There has never been a Wisconsin politician so openly and repetitively concerned with his legacy as Scott Walker.
And being only 51 middle-aged years old, so still young for the campaign trail, you can bet that there will more campaigns ahead, which is why Walker is already talking LEGACY and framing it.
A legacy in which you, dear voter, can participate.
Bear with me here:
I'd noted the nearly two dozen tweets Walker, or 'Walker,' had serially posted about "OUR LEGACY" (the all caps are his) shortly after his defeat, and weeks later he was still legacy-building, again using a royal pronoun during the signing ceremony he held far from Madison in Green Bay
for what I've dubbed the 'Revenge of the little men' power-grabbing bills:
And being only 51 middle-aged years old, so still young for the campaign trail, you can bet that there will more campaigns ahead, which is why Walker is already talking LEGACY and framing it.
A legacy in which you, dear voter, can participate.
Bear with me here:
I'd noted the nearly two dozen tweets Walker, or 'Walker,' had serially posted about "OUR LEGACY" (the all caps are his) shortly after his defeat, and weeks later he was still legacy-building, again using a royal pronoun during the signing ceremony he held far from Madison in Green Bay
for what I've dubbed the 'Revenge of the little men' power-grabbing bills:
I'm happy with the legacy we'll leave': Walker signs lame-duck bills into law
And going back to that Twitter explosion: I don't think it was a spontaneous, cleansing one-off.
To me, the carefully-crafted barrage of tweets (below) was just as intentional and strategic a move as was Walker's presidential campaign book, and his stage-managed - - though bumbling - - grasps for credibility during overseas appearances, and before that, his Harley-themed motorcycle tours for publicity in and out-of-state which aimed at producing political outcomes down the road.
When I see one tweet, I see a lot of structured work, probably by staff - - work too valuable to put up on Twitter to be lost on the feed.
I can see that body of work projected to media and grassroots audiences going forward months and years/
And also in the near term, perhaps handed out at going-away parties and Walker testimonials where gathered can read off in call-and-response format from their dinner placemat cards or web store souvenir premiums.
"OUR LEGACY..."
Or, at future house parties, fundraising or PAC organizing events.
'Hey, everyone, listen up, this is important..."OUR LEGACY..."
Or used in new staffers' orientation as a sort of loyalty oath to which newbies and candidates, even incumbents, like, say, Robin Vos, must recite and swear to when seeking a Walker-to-donors'-nod - - all to keep inflating and reinforcing the Walker persona and ego, and to validate that Team Tony did not knock The World According to Walker off its axis forever.
So, take out your program, and when the leader says, "OUR LEGACY." you know what to do:
To me, the carefully-crafted barrage of tweets (below) was just as intentional and strategic a move as was Walker's presidential campaign book, and his stage-managed - - though bumbling - - grasps for credibility during overseas appearances, and before that, his Harley-themed motorcycle tours for publicity in and out-of-state which aimed at producing political outcomes down the road.
I can see that body of work projected to media and grassroots audiences going forward months and years/
And also in the near term, perhaps handed out at going-away parties and Walker testimonials where gathered can read off in call-and-response format from their dinner placemat cards or web store souvenir premiums.
"OUR LEGACY..."
Or, at future house parties, fundraising or PAC organizing events.
'Hey, everyone, listen up, this is important..."OUR LEGACY..."
Or used in new staffers' orientation as a sort of loyalty oath to which newbies and candidates, even incumbents, like, say, Robin Vos, must recite and swear to when seeking a Walker-to-donors'-nod - - all to keep inflating and reinforcing the Walker persona and ego, and to validate that Team Tony did not knock The World According to Walker off its axis forever.
So, take out your program, and when the leader says, "OUR LEGACY." you know what to do:
------------------------------------------------------------
Dec 8 OUR LEGACY: More people working in 2018 than ever before, some of highest graduation rates in US, $8 billion in tax relief, 6 years of UW tuition freeze, some of best healthcare for quality in US.
- OUR LEGACY - We began work on the largest economic development project in state history - Foxconn’s $10 billion investment that will employee 13,000 people - and one of the largest in America.
- OUR LEGACY - We now require able-bodied, working-age adults to work to get public assistance.
- OUR LEGACY - We helped some 30,000 people transition from welfare to the workforce.
- OUR LEGACY - Wisconsin has more benefits for Veterans than any other state in America.
- OUR LEGACY - We went from 1 site to 27 sites for Project SEARCH, which helps high school-aged people with disabilities prepare for and find employment.
- OUR LEGACY - We signed 30 bipartisan bills into law dealing with the addiction crisis - including the prescription drug monitoring system that helped reduce opioid prescriptions by more than 30% since 2015.
- OUR LEGACY - We invested more into mental health services than any governor in the past 25 years.
- OUR LEGACY - Our Wisconsin Healthcare Stability Plan actually lowers premiums.
- OUR LEGACY - Our healthcare systems in Wisconsin rank as some of the best in the nation for quality.
- OUR LEGACY - Everyone living in poverty now has access to healthcare through Medicaid for the first time in the history of our state. Before we took office, there was actually a waiting list.
- OUR LEGACY - We froze instate, undergraduate tuition at all University of Wisconsin campuses for six years to make college more affordable for students and working families.
- OUR LEGACY - We inherited a $3.6 billion budget deficit and had a surplus every year in office. Our rainy day fund is 190 times larger than when we took office. The state’s bond rating went up. And our pension is fully funded.
- OUR LEGACY - We eliminated the state property tax. Period.
- OUR LEGACY - The cumulative impact of our tax relief exceeds $8 billion - including lower property and income taxes in 2018 than they were in 2010.
- OUR LEGACY - Our reforms saved schools more than $3 billion - money that overwhelmingly goes into the classroom.
- OUR LEGACY - Our reforms got rid of seniority and tenure. Now schools can staff based on merit and pay based on performance. That means they can put the best and the brightest in the classroom.
- OUR LEGACY - Wisconsin students continue to have some of the highest graduation rates in the nation.
- OUR LEGACY - More actual dollars invested into education than at any other time in the history of our state.
- OUR LEGACY - Higher wages and more jobs.
- OUR LEGACY - Nine straight months of record-low unemployment in Wisconsin.
- OUR LEGACY - More people are employed in Wisconsin this year than at any other time in the history of our state.
Yell "bullshit"?
ReplyDeleteI never understand the "great man" thinking that dominates the majority of blogs and whatever media (small number) supports change in Wisconsin. Scott Walker is not and never was an all powerful alpha male who, through sheer brilliance and charisma, captivated and then overtook the home of Robert La Follette.
ReplyDeleteTo achieve that required a lot of porpaganda of various degrees of subtly repated across the state. Sure, tal I ing Walker's talking points on directly is important, but when surrounded by alligators it is time to realize your task is to drain the swamp.
Let's be direct and honest here: Walker's legacy is not being written by Scott Walker, his handlers, or GOP. Like his successive rise to higher and higher levels always on the public dole (attacking the hand that has always fed him) tbis sham rewrite of history is being created by Wisconsin's print and broadcast media. Much like the inaccurate and misleading history we were taught in public schools, the emphasis is on some "great man" and the culpability of other factors and players is conveniently shoved down the proverbial rabbit hole.