Want to know what Scott Walker thinks about it?
He tells you, here, in a long interview with John Hawkins of Right Wing News.
On Obamacare:
…[W]hat we should be doing is sharing in the frustration that most Americans have with it and then showing them that we’ve got a positive, viable alternative that’s not based on more government. It’s based on putting patients in charge, giving them the ability to purchase plans across state lines, giving them the ability to have the same tax benefits whether they buy their health insurance through their employer, whether they buy it in the market, whether they go off and do something like a health savings account. The government shouldn’t be treating them differently when it comes to tax advantages. Health care should be something that we control, not something the government controls.
…I think you’ve got to get rid of everything with Obamacare. The whole thing is a mess and I think for the handful of pundits that say, well, what about this, that, or whatever, there are little tiny components like you said, like opening up the access over state lines or things like that, that could be done ”” but I think it should be very limited and I’m not an advocate of going back to the old system. I think you repeal it and go the opposite direction. I think the old system was too bureaucratic and had too much in government intervention.
On the basic message Walker thinks Republicans should be delivering:
…[O]ne of the things that frustrates me so much in the Presidential election is I thought there was a tremendous lost opportunity ”” and obviously the clearest example of that was when Republican nominees talked about the 47% and also in a similar conversation talked about not worrying about the poor because the poor had a safety net. That really, truly doesn’t match where I’m at. I don’t think it matches with people like Ronald Reagan who was a great inspiration for me as a kid. I went back in the book and talked about how Reagan in 1980 at the National Convention in Detroit in his acceptance speech talked about things like saying if you’re living in poverty, we want to lift you out. If you’re living in despair, we want to be hope, but that hope isn’t based on more government. It’s based on empowering people with the skills and the talents and the abilities that they need to go out and control their own lives and so I think the message is really simple, I believe, and I think this was the missed opportunity. I believe the president and his allies in Washington in particular measure success in government by how many people are dependent on government, by how many people are on Medicaid, by how many people are on food stamps, by how many people are on unemployment. That’s why they want to extend unemployment benefits. They want more people signed up, more people dependent. I think we as Republicans should measure success by just the opposite ”” by how many people are no longer dependent on the government, not because we’ve got to be careful to articulate this correctly, not because we don’t care about people or because we want to push people out to the streets, but because we understand that true freedom and prosperity don’t come from the mighty hand of the government. It comes from empowering the people to control their own lives and their own destiny.
”¦.And that’s the message that we’ve got to get out to people ”” that the Left, they want you under their thumb. They want to control you. They want to control your lives. They want you to be dependent on the government. We should say we’re the ones, not only for the poor, but for young people coming out of college, for working class families, for immigrants, for others out there. We should say we are the ones who empower the American Dream. We’re the ones who say you can do and be anything you want, but it’s because we empower you with the ability and the platform to do that. Then it’s up to you to make that happen. The other side tells you they want to help you, but in the end they want to keep you limited in how far you can grow.
I think that last paragraph might be the more important part. It’s hard for politicians not to sound as though they’re just saying the same-old same-old blah blah blah. I’m not the best judge of how political rhetoric comes across—when most politicians (on either side) speak, my reaction alternates between a cringe and a yawn. Ordinarily, for me the difference between a Republican speaker and a Democratic speaker is merely the cringe/yawn ratio, and I usually can’t take too much of either.
The things I like about Walker (my front-runner so far) are his executive experience, his principles, and his guts and fighting spirit, as well as his success in a mostly-blue state such as Wisconsin countering whatever the left could throw at him. That is a formidable accomplishment.
His rhetoric and charisma, I suspect, leave quite a bit to be desired. But I don’t know how much they are lacking because I haven’t watched or listened to him speak all that much. I fear Walker will have too much of the blah-blah-blah factor, but I don’t know; that last paragraph I quoted above seems to have a good ring to it.
What do I like about Christie (and yes, as I’ve written before, if he’s nominated I most definitely plan to vote for him—unless some new and truly abominable revelation comes out)? His executive experience, his guts and fighting spirit, and his success in a blue state such as New Jersey. Note what I left out from the Walker list: his conservative principles. I do think Christie has some, at least in fiscal matters.
But the one thing Christie’s got that Walker doesn’t have is the fact that when Christie speaks he minimizes both the boring factor and the cringe factor, at least for me. Perhaps I’m partial to his manner because it speaks to me of home. It’s very very familiar to me because it conjures up the people who surrounded me where I was growing up (not my family especially, but the larger community where I was raised). I recognize it and think I understand it. The style has energy, humor, and bluntness, and I find that refreshing in a politician.
I don’t know how many people agree with me, though. I’m not exactly typical of voters, or even of Republican or conservative voters. Nor, probably, are you.
