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Scott Walker Tag

Posted by Mike LaChance on February 12, 2015 87 Comments
The same mainstream media that refused to demand Obama's (still undisclosed) Columbia University records in 2008 (while reassuring us that he was brilliant) has taken a keen interest in the academic pedigree of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Professor Jacobson repeatedly reminds us that the MSM always tries to kill Republican candidacies in the cradle. The Washington Post did it with Rick Perry's hunting property rock. Jeb Bush's high school antics are fair game, as were Mitt Romney's. Now they're trying to play the same game with Scott Walker's unfinished college degree. David A. Fahrenthold of the Washington Post wrote this yesterday:
As Scott Walker mulls White House bid, questions linger over college exit Scott Walker was gone. Dropped out. And in the spring of his senior year. In 1990, that news stunned his friends at Marquette University. Walker, the campus’s suit-wearing, Reagan-loving politico — who enjoyed the place so much that he had run for student body president — had left without graduating. To most of the Class of 1990 — and, later, to Wisconsin’s political establishment — Walker’s decision to quit college has been a lingering mystery. Not even his friends at Marquette were entirely sure why he never finished. Some had heard that a parent had fallen ill, or maybe there was some financial strain. Others thought he had simply had enough of school. Walker clearly liked college politics more than college itself. He had managed to line up 47 campaign endorsements, including ones from the ski team and the varsity chorus, but he had trouble showing up on time for French. And, after four years, he had faltered on both fronts. He’d lost an ugly race for president. And he apparently had far too few credits to graduate.
Allahpundit of Hot Air notes that journalists are already playing the requisite "gotcha" games with Scott Walker from which Democrats are always exempt.

Posted by Amy Miller on February 01, 2015 23 Comments
Let the circus begin. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker brought down the house at the Iowa Freedom Summit last week; and ever since then, everyone from grassroots activists, to the mainstream media, have upped the chatter regarding his chances to move to and stay at the front of the field and seize the GOP nomination. According to Public Policy Polling, Walker has for the first time burst though into double digits (although those numbers include the possibility of a Romney candidacy). He's not on top yet, but he's getting there:
He's reached that level of support despite having the lowest name recognition of any candidate we tested, which is a pretty good indication that when voters get to know him they're coming to like him. Walker's near 3:1 favorability rating among those who have heard of him is second only to Carson. Things are headed in the right direction for Walker.
On ABC 'This Week,' Martha Raddatz did her best to make Walker say something stupid about Marco Rubio, Syria, immigration, football (BREAKING: he likes it,) and his own breakout performance:
World News Videos | ABC World News Was he perfect? No, but you can see what Raddatz was doing. Bam-Bam-Bam goes the hard-hitting interviewer!

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on February 01, 2015 50 Comments
Many moons ago, all the way back in 2013, The Wasau Daily Herald published an article. That article contained an interview with the Wisconsin Governor. Among the many topics discussed was federal immigration reform. "People want to come here and work hard and benefit, I don't care whether they come from Mexico or Ireland or Germany or Canada or South Africa or anywhere else, I want them here." Walker told the Wasau Daily Herald editors. At a time when the loudest voices on the right were screaming for border security while ignoring the major issues with our current immigration infrastructure, Walker took a somewhat different approach and one more akin to Senator Rubio's attitude on immigration reform. Walker explained that restructuring our immigration system should help mitigate the constant flow of undocumented aliens.
"I think there's got to be a way, not only do they need to fix things for people who are already here or find some way to deal with that, there's got to be a larger way to fix the system in the first place, because if it wasn't so cumbersome, if it wasn't so long of a wait, if it wasn't so difficult to get in, you wouldn't have the other problems that we have with people who don't have legal status here in the first place. the 11 million," he said. "You hear some people talk about border security and a wall and all that, to me, I don't think you need any of that if you have a better, saner way to let people into the country in the first place."
One of the reporters then asked, "Can you envision a world where with the right, penalties, and waiting periods, and meet the requirements. where these people could get citizenship?"

