Boots & Sabers

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Tag: Scott Walker

Biased Media Rears Again

by | 1336, 19 Dec 1515 | | 1 Comment

Credit to Right Wisconsin for calling this one early. Here’s the story as the media wants you to see it:

MADISON (WKOW) — The former head of the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions told 27 News Friday he was told to never use state email or phones to communicate anything of importance at one of Gov. Scott Walker’s (R-Wisconsin) first cabinet meetings in early 2011.

27 News contacted former DFI Secretary Peter Bildsten, after the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism reported on similar claims made by both Bildsten and former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Paul Jadin.

Bildsten said former Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch gave the directive.

“He made it very clear, once and only once, and it was loud and clear to me and I think everyone in that cabinet, that, as he put it – ‘don’t send me anything of importance on state email, I won’t reply to it. Don’t call me with anything of importance on a state phone, I won’t answer it. If you’ve got anything of importance you call on your personal cell phone or you walk it over.’ And that’s how most of us operated,” said Bildsten.

[…]

Huebsch did not respond to a request for comment from 27 News, but a spokesperson for Gov. Scott Walker called the allegations from Bildsten “ludicrous.”

But, of course, Huebsch did respond. And he explained what he said… repeatedly.

I did not warn my fellow cabinet members of the caution they must take when using email at a cabinet meeting early in Governor Walker’s term. I did it repeatedly, at several cabinet meetings. I did not direct them to never use email, I told them to be prepared that anything they write, or more accurately an edited version of their email that fits a pre-written story could show up on the front page of the newspaper, so review emails carefully before sending.
 
Email is often spur of the moment, sometimes emotion driven communication. It can include irony, sarcasm or thoughts intended as jokes that, when taken literally or out of the full context of the conversation can appear to mean something very different, even completely opposite of what was intended. In this era of “gotcha” politics, where opponents and some journalists use anything available not just to embarrass but destroy, extra caution is essential.
 
Although unnecessary, since I’m sure you’ve already considered doing it, I will provide an example from a previous paragraph. If you print the line “I did it repeatedly, at several cabinet meetings,” as my only response to your email, your pre-determined, narrative driven story is complete. It is taken out of context and means the exact opposite, but for a select few of you that is no longer a concern.
 
In addition, I did not tell them to avoid making public records. I instructed them that it didn’t matter if they were using “state email, Gmail or carrier pigeon,” if they were dealing with state business, it is subject to open records. Finally, in drawing upon my years of experience dealing with the print journalists in the Capitol press corps, I encouraged them to “pick up the phone” whenever possible rather than email. I did not give that advice to avoid creating a public record. I have never feared having the people of Wisconsin hear the entire record of our activities. I simply know they will never hear it through you or a select few of your colleagues.
So what we see is that some hack reporters set out to write the story they wanted – namely that the eeeeevil Scott Walker regime is intentionally hiding their activities from public scrutiny. The real explanation that Huebsch wisely instructed his peers and employees that everything they do is a public record get left out of the story.
Walker Derangement Syndrome is alive and well in the fever swamps of Wisconsin’s media.

 

Walker Signs Law Eliminating GAB with Vetoes

by | 1448, 16 Dec 1515 | | 1 Comment

Great!

Assembly Bill 388 – partially vetoed, this bill eliminates the Government Accountability Board (GAB) and creates two new commissions – the Elections Commission, which will administer and supervise elections, and the Ethics Commission, which will administer and supervise ethics, campaign finance, and lobbying regulations.  Both commissions will be comprised of members from all sides of the political aisle who will serve five year terms.  The integrity of the election process will be protected by the proper checks and balances to the oversight of these new commissions.  The Governor exercised a partial veto to ensure that the Governor’s office receives an adequate number of nominations for the commission appointments of county or municipal clerks and former judges.  This bill was authored by Representative Dean Knudson (R – Hudson) and Senator Leah Vukmir (R – Wauwatosa).  The bill passed by the Assembly by a vote of 58-39.  It was concurred in the Senate as amended by a vote of 18-14.  Because it was amended in the Senate, the Assembly concurred with those amendments by a vote of 58-37, respectively. It is Act 118. – See more at: http://walker.wi.gov/newsroom/press-release/governor-scott-walker-signs-10-bills-law#sthash.9cMHJZGN.dpuf

The partial veto is fairly innocuous. It prevents the legislature from just giving him just one nominee from each category to force a choice.

