Beware Walker 2.0

A retreat by Walker mentor Ohio Governor John Kasich over his back-firing assault on collective bargaining rights might portend a compromise in Wisconsin by Walker - - but I strongly doubt it, given Walker's 'style.'

Kasich began looking for a deal the day after Democrats won back two State Senate seats in recall elections - - and who's to say there won't be another round next year - - to avoid a November referendum that could roll back the Ohio version of Walker's collective-bargaining bomb. So far, Kasich's got no takers - - with Labor sensing a ballot-box win.

And any such move by a suddenly-more moderated Walker would be instantly and correctly viewed as suspect, insincere, insubstantial, and entirely strategic as a defense against a looming recall action headed his way.

Remember that Walker called his anti-union approach "a modest proposal," misrepresented it repeatedly, found his early explanation labeled "False" by Politifact, and finally had to own up to his duplicity with his right hand raised before Congress and admit that he had withheld his union-busting intentions during the Gubernatorial campaign all along.

Walker's brute force in crushing collective bargaining, along with stealth motives and moves that he unwittingly revealed with a chuckle to the fake David Koch, is what triggered a year of protests, Senate recall elections and the perpetual Wisconsin campaign, so this isn't a simple matter that Walker - - the instigator - - can fix with a budget amendment, a few crumbs, and a fresh set of talking points. 

PolitiFact, by the way, has awarded Walker with far and away the most False ratings among Wisconsin politicians this past year. So he's got profound credibility problems - - all of his own making.

Walker is the guy who shakes your hand with his right, but has the left behind his back, with fingers crossed. 

If "Walker 2.0," like the "New Nixon," gets rolled out - - this new Walker being a moderate, compromising, reasonable fella who can wink his way through a crowd - - remember that he's the one started this entire mess here when he "dropped the bomb," and forfeited his moral authority to lead.

Has he really learned anything over the last few months? Has he changed his tone, his approach, his spots, as they were all honestly disclosed in the David Koch prank call. Can you trust this guy?

"Came home from the Super Bowl...had all of my cabinet over...it was kind of the last hurrah before we dropped the bomb."

Here's some new evidence to ponder.

This week we learned via the Capital Times that a high-ranking state agency official directed line workers, in writing, to trick people out of $28 to obtain a free state ID that many state residents will need to exercise their State Constitutional right to cast a ballot under the GOP-inspired Voter ID law.

Would you trust a Governor who sanctions the implementation of a poll tax - - through a bill attacking voter fraud that was a fiction?

[Friday afternoon update: The Walker people discover a mail room employee using state email to alert people to the Voter ID issue. They fire him. Pretty much sums up the anti-worker biases of this administration.]


Worldwide, democracy is breaking out. In Wisconsin, the ruling party is busy erecting barriers to open voting.

Our Governor's penchant for double-talk, double-dealing and Pants Catching Fire suggests he'd need a full-mind-and-body transformation, a diet swapping those ham-and-cheese sandwiches for humble pie - - with a political heart transplant thrown in - - to earn back the trust of everyday voters, and I don't think he's got the tools or the authenticity to do it.

Beware of Walkerites bearing gifts.