Scott Walker Out
Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, whose early glow as a Republican presidential contender was snuffed out with the rise of anti-establishment rivals, announced on Monday that he was quitting the race and urged some of his 15 rivals to do the same so the party could unite against the leading candidate, Donald J. Trump.
Mr. Walker’s pointed rebuke of Mr. Trump gave powerful voice to the private fears of many Republicans that the party risked alienating wide swaths of the American electorate – Hispanics, women, immigrants, veterans, and most recently Muslims – if Mr. Trump continued vilifying or mocking those groups as part of his overtures to angry and disaffected voters.
Still, Mr. Walker’s exit was not selfless: He was running low on campaign cash, sliding sharply in opinion polls, losing potential donors to rivals and unnerving supporters with a steady stream of gaffes, like saying he would consider building a barrier wall along the Canadian border.
Which he didn’t actually say, but history is (re)written by people who keep saying stuff again and again, whether it’s true or not.
I started to say that this is going to cause a lot of people to reconsider their choices. Then I considered the polls, and realized that I’m speaking about fewer than 1% of the people. It seems like it should be more, but that’s because the crowd I have in mind consists of the class of people who talk and write about this stuff all the time.
That’s not who answers polls. It’s not even who votes.
So long, Scott.
Wow.
Patterico (fecd9b) — 9/21/2015 @ 5:58 pmI’m kind of sad, too, Patterico.
It’s all about memes and Teh Narrative. A drumbeat of misinformation. If it gets repeated enough, over and over again, it changes opinions. Sad but true. You hit the nail on the head:
It’s a problem everywhere, and not just in politics. A lie repeated enough becomes “truth enough” for many people.
Scott Walker is a good man. In a way, this is good news for him: he and his family don’t get to be chewed up and spit out by the overall MSM. I also hear that there is an “attack news item” lined up.
I’ll bet there is a dossier on every single candidate. But it doesn’t matter for the ones the press likes.
Narrative, narrative, uber alles.
Simon Jester (c8876d) — 9/21/2015 @ 6:06 pmWe’re going to end up with Rubio, aren’t we?
Patterico (fecd9b) — 9/21/2015 @ 6:07 pmthis is why we can’t have nice things
but poor lil guy he couldn’t scale up
happyfeet (831175) — 9/21/2015 @ 6:08 pmNope, Patterico. We are all going to fight and bicker and lie and mock and exaggerate as usual.
And get HRC.
You know what Alan Simpson said.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/05/12/column.shields.opinion.stupid/
Simon Jester (c8876d) — 9/21/2015 @ 6:09 pmRubio seems so . . . callow.
Patterico (fecd9b) — 9/21/2015 @ 6:16 pmwell they abolished elections on luna federation, didn’t they, it’s a triumph of doublethink, how they can outraise us 2/1 yet complain about ‘money in politics’
narciso (ee1f88) — 9/21/2015 @ 6:17 pmScott Walker is a good man. In a way, this is good news for him: he and his family don’t get to be chewed up and spit out by the overall MSM.
Absolutely.
Dana (86e864) — 9/21/2015 @ 6:30 pmnarciso, we may have to flee this growing Chicago Imperium, and jump ship at Botany Bay. I have some friends there. And they don’t care about telling people what to think.
Simon Jester (c8876d) — 9/21/2015 @ 6:47 pmNo air in this room.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 9/21/2015 @ 6:48 pmRubio seems so . . . callow.
Trying to please all the people all the time.
Dana (86e864) — 9/21/2015 @ 6:49 pmRubio seems so . . . callow
Apt. Perhaps in twelve years…
Odd that I don’t particularly care for either Floridian in this race.
At the moment my preference is probably for Fiorina.
kishnevi (28fa9f) — 9/21/2015 @ 6:51 pmNo, Pat, we might get Fiorina/Rubio. Especially if HRC is out.
What I fear though is that Trump stays around long enough to drive all the good guys, then quits, leaving us with Bush/Kasich.
Gresham’s Law.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 9/21/2015 @ 6:52 pmCan anyone tell me where this 15 percent for Carson is coming from? His whole campaign seems to be “we all need a big hug!”
Kevin M (25bbee) — 9/21/2015 @ 6:54 pmDana,
Kasich is the master of people-pleasing. In the center of every Venn diagram.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 9/21/2015 @ 6:55 pmKevin M,
I used to think that until I heard him interviewed and I think it was Hewitt who asked him specifics about he would deal with Trump, the ME situation, etc, and he got really angry and was rude to Hewitt and told him he didn’t have to answer those sorts of questions, and then just bulldozed through talking about what a great governor he was and ticked off all of his accomplishments. What a foul man.
Dana (86e864) — 9/21/2015 @ 6:59 pmPut not your trust in cheeseheads. — Machiavelli; also Psalms. (Sort of.)
Oh, well. I’m less disappointed for Walker than I am for myself. He was my first choice.
nk (dbc370) — 9/21/2015 @ 7:02 pmWe’re going to end up with Rubio, aren’t we?
That’s what it looks like.
scrutineer (b7d257) — 9/21/2015 @ 7:10 pmI liked Walker. Too bad but no sense in continuing the run.
