Media report today...
Sources told Politco, for an article with the headline "Scott Walker plots 2016 rollout," that Walker intends to use the upcoming legislative session in Madison to shore up his national credentials, with an eye toward Republican voters.As I said on Tuesday both here and at my Purple Wisconsin site:
Let's be clear about why Scott Walker says and does anything from now on:
His audience is national, not local. How does the curb feel, Bucky, now that Walker's not that into you?
More to the point - - Walker's audience now - - and actually since the 2007 conservative summit meeting along the shores of Lake Michigan about which the media, other than Salon.com, refuses to report - - is the hardest, rightist core of activists and voters in the Republican and Tea Parties, and their loyalties for 2016.
Constituencies, money and people power also being sought by Walker presidential rivals, like Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul and others.
So when Walker talks about what is an illegal and wasteful plan to drug-test public assistance recipients whom he says are loafing around playing Xbox -- - and he was clever enough to steer that dog whistle clear of the more overtly-racist tone which forced Ryan to apologize to the Congressional Black Caucus for a similar attack on the allegedly-lazy inner city jobless - - he's talking to 2016 primary caucus voters in Waterloo, Iowa, not Waterloo, Wisconsin.
The same for Walker's attack on unions, Planned Parenthood, minority ballot access through reduced early voting days and unneeded voter ID.
It's all about Iowa, the state, not about Wisconsin's Iowa County anymore.
You are spot on. Also he uses state agencies as cover to float out legislative ideas to see how they are reacted to. The DOT budget proposals came from Walker not Gottlieb and I wouldn't be surprised to see Gottlieb transferred to another cushy state job while Walker uses this transportation shortfall to make sweeping spending cuts to education and all other agency budgets. He's using Maciver and NCPA to start looking at the pension fund and self funded insurance for public employees and how he can sell this enough to sneak it through under the cover of legislative darkness and control. He is looking not to serve Wisconsin but as to how he can pass policies that will improve his credentials with the rightest wing and Tea party of the Republican party. He cares not for you or me or those who voted for him. He is a very dangerous man on a very dangerous path that will undoubtedly wreak havoc on all of us in Wisconsin!
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