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 28, 2015 26 Comments
Charles Krauthammer was on the O'Reilly Factor last night to discuss the Republican contenders for 2016. Wisconsin governor Scott Walker got some kind words from Dr. K, who said that his speech in Iowa last weekend changed things. Watch: You'll notice in the video that O'Reilly and Krauthammer both reference compliments Scott Walker recently received from Rush Limbaugh. Here's a sample from Limbaugh's site:
Scott Walker Wows 'Em in Iowa Scott Walker wowed them in Iowa at whatever this thing was, this Republican, slash, conservative, just wowed them. And you know me, folks, if you have spent any time listening to this program in the last two years, you know that I believe Scott Walker is the blueprint for the Republican Party if they are serious about beating the left. Scott Walker has shown how to do it. And apparently he showed up and he made a speech on Saturday that had people telling them it reminded them of the speech I gave at CPAC... Scott Walker has shown the Republican Party how to beat the left. Scott Walker has the blueprint for winning and winning consistently and winning big in a blue state with conservative principles that are offered with absolutely no excuses. The left, the Democrat Party, threw everything at Scott Walker trying to destroy him. They did everything they could. He not only withstood it all, he survived and triumphed over all of it. They broke rules. They got close to breaking laws. They were threatening his family personally, and he remained undeterred.
Some bloggers are pretty excited about Walker. @rdbrewer from Ace of Spades HQ is already making campaign posters:

Posted by Amy Miller on January 24, 2015 36 Comments
Just minutes ago at the Iowa Freedom Summit, one of 2016's dark horses catapulted himself out of the murky waters of presidential speculation and into the spotlight. That person was Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Even before Walker took the stage attendees knew that something big was about to happen: Once he took the stage, it was all over; and by "all over," I mean, "he blew the crowd away."

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 19, 2014 26 Comments
We have extensively covered the Wisconsin John Doe investigations. The extremely abbreviated version is that Milwaukee County prosecutor John Chisholm has led two distinct investigations of conservatives in Wisconsin. John Doe No. 1 targeted Scott Walker's term as Milwaukee County Executive. That case is over, and no wrongdoing by Walker was uncovered. John Doe No. 2 involved allegations that a wide range of Wisconsin conservatives engaged in illegal coordination with Walker in the Recall Election, which Walker won. John Doe No. 2 has resulted in federal and state litigation, with conservative individuals and groups asserting that the wide-ranging seizure of records violated their constitutional righs. Currently, the probe effectively is shut down by a state court judge's ruling refusing to issue any more search warrants, and a federal court's decision that Wisconsin could not apply the state campaign laws so as to prohibit issue coordination.  A separate federal case on that legal point may be headed for the U.S. Supreme Court. Now some more information, via M.D. Kittle at Wisconsin Reporter, who has been the leading reporter covering the various John Doe proceedings and cases, regarding yet another lawsuit, against the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. Rogue agency defied judges to carry out partisan probe of Wisconsin conservatives:
Agents for the embattled state Government Accountability Board continued a zealous campaign finance investigation into dozens of conservative groups even after judges who preside over the board voted to shut it down, according to a previously sealed brief made public Friday. The documents, from an updated complaint filed by conservative plaintiffs in a case against the GAB, appear to support claims that the campaign finance, ethics and election law regulator is a rogue agency. They also show that the GAB considered using the state’s John Doe law to investigate key state conservatives and even national figures, including Fox News’ Sean Hannity and WTMJ Milwaukee host Charlie Sykes.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 19, 2014 49 Comments
As part of my continuing effort to gain exposure to new audiences, I have a post at Fox News regarding how Scott Walker's ability to survive the Democratic, union and prosecutorial (John Doe) onslaughts has turned Walker into an emerging star. Congratulations, Democrats you made Scott Walker a rising 2016 star:
Republican victories in the midterm elections widely are viewed as a rejection of President Obama’s failed policies. But are the elections a harbinger of things to come in 2016? For Scott Walker, the answer is yes.... In reelecting Walker, Wisconsin struck a blow against the politics of personal destruction. That is a message Walker now is uniquely capable of delivering to an electoral sick of politics as usual.... Instead, Democrats gave Walker a national electoral credibility they may regret in 2016.
For the rest of the story, go over to the link. Walker is parlaying his victory into greater notoriety, as this appearance from Sunday shows:

Posted by Mike LaChance on November 12, 2014 24 Comments
Scott Walker appeared on Sean Hannity's show Tuesday night to discuss his recent victory. In the course of their talk, Sean asked Walker for his message to newly elected Republicans. Walker responded by urging the GOP to "get out there and lead," suggesting that Americans are looking for leadership and real solutions to problems. Hannity begins the segment with a clip of Rush Limbaugh talking about Walker's win and describing him as a star in the Republican Party. Watch the video: Some people are already talking about Walker as a candidate for 2016.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on November 04, 2014 22 Comments
We will be covering several key Governor races, listed below.  And the results are looking something like this: MRW I win playing board games

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on November 03, 2014 11 Comments
Embattled Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is steadily outpacing Democratic challenger Mary Burke in all of the latest polls---so of course that means a swastika ad is the only logical option left for Team Burke. The ad released by the Burke campaign is inside baseball-ish in that if you haven't been following the intricacies of the race, it's hard to understand why anything disclosed is significant. Picked up by and reported by the Washington Post, the ad shows Scott Walker with "donor and campaign worker, Gary Ellerman." The ad then drops its one and only bomb: "Ellerman posts pictures like this on his Facebook page." Scott Walker Nazi Mary Burke Swastika Ad Evidently, Ellerman was fired from Trek (the consumer is supposed to know what Trek is and why it's important). Mary Burke was also employed by Trek. Ellerman went on to share his account of Burke's time with the company, an account Burke disputes. Avner Zarmi of PJ Media provides the background:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 02, 2014 33 Comments
Some people. The first image is an  Anti-Scott Walker protester who, along with a friend, locked her head to State Capitol railing in June 2011 in a budget protest, via JSOnline.  The police broke the lock and released her.  At the time we noted there was a simpler solution:
Turn out the lights, lock the doors, and go home. And leave them there.
Wisconsin State Capitol head lock The second image is from the anti-Israel "Block the Boat" protest in Tampa this weekend, via Twitter account Global Revolution TV.  Presumably, she too was unlocked by police: Tampa Block the Boat Head Locked Here's the view from another angle, via Twitter user RadicalMedia_:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 25, 2014 11 Comments
Welcome to the Soviet Socialist Republic of Wisconsin Democratic Prosecutors:
The early-morning paramilitary-style raids on citizens’ homes were conducted by law enforcement officers, sometimes wearing bulletproof vests and lugging battering rams, pounding on doors and issuing threats. Spouses were separated as the police seized computers, including those of children still in pajamas. Clothes drawers, including the children’s, were ransacked, cellphones were confiscated and the citizens were told that it would be a crime to tell anyone of the raids.
That's what George Will calls The nastiest political tactic this year. Will was describing how dozens of conservative activists were targeted by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm in connection with the John Doe (No.2) investigation of supposed campaign law violations. That would be the same John Chisholm whose wife is a school union representative and who, according to a whistleblower, drove the investigation out of fury over Governor Scott Walker's collective bargaining reform bill. John Doe No. 2 relates to Walker's recall campaign, in which he defeated a national union effort to oust him, and whether there was illegal coordination with the conservatives who were targeted in the raid. A state court judge already has ruled that even if there was such coordination, it was not illegal. A federal District Court ruled the same way, but was reversed by the federal appeals court primarily on procedural grounds as to whether a federal court should interfere in a state investigation. The federal case may be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court in what could be another blockbuster campaign regulation case on the scale of Citizens United, if the court takes the case. In a second federal case brought by a different conservative group, the same District Judge ordered Wisconsin not to enforce its coordination law as relates to issue advocacy.  We'll see if that holds up on appeal. More from Will's column, calling John Doe No. 2 the "nastiest episode" of this political season:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 24, 2014 14 Comments
Yesterday, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request by two targets of the Wisconsin John Doe investigation to rehear a decision by a three-judge panel to vacate an injunction issued by the District Court preventing the state investigation from continuing. (Order at bottom of post.) The substantive issue underlying the case is whether the Wisconsin campaign regulations violated the First Amendment, specifically laws that purportedly bar "issue advocacy" coordination between campaigns and outside groups. In the John Doe investigation, the Milwaukee County prosecutor -- who allegedly has a family political bias -- targeted dozens of conservative Wisconsin activists for sweeping subpoenas. Two of the targets -- Eric O'Keefe and the Wisconsin Club for Growth -- filed suit in federal court to halt the investigation, and for money damages. The District Court granted the injunction and allowed the case to move forward. The 7th Circuit, however, reversed the District Court. That original 7th Circuit decision was based, primarily, on the issue of whether a federal court in this circumstance should interfere in a state court investigation. The 7th Circuit panel ruled that the federal court should abstain. I reached out to one of the lawyers for the John Doe targets, Andrew Grossman, as to whether Supreme Court review via a Petition for Certiorari would be sought, and he responded as follows:
"We will be seeking Supreme Court review and have every expectation that the Seventh Circuit's decision will be reversed."

