagan Library related that it was Walker, and not Nancy Reagan, who insisted upon holding that Bible during his visit to give a speech. A few days later, after the truth hit the fan, folks at the Reagan Bible flip flopped on their own statement to back up the Republican Primary frontrunner (I wonder how many calls from the powerful that it took to get them to throw themselves under the Walker bus?).
Don't forget, there are powerful people behind Walker. The Koch Brothers, Club for Growth, among others have already received plenty of bang for the bucks that have gotten Walker into power and kept him there. If they have to step on some "little people" and toss them under the bus, so be it. In whatever political office Walker inhabits, he's THEIR humble and obedient servant who always provides them with a massive return on their tens of millions of dollars of "investments".
Despite Walkers 2014 campaign statements that he was "only interested in being Wisconsin's Governor", his Presidential campaign began on election night. In Wisconsin only to sign bills rapidly rammed through the Legislature or give a State of the State address sounding more like an "I'm running for President" announcement, even his pals in the Journal Sentinel have noticed his absence in a fact-filled editorial (please read it because it's incredible).
In Walkers absence, his staff have been rudderless, gaffe-prone, and generally flat-footed about items Walker included in the budget that they were unaware of. And he's unavailable (i.e. out campaigning) to help them out until the place is on fire and someone calls Walkers 911. Of course, this is all Walkers fault because he's a notorious micromanager and generally leaves people out of the loop.
The budget surprises and gaffes demonstrate the staff's isolation from the citizens, from the cabinet and even from legislative leaders, who were also out of the loop on some major budget bombshells.
Chief executives of most organizations do rely on regular meetings of their top teams — their cabinets, if you will. Major initiatives are debated, challenged and vetted before being rolled out. Slapdash management is not condoned. Nor is it healthy.
Further, top executives keep their antennas tuned to customers, vendors, to trends in the outside world and to internal organizational dynamics. Their teams bring their learning and insights to the executive dialogue and their decision-making.
Their goal is to avoid crisis management, which has become the order of the day in Wisconsin.
There is an irony to all this. During his very recent campaign for a second term, Gov. Walker said his primary focus after election would be governing Wisconsin, because that would be the best credential if he were to run for the presidency.
(Bolding is mine)
Ouch! Bullseye.
And today his budget had another hearing leading to even more bad news and PR.
So now, it's off to South Carolina to make a fool of himself and leave the pile of disaster behind him.
"You don't have to move to the center to win over the middle," he said. "What you need to do is lead. Because you know our base wants the same thing that most independents do. They want people to look you in the eye and tell you exactly what they're going to do and they want big, bold ideas and they want leaders who are willing to have the courage to enact them no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the environment."
Democrats scoffed at those remarks, saying Walker had not told voters about his plans before getting elected.
"Scott Walker never campaigned on being an absentee governor, right-to-work legislation, gutting the UW System, or on banning abortion (after 20 weeks) even in cases of rape and incest, but that's exactly what he's doing now as he runs for president," said a statement from Melissa Baldauff, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Democratic Party. "It's a flat-out lie that Walker was honest with Wisconsin voters about the agenda he's pursued so far in his second term."
It's baloney, of course. Walker not only moves to the center when he's in regular campaign mode, but he pretends to be a moderate. During his Presidential Primary performances, naturally, he panders to the audience he seeks: hard right wing Republican Primary voters. As a result, it's all extremism all the time.
Now that it's Friday and journalism takes a nearly 3 day weekend off, Walker is likely wiping some sweat from his brow. He assumes next week will be better. It won't (his Wisconsin budget is undergoing hearings and "surprises" are still coming to light in the 1800 pages he presented).
I'll be watching for the late Friday news dumps.
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