Friday, October 17, 2014

WI gubernatorial debate II, final thoughts

Final thoughts.

Mary Burke is smarter than Scott Walker and has first-hand business experience which Walker does not. He has been out-performed twice by a political neophyte.

Best answer of the night: Burke's destruction of Walker's evasive answer on crime-fighting, as she provided facts and spelled out the big picture, which includes jobs.

A close second: Burke's shot at Walker that he wishes he were running against Jim Doyle, since Walker keeps mentioning Doyle.

Biggest loser? The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, which chose or agreed to four white males to make up the panel.

Milwaukee is a city which has a majority population of minority citizens - - and I assume is also a majority/female city, too - - and the debate planners had many qualified, veteran female and minority journalists to choose from.


21 comments:

Anonymous said...

She's the best candidate but sadly Walker can sell dodo in a brown paper bag. The uninformed voter can easily be taken in by Walker's glib style and his confidence that he can fool most of the people all the time. Burke didn't make any major blunders but no knock out punch and too many repeated talking points. I suspect most voters didn't watch on a Friday football night so hopefully there was no winner or loser tonight! I so wanted Burke to come across as uplifting and dynamic ....it just didn't happen but she' still got my vote!

nonquixote said...

Walker extolling U-line, Amazon and a couple others, iirc he had nothing to do with bringing them into the state, instead of answering the casino question.

My wife and boys (6 times) and my motorcycle buddies, sheesh.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the running commentary, James - your points are well taken and spot on!

Anonymous said...

I was disappointed that the panel didn't ask any questions about environmental concerns (manure spraying, contaminated lakes and wells, air quality, mining, high capacity wells, etc).

I was also disappointed that the panel didn't ask about matters related to John Doe I and II - it's like the elephant in the room that everyone pretends isn't there.

Or that meeting "on the shores of Lake Michigan" in 2007 to discuss how to take the governor's office.

Or why Scott Walker gave the pen he used to sign Act 10 to Grover Norquist (of all people)!

James Rowen said...

Thanks for these comments.

Jake formerly of the LP said...

Didn't U-Line just get bought this week? He shouldn't talk so loudly about it....draws the line back to its TeaBagging, Walker-donating owner

Anonymous said...

2nd & last WI Gubernatorial debate is a FAIL for minorities, women, children and our environment. Specific salient issues for those groups such as womens' healthcare, minimum wage, education,vouchers and public schools, Badgercare were never mentioned. The four panelists were clones of one another.
Women and minorities are already disenfranchised. A.G.Van Hollen & cronies want to keep it that way.

Anonymous said...

I believe he keeps hitting the "my wife and sons" theme in part as a way to remind people that Burke is single.

Tess said...

She needs to reach out to the minimum wage workers in this state that don't vote and don't pay attention to the issues. I don't think she'll win unless she does. No one that votes regularly is undecided and since Walker and Burke continue to be tied in the polls, this is the issue that will put her over. I don't understand why she isn't running ads on it.

Anonymous said...

Jake- different U-line, tho the former owner is from the same family.

Anonymous said...

There are two companies, both with ties to the Uihlein family: U-line (which manufactures refrigeration products) and Uline (which manufactures cartons used in the shipping industry and is based in Kenosha). U-Line is the company that was recently sold.

Anonymous said...

We all know what Walker is saying, every time he brings up his marriage and his boyz. . . .

And about the boyz and only white boyz that the WBA brought to the panel, it oughta be ashamed -- but it won't be.

It also oughta have put on the panel the broadcaster and white guy and smart guy who would have asked smarter questions, the one that Walker wouldn't face: Mike Gousha.

Instead, we got a sportz guy on the panel, asking the pithy question about? the Bucks.

Sad work, WBA aka Walker Backers Association. Sad.

Anonymous said...

Walker's "I love Milwaukee" remark last night seems to be in direct contrast to his "We don't want Wisconsin to become like Milwaukee" remark during his last campaign.

Scott Walker makes it so easy for every day decent people to despise him.

AK

Anonymous said...

Walker's "I love Milwaukee" remark last night seems to be in direct contrast to his "We don't want Wisconsin to become like Milwaukee" remark during his last campaign.

Scott Walker makes it so easy for every day decent people to despise him.

Anonymous said...

Strangely, I don't think the corruption/incompetence of WEDC came up in any detail in either debate. (Particularly weird because Walker kept hammering on Burke's time as Commerce Sec... Would have been good to compare Burke's record @ Commerce vs Walker as Chair of WEDC)
Has Burke made a clear position/pledge on what she'd do with WEDC? I know she has said she prefers targeting incentives at whole industries rather than specific companies, but does she think WEDC should continue to exist, or not? I think WEDC is beyond repair and should just be dissolved. Bring back the Commerce Dept.

Jake formerly of the LP said...

I have no doubt that is true, especially when you combine it with the posing of pictures with Duck Dynasty homophobes. It's a sickening dog-whistle, but par for the course for these low-lifes.

Anonymous said...

I sensing a glass half empty feeling for the Burke campaign. In my opinion, the ad that was most effective for either side, so far, was Mary Burke explaining to a reporter what plagiarism is. You can't be a deer in the headlights on tough questions. That question was a softball.

Anonymous said...

I thought the reporter's questions were lame, not very challenging. They didn't follow through and demand an answer. The first debate was better. Ted Perry's final question was laughable. Get to the issues. Television journalists are pansies. Afraid to ruffle feathers.

James Rowen said...

The panelists were principally TV anchors. There job is to make audiences feel comfortable.
Not harder - edged journalism. In retrospect, not designed to break news.

James Rowen said...

Their job. Damned auto correct.

Jake formerly of the LP said...

Who are you kidding, concern troll? Talk to your fellow GOP
operatives and come back with something resembling reality