[ADDENDUM: I just noticed that Ann Althouse highlighted that same paragraph I did from Walker’s interview. That’s interesting, since Althouse voted for Obama in 2008. She writes:
That’s a nice combination of staunch conservatism with empathy and caring, which is, I think, what the GOP should want in its next presidential candidate. Walker has absorbed and processed the “income inequality” theme that the Democratic Party has chosen to push.
Agreed.]
[ADDENDUM II: Ace weighs in, too.]
“…[O]ne of the things that frustrates me so much in the Presidential election is I thought there was a tremendous lost opportunity”
If Republicans again wait for the Presidential election and their candidate to hold this conversation, they’ll be too late – again.
There needs to be a proper Marxist-method activist popular movement to set the terms, frame, establish, and grow this conversation now – really, this needed to be done years ago – so that it’s full-grown by the time the Presidential election cycle begins.
The Presidential election is more a contest between popular movements than a contest between candidates.
The movement defines the candidate and carries him (or her) to victory. Delegating to the candidate the responsibility to generate the movement that will win the election doesn’t work.
Eric:
Agreed.
For example, Obamacare. I was watching some commentator on some TV news show on Fox (forget who) saying that Republicans had a lot of Obamacare-alternative proposals but needed to get together and settle on one to get behind. A good example of what you mean, although only a small part of it. What is up with this stupid inability to come together? I think it’s the lack of the ability to compromise with each other that I was talking about the other day.
The GOP has been systematically blocking grassroots funding and organization, similar to how Obama blocked the TP via the IRS.
There are also upper echelon staffers and strategists in the GOP that intentionally go out to sabotage people like Sarah Palin, for the pay of Leftists and their favors.
Walker seems capable of approaching people on the level of where they are, rather than touting his ideological purity. He may be able to offer voters a place where they can escape all the polical hyperbole and concentrate on living their lives.
Maybe even more important than “this stupid inability to come together” is the lack of leadership and an organized establishment, as discussed in this piece in the Los Angeles Times last year:
Pretty basic stuff. And I don’t see any changes any time soon.
Walker’s prescription for healthcare reform is basically an elevator pitch. Short and simple to understand. It’s the type of message that all Rs should be using. But, unlike the dems, who are formed into an obedient herd, the Rs all want to be individuals. It’s a weakness that’s hard to overcome in a party where people believe in individualism and real diversity of ideas.
In order to create a movement as mentioned by Eric, you have to have a central command where messages are carefully crafted and promulgated for use by the faithful. At one time the RNC helped serve this purpose. Now that the RNC and the TEA Party are at each other’s throats, very little targeted, effective messaging is possible.
I hope Walker runs. He has many qualities that I seek in a President. Though he’s not a brilliant speaker, he has a manner about him that indicates he’s a person you would like to invite into your home to discuss policy, sports, or pop culture.
I’m of the same mind as you, neo, If Christie is the nominee, I would swallow hard and vote for him, but he’s a long way from what I seek in a President.
Anybody but Hillary.
Let’s face it — the media makes or breaks candidates. And that means we need someone who can play its game on its terms and who also has, for want of a better term, oomph. Unfortunately, I don’t think Walker measures up in either respect. Check out his recent interview with ABC’s Jonathan Karl, for instance. At some point, he needed to take over the interview and get in some sound-bites that would have withstood ABC’s editing, but he didn’t. I think Christie would have been able to do that.
All the world’s a stage whether it’s Christie or Baraq strutting their stuff. Very little of it means anything, except the occasional Joe the Plumber retort.
Scott Walker is part of a dying breed, and you all know it when you exhort him to stop being plain-spoken, “take over the interview,” and wish him more oomph, and are OK with voting for Christie. Walker’s not actor-enough for you; no nomination and surely no Oscar.
As soon as Walker looks like a viable candidate the left in cahoots with the MSM will cut him off at the knees. Somehow conservatives have to learn to smear Democrats.
I like Walker because he gets things done in a blue state that IMO is based on a truly conservative perspective. He has put the state in a better financial shape and he has stared down public employee unions. He also withstood a recall financed by huge leftwing pacs from out of state. The Hollywood on the Chicago River Obama era will need a middle class conservative who speaks plainly and offers a clear, concise message of individual empowerment and responsibility.
So while he lacks Reagan’s charm and Christie’s combativeness, I see him as the best possible option until someone better comes along…. not holding my breath.
“Somehow conservatives have to learn to smear Democrats.”
All it takes is gonads. Palin, Cruz, Lee, Rand, Gowdy, and others have them. It requires calling the left out for the failure of their policies (dating back to Teddy and Wilson). It takes getting in the face of the MSM (in a forceful, but polite manner). It requires kicking the Roves and the Chamber of Commerce type organizations in the ass.