Walker, who did not hold a press event to sign the legislation, used his partial veto powers to tweak the measure. As written, the legislation would have required lawmakers from each party to provide him with a list of up to three former judges and up to three former clerks to appoint to the commissions.

Walker modified that to require them to provide him with three nominees for each category, rather than up to three. That will give the governor more options in choosing the appointees for the two new agencies.

States Refuse to Accept Syrian Refugees

by | 2009, 16 Nov 1515 | , , | 1 Comment

Including Wisconsin.

MADISON — Gov. Scott Walker on Monday called on the federal government to not place Syrian refugees in Wisconsin, three days after Islamic State attacks in Paris left more than 130 dead,

“In light of these horrific and tragic attacks, our first priority must be to protect our citizens,” Walker said in a statement released Monday. “It is clear that the influx of Syrian refugees poses a threat.

“The State of Wisconsin will not accept new Syrian refugees. There may be those who will try to take advantage of the generosity of our country and the ability to move freely within our borders through this federal resettlement program, and we must ensure we are doing all we can to safeguard the security of Americans.”

Good. While Americans are, by nature, a generous people, there is no effective way to screen these refugees to prevent terrorists from hiding among them to infiltrate our country. Our generosity should not be allowed to be used to kill us.

Walker’s Finances

by | 1941, 15 Oct 1515 | | 2 Comments

At the end of the day, Walker’s campaign was like him… fiscally conservative.

Gov. Scott Walker raised $7.4 million during his brief time as an official candidate for president, according to his campaign finance report.

The report, posted at the FEC site, shows Walker spent $6.4 million during the third quarter. He had $985,213 cash on hand at the close of the period, which ended Sept. 30.

The guv also listed $161,133 in debts and obligations.

Walker’s 3rd Term

by | 2016, 30 Sep 1515 | | 3 Comments

Why is the media so intent on pinning Walker down on whether or not he will run for a third term? It’s over 3 years away. Since when does a politician have to commit to running for reelection one year into a four year term?

Gov. Scott Walker won’t confirm a prediction from former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson that Walker won’t seek a third term in the office.

Thompson told a television interviewer last weekend that he can’t envision the possibility of his fellow Republican running for reelection for governor or making another bid for the United State presidency.

Walker responded Tuesday, while speaking to reporters in Waukesha.

“I haven’t ruled anything out in that regard. The only thing I’ve ruled out is if there is a Republican president, I will not be a part of the cabinet, he said.  “I enjoy being governor, I’ll be focused on being governor the next three years and sometime between now and November of 2018, I’ll make a decision as to whether or not to seek a third term.”

Walker to Serve Out Term

by | 2151, 23 Sep 1515 | | 14 Comments

And might run for reelection! It’s been fun to watch the hateful glee from lefties when Walker dropped out of the presidential race and then the dismay when they realized that he’s still going to be our governor for another 3 years – at least.

Gov. Scott Walker, responding to questions about his future in Wisconsin after the sudden collapse of his presidential campaign, confirmed Wednesday that he will serve out the remaining three-plus years of his term.

And he rejected the idea of taking a Cabinet position should a Republican be elected president in 2016, according to a fundraiser who was on a conference call with Walker on Wednesday.

Scott Walker Drops Out of Race

by | 1536, 21 Sep 1515 | , | 18 Comments

Wow. I thought he’d make it through Iowa, at least. The money must have completely dried up.

Washington (CNN)Scott Walker is dropping out of the Republican presidential race, according to a GOP strategist close to the campaign and a senior GOP adviser with knowledge of his plans.

