Scott Walker, Triumphant
All the major networks have called tonight's Wisconsin recall election for Scott Walker.
Walker’s story is fascinating. His rise to the governorship was itself a remarkable achievement. A college dropout and an Eagle Scout, son of a small-town Baptist minister (First Baptist Church of Delavan), Colorado-born (but you wouldn’t know it from his Packer love). He met Ronald Reagan when he was a teenager on a trip with Boy’s State, and decided to go into politics. He ran for General Assembly five years later at 22, lost. He married a 36 year old woman when he was 25, moved to a better district, and won. And he kept on winning.
Walker still disguises his oddball nature and the cussedness of his character with scads of Wisconsin nice. It’s that combination which makes him a formidable opponent, one stubbornly convinced of the rightness and the essential nature of his views. Those people tend to win if their timing is right.
Confrontations between the people and organized labor aren’t new, but they have a way of translating to the national conversation. A single sentence arguably made Calvin Coolidge president: “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time.” It hit a nerve then, as it has now. I have seen conservative crowds give applause for presidents and political figures all over the country, but I have never seen them applaud as they do for Walker.That applause will only get louder now.
Thus, on the eve of today’s recall election, came comments like this:
“We’re in a battle for freedom in this country,” Reince Priebus, a Wisconsin native and chairman of the Republican National Committee, told about 75 Walker supporters yesterday in Germantown. “We’re not only in a battle for the state of Wisconsin; we’re in a battle for the future of America.”
In most cases, I’d dismiss this approach as overheated rhetoric – Walker’s reforms are nowhere near as severe as they’re made out to be, and they are less exportable than some might like. But branding this as the most important election of the year is not entirely wrong. Walker’s confrontation writ large is not with public sector unions, but with the dying Blue social model. It is one of the longest-lived coalitions in American politics, but one the White House is already letting slip – the marriage decision was a clear sign of that. Tonight's Walker victory may prove to be its death knell.
As Walter Russell Mead writes:
“A Scott Walker victory would reshape not just Republican politics but Democratic politics as well; leaders like Andrew Cuomo in New York and Rahm Emanuel in Chicago will be paying attention. If Walker wins handily, more Democrats will see the writing on the wall: Support for public sector unions simply isn’t the political winner it once was. This could presage a larger post-blue shift in the Democratic party for decades to come.”
Timing in politics can mean everything, and Walker’s is impeccable.
This, by the way, is how I recommend celebrating. I'm not really a blend guy, but the name makes it appropriate:
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Comments:
Apr '11
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
I was in Az. for the recall of Ev Mecham, but who was the third governor who faced a recall election? (Or was Mecham removed by impeachment? I didn't pay much attention to politics back then. I seem to remember Mecham was elected by a plurality in a nasty three-way race.)
May '10
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
For sheer amusement, head over to the Daily Kos and read the comments. Schadenfreude ist sehr gut...
Feb '11
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
Let the eagle soar!
Oct '11
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
Man, do I wish Andrew Breitbart had lived to see this ...
Apr '11
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
I'm floored by the current margin (55-44 with 75% of precincts reporting). Either there are still some Dem strongholds yet to come in that will dramatically narrow the margin or this is a watershed election. It seems that two years of nonstop political temper tantrums finally resulted in a decisive shift towards the adults.
Oct '11
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
@Glenn: Gray Davis in CA.
Sep '10
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
DrewInWisconsin
"margin of fraud"
Good one.
Oct '10
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
May '11
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
drlorentz
I wondered about this too. The reason is unclear. I have my doubts about the objectivity of the polling. Polls can be a form of agitprop. From what I read, the vote was 60/40. This is a landslide, well outside any reasonable margin of error. · 13 minutes ago
Polls intentionally over-sample democrats to skew the numbers and affect turnout: Daniel Blatt at GayPatroit.com, Ed Morrissey at HotAir.com.
Rush has a very plausible theory on this. Most polls leading up to a challenging election environment will over-sample democrats in order to affect turnout. When the writing on the wall is more clear, they will display more accurate predictions, in order to look less stupid (for lack of a better phrase). Tenth paragraph in, well worth the read though you may need to be a subscriber.
Stick with Rasmussen, most accurate that I've seen. The daily email is a nice quick snapshot.
Aug '11
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
John Marzan · 3 minutes ago
They're blaming it on the Kochtopus and Citizens United. Sore losers.
Oct '10
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
watch foxnews now, walker is doing his victory speech.
May '10
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK8vw74j6zU
Oct '10
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
Jul '10
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
Wonderful news! How about the other state senate recalls?
Nov '11
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
Well done, Wisconsinites! Thank God.
It was a good victory speech, a great night.
Oct '10
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
I couldn't be happier with a political result.
Feb '11
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/june-5-recall-election-results-155977565.html
3 out of 4 called for the GOP with the Republican leading in the 4th.
Nov '11
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
If you haven't seen this yet, you must check out this video from CNN. The money quote from the anti-Walker girly-man has to be "Democracy died tonight." Wonderful, hilarious, and, albeit, slightly worrisome at the same time.
Edited on June 6, 2012 at 6:06amSep '10
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
Democracy = Democrat victory. Polarization = Republican victory.
Jun '12
Re: Scott Walker, Triumphant
Highlama: ... We need not rush to assign malicious practice to the exit polsters (though skepticism is wise.) This recall was fueled by searing passions of the Wisconsin left/progressive/public union members. They have successfully stoked that fire for nearly two years. Who do you think is more likely to answer an exit poll question: the state employee with blood in his eye and an axe to grind, or the farmer on her way home to milk the cows? The poll numbers might just skew themselves.