April 21, 2012

Winning the recall election "It will send a powerful, powerful message that you can stick your neck out..."

"... you can make the tough choices and there will be voters helping you along the way," said Gov. Scott Walker yesterday.
"I think when we win, it will not only reaffirm what we did. It will send a powerful message to every politician…in our state and even in our city governments who are trying to take on the tough issues and do the right thing."
That "when we win" language caused the Chicago Tribune to headline its article "Wisconsin Gov. Walker says he'll prevail in recall," but Walker also said:
"[I'm] running to win, but I’m not afraid to lose.” He said the actions he has taken to stabilize Wisconsin finances will last for the long term, “even if people don’t see it the next election.”
Presumably, if he loses he'll be the GOP candidate in the next election, claiming credit for whatever goes well in the next couple of years and blaming Tom Barrett (or whomever) for whatever goes badly.

24 comments:

edutcher said...

As my old Irish(-American) mother always said, "The Divil hates a coward".

Good for Walker. And give 'em Hell.

leslyn said...

As my old Norwegian/Swedish/Irish American mother still says,

"How can he do that? But--how can he do that?"

So if Walker loses (it's a very close race), he will naturally blame the bad on the incumbent, and accept the good for himself. It's what politicians do.

Harder to do if he's in jail, though.

garage mahal said...

As my Norwegian mother says "How can half of this state like this crook?"

And the answer is pretty clear. The GOP doesn't mind Republican crooks.

Even if it means the state suffers as a consequence.

Illinois ranked third while Wisconsin placed 42nd in the most recent Bloomberg Economic Evaluation of States index, which includes personal income, tax revenue and employment. Illinois gained 32,000 jobs in the 12 months ending in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found. Wisconsin, where Walker promised to create 250,000 jobs with the help of business-tax breaks, lost 16,900.

In reality, turns out that Wisconsin was the only state in the entire country to lose jobs in 2011, while Illinois had better than average growth. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia also predicted strong economic growth in Illinois, while placing Wisconsin last in its forecast

edutcher said...

Yes, how dast Walker defy the Demo-union combine just because it's brought the Midwest to ruin?

garage mahal said...

Illinois ranked third while Wisconsin placed 42nd in the most recent Bloomberg Economic Evaluation of States index, which includes personal income, tax revenue and employment. Illinois gained 32,000 jobs in the 12 months ending in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found. Wisconsin, where Walker promised to create 250,000 jobs with the help of business-tax breaks, lost 16,900.

In reality, turns out that Wisconsin was the only state in the entire country to lose jobs in 2011, while Illinois had better than average growth. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia also predicted strong economic growth in Illinois, while placing Wisconsin last in its forecast


Yes, we all know Bloomie, the BLS, and the Fed under Bernanke are honest brokers.

David said...

The not being afraid to lose comment is worthwhile. Politicians become more attached to the office than to the mission of the office. You see it all the time in both parties.

garage mahal said...

Yes, we all know Bloomie, the BLS, and the Fed under Bernanke are honest brokers.

Walker is a miserable failure and a pathological liar. He brought the same package of fuckups and unethical behavior from Milwaukee County to Madison. The science is in on that, as they say. Why conservatives are so attracted to such an epic loser like Walker is hard to figure out, unless they can live with that as long as he is sticking to unions and liberals. It would one thing if his policies actually worked. But they don't. Milwaukee County is still paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for his screwups. Taxpayers will pay over a 100 million dollars for his unbelievably stupid rail decision. Taxpayers are paying hundreds and hundreds of thousands paying for court and lawyer fees defending bills he signed. That's just in his first year. Mean and stupid is no way to go through life, but Walker seems to embrace it.

Anonymous said...

As my German parents used to say, "Das ist so eine Schweinerei!"

David said...

From December 2002 through December 2012 Wisconsin non farm employment dropped from 2.783 million to 2.720 million. At its peak employment was nearly 2.9 million. Most of the decrease from the peak came under Doyle.

My point is not that this is all Doyle's fault, any more than it is all Walker's. There has been no net gain in Wisconsin employment for a decade. Wisconsin definitely is NOT doing something right.