There is a sound, solid message that will resonate with millions of people: no more crony ‘capitalism’ and no more TBTF bailouts; no more Ponzi schemes that rob the young to prop up unfunded liabilities; no more false promises of unicorn dreams of utopia. These are cross generational ideas that will find much agreement on Main Street. Otherwise, fold cards and seek shelter.
I agree with Bookworm though. First one must destroy the Left’s propaganda shield that has people believing Republicans are devils and demons.
It doesn’t matter to them if a demon has a good message or not, they aren’t going to agree with it for fear of their soul. The Left is a religion after all. Don’t believe their deception that they are some kind of atheist model…
I like Walker. He took on the public unions and won, in a state that is pretty Democrat-leaning. That is a real accomplishment. It’s a good start. Personally, I want to see public employee unions outlawed altogether. I would support Walker and vote for him.
Christie is totally unacceptable. What has he accomplished, besides acting like a tough guy on YouTube? Making kissy-face with Obama mere days before the 2012 election utterly disqualified him from further consideration. Some things are simply not forgivable.
I have read that Romney considered him for VP, but passed when the vetting disclosed some corruption. If Romney’s people found evidence of that, what makes you think the Democrats and the MSM don’t also know about it, and have stockpiled ammo for use if he becomes the Republican nominee?
I have also seen some speculation that Christie’s photo-ops with Obama were payback to Romney for passing him over. I might have discounted that before, but not after Bridgegate. He seems to display a pattern of petty, vindictive behavior. In this sense he’s not all that different from Obama. He may be an OK New Jersey governor, but this should certainly disqualify him from higher office.
He is also pretty squishy on Second Amendment issues. That is a red line for millions of Americans. No further compromise on gun rights is acceptable, period. None.
Please, no more Northeastern Republicans. They do not play well in the rest of the country. I’m a Northeasterner myself, but even I can see that.
I don’t always agree with Christie, but he’s one of very few on the scene at the moment who would recognize a leadership quality if it bit him in the @ss.
He’s not afraid to make hard decisions and, unlike 99.99% of our politicians, he’s not afraid to tell the truth either, even if people don’t want to hear it. What’s more, he manages to do it with some degree of humor and style.
Here’s the attack line: Do the American people want the Clintons and all of their sexual dysfunction back into the White House?
I like Walker. He took on the public unions and won, in a state that is pretty Democrat-leaning. That is a real accomplishment…Christie is totally unacceptable. What has he accomplished, besides acting like a tough guy on YouTube?
What about the landmark public employee pension overhaul in N.J. Christie signed in 2011?
And now he’s just said in his State of the State address that maybe it wasn’t enough:
“Saying the state’s pension and other debt payment obligations will rise by ‘nearly $1 billion’ this year – under the plan he enacted – the Republican called for more talks about pensions and raised the specter of more concessions from public workers.”
Scott Walker, while in deepest alpha-sleep, is 10-times smarter than Hillary Clinton and 20-times more able at leadership. And, 30-times less pathologically sick.
But, hey, I keep hearing and reading that the women of America FEEEEEEEEEEL that it’s Her Turn. My tiny Sicilian Firefly spouse wouldn’t spit on her if she were burning. Soooooo, help me here N-Neo: What’s with the alleged large Female support for that sick broad?
You’re essentially complimenting Christie on his style.
I’m not a hermit…I understand that you have to excite people to get them to vote for you.
But that’s not enough.
Style is NECESSARY, BUT NOT SUFFICIENT to make someone a good president.
Obama is style…he’s ALL style. And nothing else.
Though I think I understand you, as I have recently said myself that the current GOP leadership doesn’t even have style.
Walker, as do Palin, Cruz, Paul, et al, threatens the gravy train. He won’t be allowed anywhere near the nomination.
Neo-neocon @ 2:54
“…Republicans had a lot of Obamacare-alternative proposals but needed to get together and settle on one to get behind. A good example of what you mean, although only a small part of it. What is up with this stupid inability to come together?
A thinktank like Heritage needs to call for a conference to discuss this issue. Invite all parties, including RINOs. Go over the various proposals, and find the areas of common agreement. I think that removing barriers to interstate insurance purchasing is a good example of something we all are behind.
Make the points of broad agreement our platform, then use the free market and states’ rights to allow innovation for the other points of contention.
50 laboratories. Even the blue states would be able to do things their own way.
Don Carlos:
Let me be even more clear (although I think I was quite clear already):
(1) Scott Walker is my leading presidential candidate for 2016, and has been for quite some time.
(2) He doesn’t have to be more charismatic for me. In fact, I have been somewhat immune to charisma in politicians for most of my life since I started voting. In fact, as I’ve written several times, except for Lincoln and Churchill, speech-making abilities leave me cold (I’m not that much of an auditory processor).
