Walker to Romney: Go Big, and Go Bold

[Geee]

Weekly Standard:

Less than twelve hours after he won the election to recall him from office, Scott Walker made a direct and forceful pitch to Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney: go big, and go bold.

 

“In order for him to be competitive, not only in Wisconsin but in states like Wisconsin, he’s going to have to come out and show an aggressive plan to take on what we know are even bigger problems in our federal government. If he can do that, I think he can be competitive in Wisconsin,” Walker told Jonathan Karl of ABC News.

Romney needs “to get out and make a very compelling case about how he’s willing to take on the tough challenges,” Walker said this morning in an interview on Fox & Friends. “You know, Paul Ryan and I grew up just down the road from each other. We love people like Paul Ryan in Wisconsin because he has the courage to tackle these big issues at the national level. If Governor Romney wants to be competitive in Wisconsin, and I think he can, he needs to tackle those same issues.”

In a series of television and radio interviews the day after his victory in the recall election, Walker repeatedly returned to that point. His exhortations highlight an interesting divide among Republican strategists and elected officials about the best way for Romney to run against Barack Obama.

The issue is clear: Is the 2012 presidential election about stewardship or leadership? Should it be a referendum or a choice?

 

Most GOP strategists, including several of those advising Romney, believe that Republicans should take a minimalist approach to the November contest. Focus on jobs, emphasize competence, and pitch Mitt Romney as the candidate better equipped to manage the U.S. economy and usher in a real recovery. The fewer specifics, the better. The goal is to make the election a simple referendum on Obama, with a heavy emphasis on his stewardship of the economy. It’s a risk-averse approach that would seem to fit well with Romney’s inclination toward caution.

 

This approach got a boost last week with the dreadful jobs numbers on Friday. Romney “needs to be credible, serious and mistake-free. A pure November referendum on Obama is Romney’s best chance for victory,” wrote strategist Ed Rogers after the dismal unemployment report.

 

 

Other Republicans believe that Romney should offer a clear contrast to Obama. They, too, want the election to be about the economy, but in the broader context of America’s long-term fiscal health. So Romney, they think, should talk about unemployment and high taxes and regulations, but he should also provide details about his plans to address debt, deficits, and, yes, entitlement reform.

Walker is squarely in the second camp. It’s not enough to talk about these issues in generalities, he says. “I think the country is hungry – when you look at the response to Paul Ryan’s budget plan, I think the country is hungry for leaders who are going to stand up and tell it like it is – who tell people what they’re going to do and mean it,” Walker told ABC’s Karl in response to a question about whether Romney will need to offer specifics on his reform plans. “I think if the governor can really lay it out crystal clear to voters here in Wisconsin and across the country, I think he’ll be competitive.”