Rodney King's Spirit (ab8c0d) — 9/21/2015 @ 7:21 pmFunny thing, Walker showed no appeal to those voting blocs. Ironically, Trump does better than the others with those very groups.
DN (78a7ed) — 9/21/2015 @ 7:31 pmWhile I’m disappointed in Walker he did not emerge from the echo chamber and blew the Zeitgeist completely.
The four years 2017-20 are going to be a really, really shitty term for the eventual “winner” so there’s that.
In fourteen months the awareness of ‘existential crisis’ will concentrate some minds.
DNF (36ae6c) — 9/21/2015 @ 7:52 pmYes, but with Trump we get the antithesis of what we want: The most unelectable Conservative. Someone Sloe Joe could beat just by seeming reasonable.
Which brings up a pool bet: Who will be the first opponent to say “There you go again!” to Trump.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 9/21/2015 @ 8:10 pmWhat a sad day. My #2 choice was Perry, and he’s already out, so I’m not sure where I go from here. Probably Jindal, but I don’t see him lasting much longer either.
Milhouse (34ce24) — 9/21/2015 @ 8:52 pmI gave up Walker when I saw who he hired as campaign manager.
seeRpea (e32c56) — 9/21/2015 @ 9:12 pmWho do we have left who is a conservative? The only one I see in the top 10 is Ted Cruz. Rubio still has the siding with democrats on immigration baggage. Who out of all the candidates doesn’t have a squishy past other than Cruz?
I could be wrong. I’ve been waiting for the front runners to flame out like in past primaries and it hasn’t happened yet.
Beside being Commander in Chief the role of the president is an executive that has to run a left wing work force. This is why I think experience as a governor is important for a presidential candidate. I wasn’t sure about Walker’s conservatism, but he definitely had the conservative executive over left wing workers experience.
Tanny O'Haley (c674c7) — 9/21/2015 @ 10:13 pmScott Walker’s courageous performance in Wisconsin earned the respect of conservatives, provided him with the name recognition necessary to run for national office, and should have prepared him for the rough and tumble of the GOP nomination process.
Walker started strong in Iowa but faded quickly and disappointed in both debates. Now, on his way out he stoops to take a cheap shot at the front runner. Well, Donald Trump is the front runner because millions of GOP voters support him, and Walker just pissed most of them off. Too bad.
I’d like to think better of Scott Walker – if he’ll let me.
ropelight (df2d31) — 9/22/2015 @ 6:45 amThe devil’s bargain the RNC and state parties made ceding control of the “debates” to the media in exchange for national air time may have been intended to allow JEB win the survivor pool but it’s taken campaign messaging away from the candidates and party. Neither Perry nor Walker could figure out how to break out because the RNC, DNC and the media love the “can you believe the stupid bigot said that” show. It may yet yield the outcome they desire but it’s equally likely the unanticipated populist will realign republicans as Obama did in ’08 unless someone like this blog’s preferred candidate survives to Super Tuesday. The longer the campaign is about the silly stuff and the less it’s about how to make the lives of Americans better the more likely the democrats will go unchallenged.
crazy (cde091) — 9/22/2015 @ 7:02 amWild. An actual conservative standard-bearer rejected by his (nominal) party for failing to embrace the stupidity of the media environment.
The Republican Party is in trouble.
Leviticus (f9a067) — 9/22/2015 @ 7:48 amSome in his campaign were (are?) floating rumors that he got out just in time, before some horrible news story would have broken. Polling at 1/2%, I’m really not sure how that would have mattered.
carlitos (c24ed5) — 9/22/2015 @ 8:02 amFrom Free Republic:
ropelight (df2d31) — 9/22/2015 @ 8:17 amNot pinning this on Walker but there has been some gossip about a presidential candidate in a picture with a very beautiful woman and she is blackmailing him.
The man is pictured brushing his teeth while wearing only a towel around his waist. The woman can be seen in the mirror with her phone taking the picture. The speculation was Trump but also that the candidate was soon to drop out of the race
Sunny (b47ecd) — 9/22/2015 @ 8:36 amMaybe Hillary is right that this election is about real people, but not her kind of real. Maybe the polls are reflecting that people want leaders who have more to show for their lives than a political career.
Look at who the poll leaders are: Trump is a business owner, Fiorina is a business executive, Carson is a world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon, and even Christie and Cruz were successful attorneys. The professional politicians are struggling, not just because they are insiders but also because people can’t relate to them. The one exception may be the very personable Rubio.
DRJ (521990) — 9/22/2015 @ 9:00 amRand Paul also has a successful career as an eye doctor, and he emphasized that outsider political status when he first ran for the Senate. But he doesn’t mention that much anymore. Maybe he should.
DRJ (521990) — 9/22/2015 @ 9:05 amon the upside though the election has nothing to do with cutting spending or repealing obamacare
whatever real person Team R nominates will be free to focus 100% on fetuses gays muslim extirpation and mass deportation
if it’s carly she can double down on failmerica’s fabulously successful war on drugs seeing as how she brings Absolute Moral Authority to the table
my friend D brought me some ghost peppers from his neighbors garden
spicy!
