Thursday, May 24, 2012

YOU AND WHAT ARMY?

If I understand the premise of this Politico article correctly, the fact that a bunch of rich people have spent multiple gazillion dollars to ensure that a sitting governor retains his seat while facing recall in the middle of his term, something he's now expected to do by a comfortable if not overwhelming margin, against a candidate who doesn't exactly thrill many of his critics, ought to be enough to propel that governor into the front ranks of U.S. politics. White House, here we come?

...there's a prospect the whole thing might backfire by elevating [Wisconsin governor Scott] Walker into a tested-by-fire, conservative cult-hero....

GOP officials and operatives all agree Walker's got a promising political future if he comes out on top of the recall battle.

"He's a guy who has something to offer his state now and hopefully the country in the future," said former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele....


Wait -- he's the giant-killer? Not the check-writers?

National GOP donors have rushed to his defense, helping him rake in more than $25 million since January 2011 -- with more than $13 million raised in just over three months earlier this year. That included $500,000 from Bob Perry -- who helped fund the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacks against John Kerry in 2004 -- and $250,000 from Sheldon Adelson, a GOP super donor who poured millions into the super PAC that backed Newt Gingrich's presidential bid.

Outside groups have also formed a defensive line around Walker. Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group backed by the billionaire Koch brothers, spent more than $1.5 million on ads defending the governor in the first three months of 2012....


Hell, I could win a recall election in Wisconsin with that kind of scratch behind me, and I don't even know how to milk a cow.

The article's premise is flawed for one reason above all: it doesn't matter that Walker seems like the #1 aggrieved right-winger who fought the hated liberals right now, because by the time, say, 2016 rolls around, there'll have been thirty or forty new aggrieved right-wingers who fought the hated liberals to take his place. There's always a new one! There's a new one every few months! The right is like an assembly line churning out aggrieved people three shifts a day, seven days a week!

So yeah, Scott, it's quite possible you'll win. But watch the throne -- there's stiff competition for the title of Top Right-Wing Victim. Ask Sarah Palin, who thought she had it locked up four years ago.

2 comments:

Victor said...

Walker, a VICTIM, AND a WINNER?!?!

I see a Walker-Rubio ticket in 2016 if Mitt doesn't win.

Erik A. Prince said...

This is another of those campaign finance issues that should be dealt with. Why are outside groups allowed to turn an election for a state Governor? Donations should be limited to those who can vote in that district/state, period.

Unless something changes in campaign finance, I truly don't see much of a future for American democracy. I hate to sound like a sky-is-falling doomsayer, but I can't see any way this can go but down.

Erik
http://eaprince.blogspot.com