# Scott Walker is in **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 13, 2015, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052 "2015-07-13T13:52:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/161 "2015-09-22T04:02:42Z")
If Walker was leading in Iowa before Trump declared, and went to less than 1% after Trump; and Walker’s base is ostensibly anti-labor evangelicals; what if anything does that say about “anti-labor evangelicals”? Did they defect to Trump, or to someone they thought was a better counter to Trump? Or did they actually turn on Walker instead of just “trading up”? Did he just turn out to be much more inept than they assumed? Is Trump anti-labor? Is he evangelical? Was Walker’s actual appeal something else entirely? What’s the common thread? Maybe there’s a male pattern baldness and combover constituency driving some votes? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/162 "2015-09-22T04:09:38Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Walker tries to put a positive spin on the collapse of his campaign (via the NYT): > > > [@](#): > > > > **“Today I believe that I am being called to lead by helping to clear the field in this race so that a positive, conservative message can rise to the top of the field,”** Mr. Walker said. “With this in mind, I will suspend my campaign immediately. > > “What? A complete loss of support and my campaign in humiliating ruins? I… meant to do that! You know – to help conservatives! Why, I’m pretty much a hero here!” That is an awe-inspiring level of spin. I’ll bet the other campaigns are fighting to sign up whoever came up with that gem. ---
**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 22, 2015, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/163 "2015-09-22T04:14:09Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > That is an awe-inspiring level of spin. I’ll bet the other campaigns are fighting to sign up whoever came up with that gem. [Scott Walker: Hindmost](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/20/Pierson's_Puppeteer_illustration_from_Barlowe's_Guide_to_Extraterrestrials.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/164 "2015-09-22T04:17:00Z")
Less than one half of 1%. Unbelievable. I don’t get it. My inner hack is annoyed (because I predicted him to win the nomination), but my inner wonk is thrilled. Danger averted. I can’t believe they didn’t see that he was their ideal combination of conservatism and electability. Idiots. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/165 "2015-09-22T04:19:15Z")
I am happy he’s out. Not so long ago I was musing darkly that he could grab the religious right vote and maybe win it all. Turns out, no, he’s actually too much a prat. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/166 "2015-09-22T04:43:03Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Less than one half of 1%. Unbelievable. I don’t get it. My inner hack is annoyed (because I predicted him to win the nomination), but my inner wonk is thrilled. Danger averted. I can’t believe they didn’t see that he was their ideal combination of conservatism and electability. Idiots. I definitely feel ‘danger averted’ as well. But, as much as I am not a fan of today’s GOP, I can’t accuse them of a SRIOTD for not seeing Walker as electable. The guy was awful. With reservations, I award one point: GOP. ---
**Author:** ![2ManyTacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/3da27b/32.png) [@2ManyTacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ManyTacos)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/167 "2015-09-22T04:45:44Z")
This WOULD NOT have happened if Trump hadn’t entered the race, which is one of the reasons I’m still so thrilled that he’s doing so well. It’s almost surreal. In another universe, the race would be playing out EXACTLY like all of the pundits had prognosticated: Jeb! & Walker would’ve been fighting it out to be the nominee. Good riddance. Of all the candidates on the GOP side, Walker was the one which genuinely scared me the most. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/168 "2015-09-22T05:36:14Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > I definitely feel ‘danger averted’ as well. But, as much as I am not a fan of today’s GOP, I can’t accuse them of a SRIOTD for not seeing Walker as electable. The guy was awful. With reservations, I award one point: GOP. SRIOTD? I agree he’s awful, but the only one that isn’t really awful is Kasich. > [@2ManyTacos](#): > > This WOULD NOT have happened if Trump hadn’t entered the race, which is one of the reasons I’m still so thrilled that he’s doing so well. > > It’s almost surreal. In another universe, the race would be playing out EXACTLY like all of the pundits had prognosticated: Jeb! & Walker would’ve been fighting it out to be the nominee. > > Good riddance. Of all the candidates on the GOP side, Walker was the one which genuinely scared me the most. I agree. As much as I enjoy the chaos Trump has caused, the old-school part of me wishes I could also watch the alternate reality version you describe, and see how it would have played out. Or would it just have been Carson and Fiorina because the Republican primary electorate doesn’t want politicians? P ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/169 "2015-09-22T05:46:43Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > SRIOTD? Stupid Republican Idea of the Day, as in the famed Pit thread. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/170 "2015-09-22T05:48:33Z")