Rubio makes pouty-face when he’s pretending to be super duper sincere
President Trump
President Donald Trump
President The Donald
I’m thinking the slap in the face to Team R that Trump’s election would signify is looking more and more like a best case scenario
how desperately sad for failmerica is that
happyfeet (a037ad) — 9/22/2015 @ 9:30 am*neighbor’s* garden i mean
happyfeet (a037ad) — 9/22/2015 @ 9:31 amI can’t imagine wanting Trump to win, so his popularity must be a mirage. It’s much more likely that a guy polling mid-single digits with an electorally toxic record on immigration will get the nomination.
scrutineer (b7d257) — 9/22/2015 @ 11:25 amMr. The Donald is the only candidate what represents change Mr. scroot
all the other R’s represent just more of the same in a party what’s already beset by stagnation and socially exclusionist dogma
how did this happen I want an explanation
happyfeet (a037ad) — 9/22/2015 @ 11:40 amOkay, scrutineer, what the hell does an “electorally toxic record on immigration” mean?
Rev. Barack Hussein Hoagie (f4eb27) — 9/22/2015 @ 12:41 pmSunny wrote:
So, it could have been anyone but Carly Fiorina! 🙂 Vote for her!
The Dana who endorsed Scott Walket early (f6a568) — 9/22/2015 @ 1:06 pmAnd some of you guys refuse to vote Trump? Look at what this idiot is posing with.
http://twitter.com/CassandraRules/status/645339933046083584/photo/1
Rev. Barack Hussein Hoagie (f4eb27) — 9/22/2015 @ 1:17 pmif those are republicans i’ve got a bridge to sell you that I don’t even own cause it’s not mine i don’t even know who owns it
happyfeet (a037ad) — 9/22/2015 @ 1:25 pmThe Pope’s in a Fiat… teh Pope’s in a Fiat!
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 9/22/2015 @ 1:28 pmSunny (b47ecd) — 9/22/2015 @ 8:36 am
Trump would probably think that was good PR.
I don’t generally pay attention to this sort of thing. Is Trump currently married?
kishnevi (31ba4e) — 9/22/2015 @ 1:39 pmRev H @40
There are still a baker’s dozen candidates who are neither Jeb! nor Donald.
kishnevi (28fa9f) — 9/22/2015 @ 1:42 pmThis surprised me. I’m surprised that Walker’s financial support dried up so spectacularly, so quickly, but that’s apparently the price of under-performing expectations when you’re not already deeply funded (or self-funding, as Trump sometimes, but not other times, claims he might do, or could do, or something).
Beldar (fa637a) — 9/22/2015 @ 5:00 pmOkay, scrutineer, what the hell does an “electorally toxic record on immigration” mean?
Rev., Rubio’s Gang of 8 membership probably kills his shot at the nomination. He polls around 5–7% nationally. He’s at 6% (5th place) in Iowa and 3% (8th place) in NH. The base won’t vote for a GOPe muppet who winks at illegal immigration.
scrutineer (b7d257) — 9/23/2015 @ 7:47 amI read where it wasn’t so much the money stopped coming in as that it was too fast going out, that the people running the campaign had kicked in the afterburners with an overly large staff, etc.,and by the time Walker understood what was happening, it was too late to put a stop to it.
I guess the first test of presidential judgement is who to hire to run your campaign.
MD in Philly (f9371b) — 9/23/2015 @ 8:09 pmInitially, Scott Walker inspired people to support him because he seemed strong and forceful as Governor of Wisconsin, but he appeared lackluster and weak in his Presidential campaign. That’s not what voters seem to want.
DRJ (521990) — 9/23/2015 @ 8:15 pmMD in Philly (f9371b) — 9/23/2015 @ 8:09 pm
I guess the first test of presidential judgement is who to hire to run your campaign.
As Obama was saying in 2008 (although what he said was something like that being able tio successfully run a presidential campaign showed executive ability.)
I recall, in fact, actually, Obama fired someone early. Or was that McCain? Reagan did that, too right after the New Hampshire primary, but this was earlier.
It shows something, but only the ability to avoid some particular pitfalls. It does not show what someone would do when they inherit a workforce and are not too actively involved in decisions which they themselves evaluate the worth of.
There is one particular pitfall some cabndndidates fall into. A candidate can be rich or well fuded and run out of money because he’s spending too much on useless advertisements way before the election. Not doing that, or some such thing, is almost a prerequisite and can eliminate up to a third of all candidates. Some don’t have the money to waste in the first place.
Sammy Finkelman (981277) — 9/24/2015 @ 2:55 amI am surprised that Walker’s defciencies became so apparent so fast. It should either have been obvious at the start, or should have taken longer to effect things. Probably the “suppoort” in the polls is not really support, but many times forced answers and just an indication someone is just thinking of someone.
Sammy Finkelman (981277) — 9/24/2015 @ 2:57 amhttp://www.newconservative.us/blog/2015/9/23/the-american-singularity-week-27-seven-things-scott-walkers-campaign-taught-us
Sammy Finkelman (643dcd) — 9/24/2015 @ 3:13 pm