According to The New York Times, “Governor 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.” By the time you read this, he will have held his press conference and explained to the world that sadly, it is true: the Republican presidential contest will have to live without the bright light of his charisma. Oh, what will it do!
But who are we kidding here? This is a clear sign of the Republican Party establishment trying to take control of the presidential nominating contest. There are currently four candidates who are diluting the already anemic “establishment” vote. So I’m sure that the power brokers in the party went to him and said, “Kid, this ain’t your night — I mean, year.” And I suspect that the party promised him something like a top spot on the VP list. So if Rubio or Bush get the nod, don’t be surprised if Walker gets the backup spot.
It’s funny that the 2016 nominating contest is turning out to be a far bigger problem than the 2012 contest. Remember all the wringing of hands about how the “moderate” Romney was “forced” to take extreme positions — and how that ruined him for the general election? And then there was The Republican Autopsy Report, which said that the party kinda maybe shoulda not work so hard at alienating everyone outside its old bigoted white man base. But this year was going to be different with the “deep bench.” But it has turned out that the three top contenders for the nomination — the people who the base most like — are the people with literally no actual experience in politics.
So I suspect that the Republican power brokers really are freaking out. First it was thought that Trump would collapse after the first debate. He didn’t; he really took off after it. Then Bush was really going to destroy Trump in the second debate — or at least hold his own. Instead, he looked weaker than he ever has before. The big winner of the debate was Carly Fiorina — a candidate who is probably even worse for the party than Trump. The only glimmer of hope was that Marco Rubio did well as the Eagle Scout who will get tough with Russia, Iran, and most of all, Cuba.
I’m sure there is some pressure on John Kasich to get out of the race. I think that would be very shortsighted. In the end, he may be the only reasonable choice. But if the Republican establishment thought long-term about things, it wouldn’t be in the mess it now finds itself in. I wonder if there isn’t pressure on Jeb Bush to exit the race. After all, that $100+ million that he raised is almost all in a super pac. If Bush left the race, it could be used to finance Rubio’s campaign. Again: I think Rubio is a mistake, because I think that he ultimately comes off as very un-serious — like one of those Republican kids (eg, Jonathan Krohn) who is really good at repeating talking points, but who really doesn’t understand them.
But I suppose that I should come clean: I really thought that Walker would get the Republican nomination. That was based upon the fact that he was everything that the power elite wants. Even though I knew him to be a very boring fellow — like the Republican kids, but without any of the charm — I figured that he could finesse his way into the nomination. But I was so wrong! First, he apparently can’t finesse anything at all. Second, he was even more boring than I had thought before. He is not a man who wears well.
Overall, this is good news. It means I will likely never again have to hear about how he stood up to angry workers from inside his limo. But ultimately, I must admit: Scotty, I Hardly Knew Ye. Because there wasn’t much to know.
See also: Scott Walker Is a Follower and the Base Knows It.
Update (21 September 2015 3:41 pm)
According to USA Today, it’s even more explicit than I thought:
“With this in mind I will suspend my campaign immediately,” he said at a press conference in Madison, Wisconsin
Walker also encouraged others in the 15-candidate field to do the same, in an apparent attempt to rally Republicans around an alternative to current front-runner Donald Trump.
I thought he’d win too, because of the Koch money. But that’s the game you play, being a political courtesan; you can be discarded in an instant.
It also might have something to do with Walker being really, really dirty. Repubs hoping to spend 2016 harping on one overblown Clinton scandal after another might have seen the pile of skulls/investigations in Walker’s closet and decided “nah.”
If they are going after the scandal angle, I’m looking forward to it. Because you know at some point Bill’s bizarre sexual obsessions are going to enter the mix. I cannot wait to hear about how freaky he gets and with whom. Let’s just hope the media doesn’t demean his partners this time. That side of sex scandals is hideous. But finding out how weird famous people are is fun.
I don’t see them going after Bill. I also suspect that there isn’t much left in that regard. Men do tend to slow down over time and do a better job of thinking with the little grey cells.
They only thing they have to go after President Clinton is the foundation and most of the media will just think they are being mean to him when he does all this good.
I have no idea if the Foundation actually does anything worthwhile but the average voter just will assume it is feeding starving kids in Africa so they don’t have to care about the starving kids in Africa.
Yeah, I’m sure about the foundation either. I was giving money to it before. But I’ve come to wonder about what it’s doing in Haiti. On the other hand, at least it ain’t the Gates Foundation.
Well, goodbye to Scott Walker and good riddance. I hope the door slams him on the butt good and hard as he takes his exit. And we can all f***ing rejoice at his departure.
Am I too harsh? No — I’m a registered Republican voter in the great state of California, and I’ve been casting my ballots mostly for Republicans ever since that that splendid day in 1968 when I cast my first Presidential vote in the great state of Massachusetts for the magnificent Richard M. Nixon. (And if I had it to do over again …. having learned a bunch about America and politicians and American politicians …. I might vote the same way again. Granted, in 1972, I stayed home on the grounds that no one deserved my vote.) I go back a ways, I’m trying to suggest, and on the one hand I’m kind’a picky and on the other hand, I like to give Republican candidates the benefit of the doubt.
And Scott Walker never got that credit. He was a sleazy SOB from the get go, who won elections by stirring up white suburban voters (Republicans) against evil criminal welfare-dependent black urban voters (Democrats). His Big Shtick as governor was sticking it to teachers and civil servants and taking a meat axe to the state university system, and his ambition as President was evidently to do more of the same but on a national scale. It’s going to take Wisconsin a dozen years to undo the damage he’s done.
Far as I can tell, he’s a freaking evil psychopath, and I’m glad he’s gone, and I’m going to puke my guts out if he gets a Cabinet office in some future Republican administration.
Yeah, this is about the most angry I’ve been with him, A Tale of Two (Wisconsin) Priorities. But that’s the thing: this isn’t an isolated event. Chris Christie did roughly the same thing: rob from the public to give to the rich. I have a complex relationship with Richard Nixon, but the worst you can think about him wouldn’t go nearly this far. (BTW: just two days to my anniversary post on the Checkers speech!) I guess once you convince yourself that supply side economics works, you can justify anything — it isn’t really giving to the rich; it’s giving to the poor in the most efficient way possible.
Mike – Why are you still a Republican? Walker seems like the prototype for being a Republican today.
Anyway, I’m glad he is toast. Now, how about Benjamin Luxon!! Wow, that is the best “Johnny” I have heard. I know he was a classical singer but haven’t heard him in years. That rendition is powerful. People wanting to sign up for the military should have to hear this before signing up.
Yeah, it is great. He sings it as it was originally: as a woman. I tried to find a female singer doing it, but nothing by anyone (male or female) really compared.