The governor of Wisconsin entered the primary in July as a front-runner — a darling of both the conservative base and powerful donors after winning his battles against public unions in his left-leaning home state.

Walker has called a 6 p.m. ET news conference in Madison, Wisconsin, where he is expected to announce his decision to withdraw from the race.

Walker: Fiorina Was Going to Win Debate No Matter What

by | 2227, 17 Sep 1515 | | 10 Comments

Ouch. Looks like some grapes are a wee bit sour.

Carly Fiorina was always going to win last night’s debate, griped rival Scott Walker, whose own performance at last night’s Republican debate was panned by political pundits.

‘I think going in, we knew the narrative, no matter what was going to happen, was that they were going to say Carly had a big night, no matter what, and obviously they said that,’ Walker said Thursday on Glenn Beck’s radio show, blaming the political media for making the call and crowning Fiorina the winner. 

While the Wisconsin governor had once been considered a top-tier GOP pick, Fiorina was among the pack’s longshots, though has been surging in the polls in recent weeks.

Perhaps, but whatever narrative may have been intended, there is no doubt that Fiorina impressed.

Walker to Be More Aggressive in Next Debate

by | 2135, 12 Sep 1515 | | 0 Comments

This will be interesting to watch.

Ames, Iowa (CNN)Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is preparing to ditch his Midwestern-nice persona and show a sharper edge at the CNN Republican debate next week.

“I think we’re going to step it up and be more aggressive this time,” Walker told CNN Saturday, in between playing a game of cornhole and meeting tailgaters ahead of Iowa’s biggest football rivalry: the Iowa/Iowa State game.

“I really hope to be aggressive and make the case that we’re ready to wreak havoc on Washington,” Walker added.

In the first GOP debate in August, Walker played a more passive role, mainly waiting for the moderator to come around to him for his next question.

“I’m a Midwesterner,” he said. “We’re pretty polite.”

The problem is that it goes against Walker’s personality. He is aggressive in his governing, but has never been a firebrand in debates. Whenever someone tries to force personality traits that they don’t have, the results are uncertain.

Walker’s slump

by | 0658, 8 Sep 1515 | , | 4 Comments

My column for the West Bend Daily News is online. Here it is:

It is far too early to write an obituary for Scott Walker’s first presidential campaign, but his transition from frontrunner to afterthought has been swift.

In a very crowded Republican field, Walker peaked as the front-runner in the Real Clear Politics poll average at 17.3 percent April 1. Since then, he has fallen behind the likes of Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson to find himself at 5.5 percent in the same poll average.

Investing too much energy in the ups and downs of the latest polls is a fool’s errand this early in the race. The history of presidential politics is littered with the political corpses of people who were popular 15 months before the election. The field is too crowded. The electorate is not paying a lot of attention. And national popularity polls mean little in an election decided by the Electoral College.

But it is clear that that Walker’s campaign has suffered and he has become one of a half dozen viable candidates vying for the Republican nomination. Why?

Part of the reason is that there is a very strong antipolitician vibe reverberating through the Republican voters right now. Almost seven years of an overbearing President Barack Obama coupled with the same almost seven years of weak-kneed Republican Congressional leadership has left Republican voters frustrated and looking for a political outsider to take the helm.

Walker, for all of his accomplishments as governor, is a lifelong politician. Except for a short stint in the private sector after leaving college, Walker has been an elected official for his entire adult life. It is very difficult for a career politician to convince a dubious electorate that he is an outsider even if his accomplishments include massive anti-establishment reforms.

But the other part of the reason for his drop in the polls has to do with Walker’s campaign and Walker himself. Walker’s political success in Wisconsin is rooted in the fierce energy of his supporters. Conservatives who support Walker have turned out in incredible numbers to support his campaigns and cast their votes for him because he has made consequential conservative reforms in Wisconsin. But that conservative support has waned as Walker’s presidential run has matured.