(3) However, I comment on speech-making abilities and charisma in this post because many many people care very much about these things, and vote-getting ability depends on what many people think. And since I haven’t even heard Walker speak more than a few words here and there, I have no idea whether he has that sort of speechmaking ability or not, but from the few words I have seen/heard I think perhaps not. That does not change the fact that he is my favored candidate right now.
(4) I would vote for Christie if he were nominated. I have explained why I would vote for almost any Republican nominee I can think of at the moment over almost any Democratic nominee I can think of at the moment. That’s not rocket science, nor does it have a thing to do with my non-existent need for someone actor-ish.
Matt_SE:
I am indeed complimenting Christie on his style.
I am also complimenting him on his fight and his ability to speak forcibly and clearly off-the-cuff, which is partly style but certainly much more than style (you have to have a clear and organized mind and a fair amount of intelligence to do that).
I am also complimenting him on his fiscal conservatism in a blue state (he is fiscally conservative for New Jersey).
Duh duh duh duhhhh!
That my friends is the silver trumpet sound right before “my doctor said mylanta” and other Pavlovian god (Good God!) I mean dog sounds.
Articulation, it appears, is different among the species, them being the socialists vs the human ones.
And no less than Thomas Sowell has spoken for Christie’s articulation qualities.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/opinion/ci_24926037/thomas-sowell-chris-christie-republicans-finally-have-someone
Now, here me fellow countrymen (and “persons formally known as women”) Mr. Sowell is deserving of respect and deference.
I just hope I’m wrong about Christie and my judgment that he is really not that far from Obama in personality narcissistic disorder. He’ll say anything at anytime and almost anyone without and individual will will agree. Now that’s got to be seductive. Especially for a federal prosecutor with a 100 percent win record. Let’s keep that baby going.
Duh duh duh duhhhhh.
Christie used truth to advance pension reform and reduce union tyranny. He was praised for that by all comers, even Mika and Joe. And me. The silver trumpet got me. I drooled.
And would still like to. To think that Christie “learned some kind of lesson” and really is a fiscal conservative. That would be enough (I’ll sacrifice social goals) if I could believe it trumps his ambition and he could get elected.
Let’s compare him to the early Churchill and hope we have a couple decades to season and salt the meat. (Now that is downright ungenerous.)
You knuf, I dinna sum abut die Weld un Alt leggenhossen und summerginsaeilspost, so:
Man boobs with a big gut,
Jabba the Hut,
Don’t ya make smut
Sans rubes with a fig cut.
We are actually a pretty conservative lot here in WI. It’s Madison and Milwaukee that are solid Democrat. Walker had quite strong support among those who were not on the State Employee Union gravy train.
It’s time to put a Badger in the White House, instead of another Weasel!
When Taft was elected President they had to put a bigger bathtub in the White House. Let them do it again, anything, anyone who is not Obama, Hillary or a Democrat. Would be nice, however, if it were a real conservative with class, scruples and unending principles but anything would be a start, although the image of Christie arm in arm with Obama and so close to the election and the fact that he refused to help Cuccinnelli in Virginia makes me wonder and shake my head. Alas!
In reading Walker’s recommendation on how to position the Republican’s message about the poor I like how he uses the liberal’s position on not being oppressed. Arnold Kling in his Three Languages of Politics says that liberals favor an oppressed/oppressor “mythology” while conservatives use civilization vs barbarism and libertarians use freedom vs coercion. So when Walker talks about telling people that they put themselves under the thumb of government he cleverly uses the liberal language of oppression against them.
Uuummmmmmm……??
With respect to your latter post on Christie:
Compare Walker and Blubber Head.
All of our time, energy and support should go to the one, and not the other.
And yet, we fall for the Left’s sucker punch every time we give Christie one shred of credence. That’s only a lost opportunity to support a real Republican and not a – yet another! – fake one.
I think it’s time for lane closures on Fort Christie!
[Referring to the Republican party] “What is up with this stupid inability to come together?”
I’m going to do something unfashionable here and actually stick up for the Republican party. A lot of conservatives call them the “stupid party”. OK, I’m not going to claim they are actually smart but I question whether they are any dumber than Democrats.
We’ve all talked about how Obama’s intelligence is overrated. Well how about Reid and Pelosi, are they geniuses? The question answers itself. For me the silver bullet, as always, is the MFM (my term for the MSM, you can guess). Democrats don’t *have* to be organized or “on-message” or more clever than Republicans because the press will *always* cover for them. If they have internal conflicts, or if one of them says something racist or boinks a teenage girl (or boy) no problem, because there is no press coverage. When a Republican picks his nose it is headline news for weeks.
If that last statement seems exaggerated just consider that it was a big controversy when Rubio sipped on a glass of water during a speech! Now there may be other reasons for opposing Rubio but c’mon.