Walker's program is a long term one, not just one for 12 months. Time will tell whether it succeeds. But he is trying to make some changes, which the conservative Democratic party is unwilling to do.

It's telling that over the last 10 years states without income tax have far outpaced those with income tax in job growth. Some of this variation is certainly due to non-tax factors, but the tax impact is huge. The amount of taxes does correlate with the size of government.

In a competitive world and a competitive country, the status quo was not cutting it in Wisconsin. Doyle gave more of the same, and things got much worse on his watch. (There was the little thing of the recession, but if Garage can ignore important factors other than who is governor, co can I.)

Times are a-changin'. Quickly and harshly for those who think there is no need to make significant changes.

Stop being such a conservative Garage. Embrace some change, before it embraces you.

garage mahal said...

Times are a-changin'. Quickly and harshly for those who think there is no need to make significant changes.

Walker ran on jobs. Wisconsin is the only state that lost jobs in 2011. His policies are not working. Who could have predicted that sucking close to a billion dollars out of the state economy, slashing education by over 1 billion, and raising taxes on the working poor would have a detrimental effect on the state economy? But at least it's harder to get an abortion in Wisconsin now. That was key.

Kirby Olson said...

Fox had a special on today that said that most of the signatures are fake.

David said...

Great talking point Garage. It's much more complicated than that and you know it.

In Garage speak "sucking a billion dollars out of the Wisconsin economy" means that Walker balanced the budget. Without accounting gimmicks. An "inherited" budget deficit.

SteveR said...

leslyn, if you want to play that role, just know garage has staked out that ground. He's already proven that its possible to make shit up to fit the narrative and that nobody takes him serious.

You are off to a good start since no one takes you seriously but you have to reach a lot farther in the making shit up area.

Carnifex said...

How was your trip garage?(that's all, just wondering)

Alex said...

Harder to do if he's in jail, though.

What the hell.

Jay Oestreich said...

I'm going to cross post Tim Nerenz's blog post calling out the lost 16,900 jobs as complete crap.

http://www.timnerenz.com/2012/03/more-fun-facts.html

Go to the website he mentions (http://worknet.wisconsin.gov/worknet/daces.aspx?menuselection=da) and do the math yourself.

If you do total non-farm you get a GAIN of 42,600.

If you do total private you get a GAIN of 39,400.

Stop assuming Media Matters for America is a non-biased source.

Alex said...

garage - if Wisconsin's economy is so dependent on the government, I consider that a failed economy. But it does confirm what I already knew, you're a communist.

garage mahal said...

David
The budget is not even balanced. Bigger deficit now than last Feb that allegedly necessitated the budget repair bill.

Carnifex
Trip was okay, boss put me up at the Imperial Palace, instead if the Mirage, which blew chunks. Saved a whole 200 dollars . (hate to be so negative) I was telling a customer of mine that the late night bar scene @ the IP resembled that bar scene in Star Wars.

damikesc said...

And the answer is pretty clear. The GOP doesn't mind Republican crooks.

What party has Jon Corzine STILL serving as one of the top bundlers for the Resident?

walter said...

Nothing like the nationally televised Occupied Madison, recall efforts and assorted crazy antics by the entitled unionistas to spur immediate investment and job creation. They may appreciate Walker's efforts, but not ready to dive in with the uncertainty.

leslyn said...

David said... "The not being afraid to lose comment is worthwhile."

Don't you remember? His wife wants him to get a job where he makes more money. (The O'Jays)

leslyn said...

Kirby Olson said...

"Fox had a special on today that said that most of the signatures are fake." 4/21/12 5:51 P.M.

This is a joke, right?

walter said...

No, but the recall is.

leslyn said...

Oh piss and moan about a constitutional right when you're not exercising it.

Curious George said...

Volunteered for the Walker campaign yesterday...phone bank work so far.

I won't even bother with garage...statements like these are beyond stupid:

"Taxpayers will pay over a 100 million dollars for his unbelievably stupid rail decision."


" sucking close to a billion dollars out of the state economy"

"The budget is not even balanced. Bigger deficit now than last Feb that allegedly necessitated the budget repair bill."