There's Something About Scott

[Valin]

Ricochet:

Troy Senik

12/16/13

 

An interesting development occurred over the weekend on Ricochet. On Friday, member Spin put up a post gauging the Ricochetti's early preferences for their 2016 presidential nominee. The final results: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker ran away with it, outpacing his closest competition (Ted Cruz and Rand Paul) by a margin of three to one.

 

I was as shocked as I was delighted. While we're still almost a year away from the next presidential cycle getting kicked off in earnest, I confess that Walker starts at the top of my list too. I never assumed, however, that this was a majority opinion, at least here at Ricochet.

 

So, my question: what is it about Walker that makes him so appealing? I can hazard at least one guess, which is unlike Cruz and Paul, for example Walker has a record and an ideological bearing that seems to unite the sometimes disparate factions on the right. He's palatable to both social and fiscal conservatives. He wins the respect of Tea Party types for having delivered results in taking on the Badger State's public-sector unions, but those who are a little more tactically squeamish also see him as measured and deliberate rather than rash and impetous. We don't know anything about how he'd approach foreign policy, but that's true of virtually every potential 2016 candidate right now, with the possible exceptions of Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, and Chris Christie (and, of those three, only Paul has really sketched out a vision that goes into any detail). I actually consider that a worrisome fact, but it's one that I assume will be remedied well before election time.

 

(Snip)

 

 

 

@Geee A little something for you.

[Geee]

I thought I heard that there was some kind of an Iowa poll that Ryan came in first and Walker last??? If that's true, that's a surprise. I guess except for us political junkies Ryan probably has a better name recognition.

[Valin]

I thought I heard that there was some kind of an Iowa poll that Ryan came in first and Walker last??? If that's true, that's a surprise. I guess except for us political junkies Ryan probably has a better name recognition.

Yup.

We can say many things about the House of Representatives, a springboard for the WH is not one of them.

[Valin]

How Scott Walker Would Reform the GOP

Maureen Mackey

The Fiscal Times

December 15, 2013

 

It’s the one question everybody asks, including this reporter: Are you running for president in 2016?

 

It’s also the one question Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin – the Republican reformer who successfully beat back labor unions over collective bargaining in a blue state – knows exactly how to answer: “I love being governor. I will make an announcement about re-election for governor early next year.”

 

 

If that sounds like canned goods, Walker, 46, insists that the reforms he put into place in a state that had a deficit of $3.6 billion are what thrust him into the national spotlight in the first place. “I’m flattered to be on lists for 2016, but people talk about our reforms and then mention that I’m governor. It’s not the other way around. The reforms are something dynamic that Wisconsin leads the way on.”

 

(Snip)

[pollyannaish]

Right now Scott Walker is my first choice for GOP Presidential candidates.

 

I still like Ryan though and think the purity garbage is ridiculous. The ONLY way to get things done is to rebuild trust which is what he is doing. And I applaud him for it.

[Valin]

Right now Scott Walker is my first choice for GOP Presidential candidates.

 

I still like Ryan though and think the purity garbage is ridiculous.

Don't get me started!