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 08, 2014 5 Comments
Two of the targets of the John Doe investigation against Scott Walker and conservative activists have filed a Petition for en banc rehearing by the full 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, after a 3-judge panel dismissed their lawsuit against the John Doe prosecutors on the grounds that the federal courts should not intervene in a state investigation. The Petition for Rehearing, With Suggestion for En Banc Review, is embedded at the bottom of this post. The legal history is detailed in these prior posts: The short version is that the targets initially succeeded at the federal trial court level in obtaining an injunction shutting down the investigation (which already was on hold because of a state court judge's ruling), and allowing the civil damages lawsuit against the prosecutors/investigators to go forward in federal court. The Court of Appeals reversed, finding that there was no ground for the federal courts to intervene in a state investigation, particularly where a state judge already had effectively shut it down (which is on appeal in the state court system). Here are the grounds stated in the Petition to have the entire 7th Circuit rehear the case:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 03, 2014 3 Comments
We reported last night on a demand by one of the targets of the Wisconsin John Doe investigation for a Special Prosecutor to investigate the John Doe prosecutors, particularly John Chisholm, WI “John Doe” target seeks criminal investigation of prosecutors Also last night, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that a new lawsuit on behalf of a conservative group has been filed alleging that the John Doe prosecutors violated conservative groups’ rights:
As a sixth lawsuit was filed Thursday connected to an investigation of Gov. Scott Walker and his conservative allies, the leader of one group being probed took to the airwaves to accuse Milwaukee's district attorney and state election officials of engaging in "domestic spying." "We have in Wisconsin a taxpayer-funded domestic spying operation of over three years' duration conducted by the Milwaukee County DA, John Chisholm, and now in concert with Kevin Kennedy at the Government Accountability Board, which is corrupt and so is Kennedy," said Eric O'Keefe, one of the directors of the Wisconsin Club for Growth. O'Keefe spoke to WISN-AM (1130) host Vicki McKenna. His comments came as a Milwaukee County group sued Chisholm, Kennedy and the members of the accountability board, arguing it has a constitutional right to collaborate with candidates — raising issues at the heart of the legal battle over whether Walker and the Wisconsin Club for Growth and other conservative organizations have illegally worked together. Citizens for Responsible Government Advocates has not been involved in the investigation connected to Walker. But the group has been a longtime Walker ally, and its lawsuit addresses what has been raised in the investigation into his campaign's activities. The lawsuit is being funded by a group affiliated with O'Keefe using lawyers who have represented O'Keefe and the Wisconsin Club for Growth.
The Complaint in the new case now is available on PACER, and is embedded in full below.
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