# Portent of the end for Walker? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 13, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030 "2015-09-13T02:11:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/21 "2015-09-18T04:26:55Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > But the boarder wall with Canada, who is going to champion that now? :mad: I’m **not** taking in any Canadian boarders! They get maple syrup and cheese curds all over everything! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/22 "2015-09-18T04:28:51Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Anyone can have a bad campaign and Walker hasn’t done very well. He’s still going to be a contender in the future or he could be VP. If Walker is ever VP, there will be a President’s Health Prayer Club that Dan Quayle would envy. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/23 "2015-09-18T04:31:14Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Anyone can have a bad campaign and Walker hasn’t done very well. He’s still going to be a contender in the future or he could be VP. Is it **iiandyiii** who’s keeping track of **adaher** ’s predictions? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/24 "2015-09-18T05:26:59Z")
Hey, Clinton keeps coming back and she’s never won statewide election in a state the opposite party usually wins in presidential elections even once. Walker pulled it off three times. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/25 "2015-09-18T05:42:12Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Hey, Clinton keeps coming back and she’s never won statewide election in a state the opposite party usually wins in presidential elections even once. Walker pulled it off three times. This is true (and still somewhat astonishing to me as a Wisconsin native). OTOH, Walker’s [approval rating in Wisconsin](http://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/politics/elections/2015/08/21/scott-walkers-popularity-dips-wisconsin/32154101/) was down to 39% as of a month ago, and only 25% of Wisconsin Republicans were picking him as their top choice for president. I can’t imagine his numbers look any better now, and they might well be worse (particularly the latter number). Granted, there’s a lot of time between now and 2018 (if, for example, he were to run for governor again), but right now, his outlook in his home state isn’t good. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/26 "2015-09-18T06:57:41Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I hope so, but I rather suspect that this is a misreading of something unrelated. Walker has no real chance in the long run, IMO, because **he’s simultaneously an extremist and a dumbass with the breathtaking stupidity of a brick** , but I would expect him to stick it out at least until the wildly swinging numbers begin to stabilize, and perhaps Trump vanishes from the scene. His agenda is basically a collection of all the right-wing talking points taken to an extreme, and the only thing he knows how to do is bust unions and make life intolerable for public servants, teachers, and university professors. > > **Seriously, he’s not a bright boy**. Policies aside, he tends to photograph with a kind of perpetually stunned expression, like he’s been caught in the middle of a fireworks explosion, to quote Bill Maher. Bolding mine. Just because you disagree with his politics does not make him stupid. His campaign has clearly not caught fire, but nobody gets twice elected governor and survives a recall election by being a dumbass. But you go ahead and keep on thinking that. Underestimating your opponents is a good way to lose in the long run. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/27 "2015-09-18T11:53:56Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Is it **iiandyiii** who’s keeping track of **adaher** ’s predictions? Yep (though I’ll need to do some searches to find the ones I missed). In fact, if it’s okay with **adaher** , I may start a thread in Elections to keep track of all of **adaher** ’s predictions for the 2016 election cycle, past, present, and future, to confine the pointing-and-laughing or gloating (whether from **adaher** or others, depending on the prediction successes) to a single thread. To be clear, as much as I challenge and mock **adaher** , I like him and most of it is good-natured. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/28 "2015-09-18T12:17:21Z")
Sure, but all of my predictions should be prefaced with “I predict” or the word “prediction” somewhere. I made no specific prediction about Walker, just observed that I think he’ll be back. One bad campaign does not end a career. He might be VP, he might run for President again, he might run for Senator. Or he could just cash out. Walker’s got a little ethical issues around him so he seems like the type to just cash out and get a plush private sector job. Not bad for a guy who didn’t get a college degree. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/29 "2015-09-18T12:21:20Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Sure, but all of my predictions should be prefaced with “I predict” or the word “prediction” somewhere. I made no specific prediction about Walker, just observed that I think he’ll be back. One bad campaign does not end a career. He might be VP, he might run for President again, he might run for Senator. > > Or he could just cash out. Walker’s got a little ethical issues around him so he seems like the type to just cash out and get a plush private sector job. Not bad for a guy who didn’t get a college degree. Alright – I’ll do some searches and make the thread. Feel free to take part and point out any I missed (or any that you don’t feel qualify). ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/30 "2015-09-18T12:38:59Z")
Awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/31 "2015-09-18T12:46:52Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Alright – I’ll do some searches and make the thread. Feel free to take part and point out any I missed (or any that you don’t feel qualify). Might be handy - not a mod directive - to have such a thread for all predictions. Odds are there’ll end up being a LOT of posters with egg on their face. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/32 "2015-09-18T12:49:45Z")
Absolutely. Anyone with an opinion should be willing to put themselves out there. I’ve seen a few posters absolutely sure that a Democrat will be in the White House in 2016. They should write it down there for posterity. Actually, I predict that a Democrat will be in the White House in 2016. It’s 2017 that this might not be true.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/33 "2015-09-18T12:57:11Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > His campaign has clearly not caught fire, but nobody gets twice elected governor and survives a recall election by being a dumbass. Why not? W is sure a dumbass, and he was a two-term governor. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/34 "2015-09-18T12:58:54Z")
I missed the last few posts and went ahead and made the “adaher prediction thread” [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=769029). I agree with **Jonathan Chance** that it would be good to have an overall prediction thread as well, but I haven’t noticed very many predictions aside from his this early. I don’t plan to make an overall prediction thread at this point but others can feel free, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/35 "2015-09-18T13:00:47Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Might be handy - not a mod directive - to have such a thread for all predictions. Odds are there’ll end up being a LOT of posters with egg on their face. I like it. There’s a lot of predictions out there and typically people only bring them up again when they are right. “See, see, I found a nut!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/36 "2015-09-18T13:04:35Z")
According to the Associated Press, vendors for the Walker campaign are still waiting on over $100,000 in payments. [AP Tweet](https://twitter.com/sbauerAP/status/644574346153984000) about it – don’t know if it’s become a published story yet. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/37 "2015-09-18T13:05:22Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Walker looked like a very strong contender, pre-Trump. But Trump pretty much took all the voters driven by the illegal immigration issue, and Walker hasn’t been able to distinguish himself at all in debates. He seems like one of those people who are better on paper. In the flesh, he’s kind of weird looking,\* has odd mannerisms and no charisma. I wasn’t expecting that. \*Trump is also weird looking, but I think we’re just used to that. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/38 "2015-09-18T13:42:13Z")
Walker’s [addressing his problems](http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/walker-confronts-questions-about-his-faltering-campaign#break): > [@](#): > > “I think we’re putting all our eggs in the basket of Iowa, we’re committed to Iowa, and I think that’ll help us make the case all throughout the country,” Walker told MSNBC in an interview in the spin room after Wednesday night’s GOP debate. Which instantly had me thinking of this Al Yankovic classic: \*You better put all your eggs in one basket You better count your chickens before they hatch You better sell some wine before its time You better find yourself an itch to scratch You better squeeze all the Charmin you can while Mr. Whipple’s not around Stick your head in the microwave and get yourself a tan Talk with your mouth full Bite the hand that feeds you Bite off more than you chew What can you do? **Dare to be stupid** \* ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/39 "2015-09-18T14:07:48Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Why not? W is sure a dumbass, and he was a two-term governor. Of course one must apply special standards here – I know, I know, W earned a Harvard MBA, he must be smarter than the average American – but, and this is the important thing, he is much, much dumber than the average POTUS. And Walker, he never even finished college. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030/40 "2015-09-18T14:49:59Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Just because you disagree with his politics does not make him stupid. His campaign has clearly not caught fire, but nobody gets twice elected governor and survives a recall election by being a dumbass. But you go ahead and keep on thinking that. Underestimating your opponents is a good way to lose in the long run. You’re right, and I have no disagreement with that. Indeed it may be quite fitting to point out here that one shouldn’t [misunderestimate](http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/bushisms/2009/01/ws_greatest_hits.html) one’s opponents, either. 😉 The point being that I could be right, too – stupidity and political victory are not mutually exclusive. Could Walker potentially win a Senate seat, or become VP, or one way or another eventually even win the presidency? He well could. It could happen if he had a crack political team driven by a Rove-like cunning, or a political climate that gave his extremist wingnuttery populist support. But he would **still be a dumbass** , and the voters would likely come to deeply regret their decision. [It’s not like it hasn’t happened before.](http://www.salon.com/2015/06/07/5_reasons_george_w_bush_is_still_one_of_the_worst_presidents_ever_partner/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portent-of-the-end-for-walker/731030.md?page=3)