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Walker to Drop Out (Updated with Official Statement)
From the New York TimesGov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin has concluded he no longer has a path to the Republican presidential nomination and plans to drop out of the 2016 campaign, according to three Republicans familiar with his decision, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Mr. Walker called a news conference in Madison at 6 p.m. Eastern time.
UPDATE: Excerpts from Gov. Walker’s official statement, which was emailed this afternoon.
Published in GeneralAs a kid, I was drawn to Ronald Reagan because he was a Republican and a conservative. But most of all, I admired him because of his eternal optimism in the American people.
That thought came into my head when we were all standing at the Reagan Library last Wednesday. President Reagan was good for America because he was an optimist.
Sadly, the debate taking place in the Republican party today is not focused on that optimistic view of America. Instead, it has drifted into personal attacks.
In the end, I believe that voters want to be for something and not against someone. Instead of talking about how bad things are, we want to hear about how we can make them better for everyone…
To refocus the debate will require leadership. While I was sitting in church yesterday, the pastor’s words reminded me that the Bible is full of stories about people who were called to be leaders in unusual ways.
Today, I believe that I am being called to lead by helping to clear the race so that a positive conservative message can rise to the top of the field. With that in mind, I will suspend my campaign immediately.
I encourage other Republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same so the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive conservative alternative to the current frontrunner. This is fundamentally important to the future of the party and – ultimately – to the future of our country.
Ricochet can be its own echo chamber. Lots of Walker cheerleaders here, but in Georgia, where I live, no one was enthused. Probably because we are a Right to Work state, and union issues seem a bit opaque.
True, but how much time does a President spend debating once he’s in office?
Well this is just false. It may not be as conservative as you would like, but losing two candidates says nothing about the party as a whole. There’s still three TEA Party candidates in this race: Cruz, Paul and Rubio, not to mention Ben Carson who is a TEA Party darling.
How much time does a President spend convincing the public that they should follow him once he’s in office?
So not a surprise. This was obvious even before he announced. He doesn’t have POTUS charisma or stature. Rubio and Cruz suffer from the same limitation, but less so.
Now, let’s get Jeb to go and an unleaded Mitt to announce–those are my hopes. Carly Mitt and Rubio are the only viable to semi-viable nominees.
I’m still hoping for Rubio/Fiorina – the combination of those two would be the most persuasive to the public at large.
Walker did a lot of that in Wisconsin, as I recall. Of course it’s a moot point now.
Like what W had? ;)
I think it was Leigh and maybe MBF that described Walker’s characteristic of “Midwest Nice”. Perhaps the anger and volume of the right wing primary crowd wasn’t a good fit.
You want Ronald Reagan.
You’ll settle for Marco Rubio.
You’ll get Jeb Bush.
Rico,
This is a case of getting what you want but not what you need. I was very impressed with Scott Walker’s cool direct approach. He directly hit each policy stance with little nuance. I realized it was why he had been so effective in Wisconsin. Also, his toughness was why he had survived the vicious attacks in Wisconsin. He would have been very good for this country. Unfortunately, the voters want excitement. They want to identify. They want to feel good about the candidate. They get what they want but often it isn’t what they need.
Regards,
Jim
Very disappointing. Walker was my candidate. No strong preference for any of the remaining candidates at the moment. I guess I’ll have to take a moment to reevaluate the options.
This is why its important not to get too attached to any one candidate this early in the process. There’s a long way to go and a number of worthy candidates for conservatives to support.
No Thank You.
It seemed like most of the conservatives/Republicans here in Missouri were supporting Walker..
Jim Talent, former U.S. Senator
Peter Kinder, Lieutenant Governor
Blaine Luetkemeyer, U.S. Representative
Dave Spence, former candidate for governor
John Brunner, former candidate for U.S. Senate against Todd Akin.
Missouri natives David and Rush Limbaugh have also had good things to say about Walker. (Heck, even Ann Coulter has said good things about Walker.)
…
In 2012, Rick Santorum won all 114 counties in Missouri and the independent city of St. Louis. He also barely won Iowa last time. Santorum is also the only one to outscore Trump on immigration at Numbersusa.com.
So disappointing! I’m in Florida and know several people who had him among their top contenders because of his excellent leadership in Wisconsin. sigh.
Walker was my first pick, but if you can’t get attention in the primary, you’re not going to win the general. I appreciate his leaving in dignity.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity:
These “debates” were ridiculous.
They are costing us dearly.
Wish the candidates would form something like Ricochet where they could be asked serious questions and give their thoughtful best replies.
After a wondrous year and a half on Ricochet, I think it is the way of the future.
These “debates” need to go in the dustbin.
They reveal nothing.
Well that escalated quickly.
We go from Senik’s What Happened to gone just like that.
Agree.
I’m sorry about it. He was my number one in the Spring.
But I can’t help thinking we’re going to need someone with a lot more charisma if we’re going to win over a sufficient number of those famous “low information voters.”
Sooner than I expected. But in the end it had to happen. We all know this thing is going down to Jeb as GOP nominee with Hillary as Dem nominee and ultimately POTUS. No other options will be allowed.
The kardiashification of politics is terrible. Anyone doubt that Rick perry or Scott walker would have a better chance in the general and more importantly be a better president than at least 9 of the current candidates. Communication skills are being valued over conservative credentials, experience, and resume. Insane
Debates can be important, but not with a dozen people on stage speaking in soundbites. A real debate allows participants to speak at length. I don’t think there should be debates until you’re down to less than half a dozen candidates, with just a few important questions per debate that candidates can fully delve into.
It stinks, but we’re in the American Idol age now. Flashy counts.
However, we’re unlikely to get a debate with just a few important questions that candidates can fully delve into, ever, regardless of the size of the number of candidates, as long as the media is involved in trying to turn this process into a circus.
I’ve mentioned before that every candidate I’ve supported in the primaries for the past few decades has had to drop out. This season, Walker was my #1 choice, with Rick Perry a close #2. My #3 choice, and now my supported candidate is Jindal.
I was like to this time to offer my condolences in advance to Jindal campaign.
https://vimeo.com/46018110
I wanted a low-key guy like Walker. I also thought he did fine in the debate. How come he didn’t even call me before making this decision???