As one of those staunch conservatives who have passionately supported Walker’s policies for years, I, too, feel the same draining of enthusiasm for a President Walker and find myself more enthralled with the candidacies of Carson, Fiorina, and Marco Rubio, but I still think Walker has been the best and most transformational governor of the modern era in Wisconsin. I am still proud of every vote I cast for him and would not hesitate to do so again.

Presidential candidate Walker, however, is not the same as Gov. Walker. Presidential candidate Walker is not the fearless champion of conservatism on the vanguard of political reform that Gov. Walker was. Instead, presidential candidate Walker is a calculating, restrained, packaged, strange anime version of the Gov. Walker we all respect.

As a Wisconsin conservative, presidential candidate Walker’s meddling in Wisconsin’s affairs was more than frustrating. He sat on the sidelines while Wisconsin conservatives pushed for and passed Right to Work and prevailing wage reforms. He denied the Kenosha casino, which would have meant billions of dollars of economic development and thousands of jobs for Wisconsin. He forcefully advocated giving hundreds of millions of tax dollars to build a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks without even a hint of conservative reluctance to subsidize a profitable private business with the taxpayers’ money. He has spent his time out of state campaigning as conservatives in Wisconsin have continued the conservative revolution he started. And some conservative reforms still undone, like repealing the minimum markup law, would be certain with a strong conservative governor pushing for them.

It is a long time until the citizens of the United States head to the polls to select our newest president. If Gov. Walker were running, he would galvanize the conservative base and have a real shot at taking his brand of revolutionary conservative reforms to Washington. Presidential candidate Walker will refer to this election as “my first try.”

Walker’s Bald Spot

by | 1030, 5 Sep 1515 | | 5 Comments

Seriously… 822 words on Walker’s bald spot.

“Also, why would the body just pick that circle? I’m betting Walker did have some level of trauma if he said he did, but either way, he’d have a hole there now anyway.”

Moore the Boor

by | 0744, 25 Aug 1515 | , | 2 Comments

It’s not surprising that the Wisconsin politician who is mostly known for saying stupid things is once again saying stupid things.

Ms. Moore said Mr. Walker was “literally campaigning around the state, saying you don’t want to be like Milwaukee, while at the same time really tightening the noose, literally, around African-Americans,” The Hill reported.

“He cut his teeth on ‘three strikes and you’re out’ mandatory minimum sentences — really, you know, trail ‘em, nail ‘em and jail ‘em politics … and so we really have a high incarceration rate,” she said.

Ms. Moore said the governor’s opposition to raising the minimum wage, requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, and requiring drug testing for welfare recipients unfairly hurts black people. She also called Mr. Walker a “stereotypical politician” who will say anything to get elected, The Associated Press reported.

Walker releases health care reform plan

by | 0703, 25 Aug 1515 | , | 1 Comment

My column for the West Bend Daily News is online. Here it is:

In an effort to remind Republican primary voters there are actually important issues facing our nation that do not involve Donald Trump’s latest bombast, Scott Walker released his plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. Politically, it is a winning issue. Despite years of spinning from President Barack Obama and his minions and billions of taxpayer dollars spent advertising it, Obamacare is still strongly opposed by the American people. According to Real Clear Politics, an average of 48.4 percent of the American people opposes Obamacare with only 40.2 percent supporting it.

But as the old adage goes, one cannot replace something with nothing. Opposing Obamacare is not enough, which is why Walker has released his plan in plenty of time for voters to consider it before they head to the polls.

Essentially, Walker’s plan is to replace Obamacare with a series of reforms that are designed to move health care decisions away from the federal government and toward the consumer while expanding consumers’ choices. As Walker said in his recent column accompanying the release of his plan, “So let’s call Obamacare what it is: the result of a decades-long plan by the most liberal wing of the Democratic Party to seize control of health care choice and freedom from individuals and states and hand total power over to the federal government in Washington.”

Walker is right and his plan is a good start toward shifting that power back into the hands of the people. His plan starts with repealing Obamacare. After that, some of the reforms in Walker’s plan are policies that have been advocated by health care reformers for years.

