Is Scott Walker Simply The Greatest Living Human Being Or Actually The Greatest Human Being In The History Of History?

National Review has a piece that essentially asks that question but limits it to the continuum of Republican candidates for President: Forget Reagan — Could Scott Walker Be the Next Calvin Coolidge?

Here the parallels are obvious. Walker’s famous showdown with the public unions elevated him onto the national stage. The liberal press was confident that this confrontation with the unions would be the end of Walker, but the Wisconsin voters felt differently. The manner in which Coolidge, Reagan, and Walker handled their respective crises won the admiration of the American people.

...

Walker’s style of communication seems to fall somewhere in between Coolidge’s and Reagan’s. While not so sparing of words and quirky as Coolidge, he is not the natural communicator that Reagan was. However, the main point the pundits seem to be missing is that Walker’s personality and message do come through forcefully to voters.

You know, I think this guy (and It's not The Meatball) really likes Walker.

I want to like Walker. Like Fox Mulder and the author of that piece I WANT TO BELIEVE but I just don't. Not yet anyway.

Part of that is because I'm me and I hate all that is good and pure in this world. I also hate things that are evil and impure, like politicians.

Walker is a puzzle to me.

What most people know about him is he beat down the unions, won three elections in four years in Wisconsin and he's the Great Beige Hope we've been waiting for since Silent Cal went home to Massachusetts almost 100 years ago.

To me though, he's a cipher.

Is he the take no prisoners, stand up for what's right while shrinking government guy that stared down union thugs and runaway Democrats or is he the guy who inelegantly flips on amnesty and ethanol mandates and can't quite bring himself to say that the Export Import Bank is a den of thieves that needs to go?

There's something I call the "Soda/Root Beer Expectation". Did you ever think a glass was full of something, like Pepsi, take a drink and be a little disgusted because it's root beer? Now you may like root beer just fine but you were expecting the taste of Pepsi so the root beer just tastes wrong.

That's my worry about Walker. We have this expectation of how he will sound and act based on the Wisconsin union fight (how much did you see of Walker compared to frothing union idiots like Ed Schultz?) that may not be accurate. I think a lot of people have sort of filled in the blanks on Walker based on who his enemies are. I'm not quite sure the real Walker will meet the expectations many of us have in our minds. He may wind up getting in trouble not because of who he is but who we think and want him to be isn't bad, just not what we were expecting.

My hope is he's the "better liar" I've been waiting for. A guy who sounds moderate and non-threatening but then slashes government like a drunken Freddy Kruger turned loose on a summer camp.

I just can't quite bring myself to believe that Walker is that guy. At least not yet. Maybe he will send enough signals to comfort the small government right without scaring off soccer moms.

Something to watch for from Walker and the rest of the GOP is their embrace of so-called "reform conservatism". The "reformicons", and Rubio is one of the first to embrace parts of their agenda, are basically the reincarnation of the Bush era "compassionate conservatives".

Will Walker embrace the refomicon path? I hope not. But if he does, he's not going to be the next next Reagan or Coolidge but the next W. One of those was enough, thanks. But if he's really the Terror Of Madison that many on the left think he is, I'll make Brandon seem like a fair weather friend. We'll see.

Addendum: None of this matters. Jeb is going to be the nominee. Sure, no one likes him but he's raising tens of millions of dollars. When you have to tell donors to keep the contributions to a million dollars...for now, you're going to have a lot of money. He'll do what Mitt did...spend it destroying every conservative around. Sure it'll be harder because the field is stronger this year but the establishment always gets its man (1980 being the main exception).

posted by DrewM. at 02:19 PM

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