Ahhhh…ok, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/171 "2015-09-22T05:56:21Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I agree he’s awful, but the only one that isn’t really awful is Kasich. Well, Kasich comes across as more genuine and ‘cooler’ I guess. He is older and more confident, steadier. He is a bit oily but all of it together and I think he could get away with a bald spot. But I don’t think [Kasich’s ideas](http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/07/23/ohio-journalists-on-the-real-john-kasich-anti-u/204560) are all that hot- they resemble Walker’s (and every other GOP politicians’), only enforced with less success in Ohio: > [@](#): > > Similar to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s more publicized union fight, the Kasich measure was passed and signed into law, but drew harsh criticism. It was eventually voted down overwhelmingly via a ballot referendum later that year. What does Kasich think about AGW? Probably closer to [George Will](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/pope-franciss-fact-free-flamboyance/2015/09/18/7d711750-5d6a-11e5-8e9e-dce8a2a2a679_story.html)than Al Gore, but I’m speculating at this point. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/172 "2015-09-22T06:12:07Z")
But he went for Medicaid expansion, he talks about his greatest responsibility being to help the poor, and he was accused by George Will back in the '90s of being too much of a compassionate conservative. I’m not saying I would rather have him as president then a Democrat, but he is the only Republican running that strikes me as basically being a decent person at heart. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/173 "2015-09-22T06:23:40Z")
If he wants to help the poor, I’m not sure bashing unions is the place to start. But still, maybe he really is a nice guy. People said of Carter, “He’s a nice man but not very good as president.” Carter at least had good ideas (and was cursed with perhaps impossible circumstances). Kasich only has “nice”. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/174 "2015-09-22T06:30:03Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > SRIOTD? > > I agree he’s awful, but the only one that isn’t really awful is Kasich. Pataki seems less awful than the field from what I can tell. Still a fiscal bonehead, but not anti-environmentalist. Am I wrong? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/175 "2015-09-22T07:53:10Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > But he went for Medicaid expansion, he talks about his greatest responsibility being to help the poor, and he was accused by George Will back in the '90s of being too much of a compassionate conservative. > > I’m not saying I would rather have him as president then a Democrat, but he is the only Republican running that strikes me as basically being a decent person at heart. I’d say his soul is not without elements of decency, but saying he’s a decent guy overall is way further than I’d go. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/176 "2015-09-22T08:58:02Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Pataki seems less awful than the field from what I can tell. Still a fiscal bonehead, but not anti-environmentalist. Am I wrong? Yeah, I forgot he was running. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/177 "2015-09-22T09:23:06Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down there! That would mean his support more than doubled when he announced he was no longer campaigning! That would be freaking hilarious! You know, you could just go to the quarry and throw yourself in. Nobody else wants to go and you’re rather keen, so why not? ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/178 "2015-09-22T09:29:34Z")
This AFL-CIO boss is certainly not a fan of Walker. > **[AFL-CIO boss: Walker is ‘still a disgrace’](https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/254435-afl-cio-boss-glad-walker-is-out-of-gop-race/)** > > Walker had taken on unions in Wisconsin and vowed to do so again as president. “Scott Walker is still a disgrace, just no longer national,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a one-sentence statement after news that Walker was going to announce he is ending his 2016 campaign.” Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/179 "2015-09-22T10:52:20Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > As usual, Andy has a good take on things. > > [Kochs Demand Walker Return Nine Hundred Million Dollars | The New Yorker](http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/kochs-demand-walker-return-nine-hundred-million-dollars) Maybe he’ll have to work off his debt as a gigolo. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052/180 "2015-09-22T15:22:50Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Pataki seems less awful than the field from what I can tell. Still a fiscal bonehead, but not anti-environmentalist. Am I wrong? You are not wrong. Pataki is capable of sounding intelligent and reasonable at times. Which is why the only way he will ever get in the Oval Office will be on a tour. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scott-walker-is-in/725052.md?page=10)