Walker would allow Americans to shop for insurance in any state. Currently, individuals are prohibited by law from purchasing health insurance across state lines. It is an antiquated legal restriction on the insurance industry that arbitrarily limits consumers’ choice. In a 21st century economy where anyone can sit in front of their computer and buy products from businesses all over the world, it is ridiculous that Americans are still limited to only buying health insurance from companies in their own state. Lifting this restriction would open up the health insurance market to much more competition, to the benefit of consumers.

In his plan, Walker would also offer a refundable tax credit for people who sign up for a health savings account and increase the limit on HSA contributions. HSAs were a Republican reform from 2003 that allow people to keep a portable, tax-free account to pay for a wide array of health care expenses while maintaining a high-deductible insurance plan for catastrophic health care emergencies. HSAs have proven to be a successful tool to control health care costs by giving the health care consumer more control, and more responsibility, over the health care they consume.

There are many more great reforms in Walker’s plan, but there are some bad ideas, too. For example, Walker proposes to provide refundable tax credits to anyone without access to employer-sponsored health insurance, regardless of income. If one accepts the premise that it is the taxpayers’ responsibility to make sure everyone has health insurance, which I do not, then at the very least the taxpayers should only subsidize the health care costs for those who cannot afford it. That is what programs like Medicaid already do. It makes no sense for the taxpayers to give tax credits to wealthy people who can already afford it. Especially in light of our highly progressive federal income tax where the top 20 percent of taxpayers pay 84 percent of the income taxes, such a program is just another transfer of wealth.

Walker’s plan for replacing Obamacare is not perfect, but it is the start of a substantial conversation about a critical political and economic issue. It reminds us that while primary elections tend to focus on the latest poll, gaffe or “gotcha” interview, one of these people is going to be the next President of the United States. Their ideas deserve more attention than their hairstyles.

Walker Releases Healthcare Plan

by | 2125, 18 Aug 1515 | | 0 Comments

Take a look. Here are the bullets and the plan lists specifics behind each:

1. Repeal ObamaCare in its entirety.

2. Ensure affordable and accessible health insurance for everyone.

3. Make health care more efficient, effective and accountable by empowering the states.

4. Increase quality and choice through innovation.

5. Provide financial stability for families and taxpayers.

Essentially, it does what many conservative healthcare reformers have been saying for years like eliminating state-based insurance, encouraging HSAs and similar consumer-based tools, tort reform, and incenting competition between providers. There are a few things I disagree with, like tax credits for people without employer-sponsored health insurance irrespective of income, but overall it is roughly 7.9 trillion times better than Obamacare.

 

Walker Responds to Protesters

by | 2202, 17 Aug 1515 | | 2 Comments

Heh.

Gov. Scott Walker mixed it up with protesters at the Iowa State Fair Monday, telling a crowd he would not back down from anyone, regardless of party affiliation.

While Walker was speaking at the Des Moines Register’s soapbox, protesters, some in foam cheese head hats, shouted back at the guv and booed. But they often were drowned out by Walker supporters.

At one point, a man carrying a yellow sign reading, “Warning don’t let Scott Walker do to America what he did to Wisconsin” made his way to the front of the stage. Walker said the left doesn’t want him to be the GOP nominee because it knows “I don’t just talk, I deliver on my promises.” He then singled out the man with the sign.

“I am not intimidated by you, sir, or anyone else out there,” Walker said as someone knocked the sign out of the man’s hands.

Clearly, after his vanilla debate performance and drop in the polls, Walker’s team has decided that he should take a edgier tone. The problem, as I see it, is that it is against Walker’s nature. He has never been one to yell or lambaste opponents. It is really difficult to pull off behavior that is against the candidate’s nature for very long. It starts to look inauthentic and manufactured – because it is.

Prosecutors Thought Walker Committed a Felony

by | 2143, 5 Aug 1515 | | 2 Comments

It doesn’t matter what they thought. What matters is what is truth – and what they can prove. Clearly, they couldn’t prove their case and didn’t even try to prosecute him. I suspect that’s because the truth is that Walker didn’t do anything illegal. But there’s another concerning aspect of this:

Prosecutors believed Gov. Scott Walker committed a felony when he was Milwaukee County Executive for his role in the rejection of a lease extension for county office space, a Wednesday court filing shows.

Walker, who is seeking the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, was never charged with a crime, and has long said he was never a target of the secret 2011 John Doe investigation into his county office.

On Wednesday, prosecutors filed into the court record a 2011 request for a search warrant that was part of the investigation. The filing in federal court came in response to a lawsuit brought against the prosecutors, by Walker aide Cindy Archer, who also was under investigation.

They wrote in the search warrant request that there was probable cause to believe Walker, Friends of Scott Walker campaign treasurer John Hiller and real estate broker Andrew Jensen violated state public office misconduct laws in 2010.

None of them, or Archer, were charged.

Doesn’t this all demonstrate the farce of the John Doe process? The purported purpose of giving prosecutors all of the secret powers of the John Doe protections is so that they can investigate people without damaging their lives and reputations should the prosecutors not find any wrongdoing. But throughout both John Doe investigations around Walker, information leaked like crazy and documents are still being released even though the investigation has been closed for years. If there isn’t going to be any secrecy for the targets anyway, then what is the point of the John Doe laws in the first place?

I’ll go back to what I said years ago… the John Doe laws are an unconstitutional abomination. They should be tossed into the garbage heap and let the normal rules of probable cause and due process apply.

Grade School Taunts in Presidential Race

by | 2015, 25 Jul 1515 | | 5 Comments

“Dumbdumb?” “Jackass?” Really, boys… and I do mean boys… grow up.

OSKALOOSA, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump opened up a line of attack Saturday on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, accusing the leader in recent polls in Iowa of running his neighboring state into financial trouble.

It’s the latest broadside against a rival of the outspoken New York billionaire. Last week, Trump went after South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham for calling him a “jackass.” The New York businessman has characterized other candidates as unfit for the office and said the party’s 2008 nominee, Sen. John McCain, was not a war hero in spite of his years as a prisoner in Vietnam.

Spurred on by a raucous audience of more than 1,000 at a central Iowa high school, Trump said Walker has an advantage in Iowa because he’s from a neighboring state but that the edge is undeserved because Walker has mismanaged Wisconsin’s budget.

[…]

Trump said Walker deserved the criticism because a top fundraiser to the governor referred to Trump in a recent fundraising email as “Dumb dumb.”

 

Walker Orders National Guard to… Guard

by | 1722, 21 Jul 1515 | | 0 Comments

Good move.

Gov. Scott Walker today issued an executive order allowing members of the Wisconsin National Guard to carry weapons while on duty in the wake of a shooting at a military recruiting office in Chattanooga last week.

Walker said he was also directing Adjutant Gen. Donald Dunbar to evaluate long-term plans to ensure safety of guard members.

“Allowing our National Guard members to carry weapons while on duty gives them the tools they need to serve and protect our citizens, as well as themselves,” Walker said.

Walker Tells Illegal Alien to “Follow the Law”

by | 1229, 20 Jul 1515 | , | 0 Comments

Good answer.

PLAINFIELD, Iowa — As presidential hopeful Scott Walker toured a farm in this tiny town where he lived as a child, he was confronted by an undocumented worker from Mexico who is living in Wisconsin and demanded to know why Walker does not support President Obama’s plan to give temporary status to some undocumented workers, including parents of children who were born in the United States.

“We’re a nation of laws,” Walker, the Republican governor of Wisconsin, repeatedly told Jose Flores, 38, who was joined by two of his four children, Luis, 7, and Leslie, 13, who had tears rolling down her cheeks throughout the exchange. Flores, who lives in Waukesha and works for a medical supply factory, said he and his wife live in fear of being deported and separated from their children, who he said were all born in the United States.

“My point,” Walker said, “is that you have to follow the law, follow the process.”

[…]

Then Luis Flores jumped in: “Do you want me, like, to come home … come from school and my dad get deported?”

“No, that’s not what I’m talking about,” Walker said. “You mentioned Waukesha. I’ve got two nieces who go to school there as well. … I appreciate kids like you and kids like them, so that’s not what my point is. My point is that in America, nobody is above the law.”

Walker makes his run at Washington

by | 0748, 14 Jul 1515 | | 0 Comments

My column for the West Bend Daily News is online. Here it is:

Gov. Scott Walker made it official yesterday. In front of throngs of supporters in the heart of his conservative base of Waukesha County, Walker announced that he will be a candidate for the President of the United States. He is already an early frontrunner for the Republican nomination in a very crowded primary field.

Once again, Wisconsin can be proud that for the second presidential election in a row, one of her native sons will be featured prominently on the national stage. In the last election, Rep. Paul Ryan was plucked into the limelight by Mitt Romney to be the vice presidential candidate after Romney won the nomination. This time, Wisconsin will be subjected to the national spotlight for the duration of the election cycle.

Walker has rightly earned a reputation as a flag bearer for the conservative wing of the Republican Party. His tenure as a legislator, Milwaukee County executive and Wisconsin’s governor have all been marked by a steadfast conservatism that is popular in a national Republican primary election.

In particular as governor, Walker’s record is truly impressive. Although Wisconsin has been trending slightly more conservative in the past few years, it is still a relatively liberal to moderate state in which the majority of the voters chose liberals Barack Obama and Tammy Baldwin at the same time they were voting for Walker.

Yet in that sea of purple voters, Walker managed to sign landmark conservative legislation like right to work, castle doctrine, concealed carry, the expansion of school choice, a university tuition freeze and, of course, his signature government union reform law, Act 10. Throughout his short tenure as governor, the Republicans have gained seats in the legislature under his leadership and turned more conservative as a caucus.

With a proven record of conservative success in a somewhat liberal state, Walker is a favorite of national talking heads to win the nomination. But the path will not be easy. With all of Walker’s successes, there are some major drags on his campaign. While the state has steadily added jobs and the economy has been improving, he badly failed to keep his campaign promise to add 250,000 jobs in the state, and his flagship state jobs agency is riddled with failure and mistakes.

Walker’s campaign has also had some early missteps, like his misguided dalliance with open records laws and mealy-mouthed statements regarding immigration policy. Also, while many people do not view a college degree as a prerequisite for high office and justly believe that a person should be judged on his or her accomplishments, many other people see a college degree as a necessary stamp in a passport to the nation’s highest office — and Walker left Marquette University before graduation.

Regardless of whether Walker wins the nomination, two things are certain. First, Walker will be a major determining factor in who the nominee is. If it is not him, his support will be crucial for whoever the nominee is to secure the conservative faction of the Republican Party and the Midwest states that are Walker’s base.

Second, as my fellow columnist Mark Belling pointed out, win or lose, Walker is almost certainly going to resign before the end of his term. If he wins the presidency, then, obviously, he will resign as governor. If he does not win, he will exit the presidential race as a bona fide national conservative political figure. He may be called upon to serve in a Republican administration as a vice president or cabinet secretary, or he may choose to use his national stature to advance the conservative agenda while earning an income he could never earn as a politician. And Walker is a young man. If he does not win the presidency this time, he will still be in the vigor of life to run again in 2020 or 2024.

If Walker does resign as governor by the end of next year (can you hear Wisconsin’s liberals rejoicing?), Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch will take the state’s helm. Kleefisch is smart, conservative, resolute, articulate and consistently underestimated by her opponents. It would be a marvelous thing for Wisconsin for a Gov. Kleefisch to take the state further down the path upon which Gov. Walker started.

Owen Robinson is a West Bend resident. Reach him .

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