I'm an optimist. I believe here in Wisconsin and in America, we want to be for something, not against something. But you know what? That's the difference between Washington and Wisconsin. They're all against something. We are for something. There's a reason why, in America — you know that dream we talked about? — it's not just Republican or Democrat, it's not just liberal or conservative, it is the American dream that talks about the dignity of work. And in America, we take a day off to celebrate the 4th of July, and not the 15th of April, because in America, we celebrate our independence from the government, not our dependence on it.A view of the Wisconsin Capitol, photographed after we heard the Wisconsin race called:
No protesters. No revelers. Calm at the Capitol.
The quote above is the end of the speech. The beginning was: "Wow. First off, I want to thank God."
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95 comments:
Congrats to Wisconsin and Walker!
A great American. Other Republicans could learn much from him.
Scott Walker gave a great speech!
I can sleep easy tonight.
Thank you Wisconsin voters!
Great news. Even Illinois wised up. No hope for California, of course.
Proud night for Wisconsin.
I celebrate the 4th as Independence from England, not from Government. It's not like the Founding Fathers banned Government.
I didn't listen to the speech (I've been grading all night) -- maybe it sounded better, but it reads to be incoherent.
that seems pretty inclusive. not divisive at all.
All I can say is,
On Wisconsin! On Wisconsin!
I'm so proud of Wisconsin. Congratulations to all of its good citizens. And thank you.
Proud night for Wisconsin.
What's the matter with Minnesota?
"In America, we take a day off to celebrate the 4th of July, and not the 15th of April, because in America, we celebrate our independence from the government, not our dependence on it>"
That's racist.
Who is going to win the Meadhouse bet?
America is fortunate to have so many reasonable and responsible politicians. Wisconsin is lucky to have Scott Walker. The anti-Walker forces have revealed themselves to be thuggish, horrible people.
Here's hoping that more people realize government cannot do what too many Democrats wish it would.
MadisonMan - too bad you see government as the solution to all problems.
New slogan: Proud to be Wisconsin
Please, Please, Please run for President Scott Walker.
MadisonMan:
The Founders feared government. They exercised great caution limiting government because they had already seen what too much government always is. The Founders made every effort to disperse power across multiple, competing groups of people because consolidation of power -- monopoly in all its forms -- is inherently abusive.
I hope you aren't grading history papers.
The Fourth is celebrating our independence from a Monarchy and its Aristocracy governing its owned Colonial subjects by murder and plunder, but not from a government of citizens that has to be re-elected every two tears.
I'm a proud and happy Wisconsinite heading for beddy bye.
Thanks for your blog professor, and thanks to all for the great comments.
When Walker's win was announced, the Fox News panel immediately started into Mid-western state Governor will be the 2016 nominee. But they then pushed Kasich of Ohio as a man of special talent. Walker's speeches need more face time.
What about from a president who thinks the correct way to perform his duties is to make unilateral executive orders with no oversight, instead of working with Congress to pass real legislation that reflects the will of the people?
Most of the Democrats who lost contested seats were able to secure no more than 44% of the votes.
Republicans consistently got over 50% of the vote in competitive races.
Obama approval -- 42%
Obama disapproval -- 53%
Coincidence? Of course not. The Obama Administration has been a huge drag on America and her economy and the politics has been a lagging indicator.
Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, Walker is reelected because he has been good for the state. I hope he continues to be a terrific governor. And then I hope he brings his principles to the 2016 presidential race. He could win because he doesn't think he has all the answers like the current know-it-all president.
It's not like the Founding Fathers banned Government.
No, sadly the Founding Fathers agreed that government was a necessary evil. July 4th celebrates our demand for a just government, limited in powers and governing with the consent of the governed.
Walker still winning by 6 points. Pretty much a mandate to finish the job on public sector unions.
*Alert*: So many premises to challenge.
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I am glad, from afar (and without having got involved in other people's local state politics), that Gov. Scott Walker won. I do consider that a win.
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Still, puh-leeze. What crap! Why offer up that sentence, such a sentence, in the "now" of the moment.
So I guess the WI gov recall campaign begins in December, as is traditional in WI when the darned voters don't get it right?
I hope Walker does consider a presidential run in 2016. If not, perhaps the next time around.
I am freaked out by the apparent dynasty-building exercises by the apparatchiks of both parties.
To all the Dems who are suffering tonight, I'm sorry and there is always another election. The Senate math really favors Dems in 2016, so there's that hope.
The idea that the reach of the federal government would be restricted to a few enumerated powers is articulated by Madison in Federalist No. 45:
“ The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. ”
That was a great speech. Well timed to a national audience that rejected big government. He took advantage of the open ears.
Beat Burke. Trumped Chisolm. And kicked Chris Christie in the ass.
Nice to see Walker join Ryan as a national leader. Wisconsin conservatives deserve such voices after three hard fought victories in four years.
Now he has to call Ronco and do something about that bald spot.
Constitutional restrictions on the Federal Government sort of went went away the day Lincoln won reelection and sent Sherman's Army of the Tennessee marching from a burned Atlanta south to Savannah. If it wasn't Sherman who said political power comes out of the barrel of a gun, it should have been.
Walker - Martinez 2016....The quesadilla ticket!
No hope for California, of course.
I believe we flipped two House seats here (up from 15 to 17 GOP)
But CA is still doomed. Tonight they pass Prop 47 which effectively strips a huge amount of property crime & drug crimes of any legal consequences whatsoever.
I want to find those voters and slap them across the face.
Gusty Winds: "That was a great speech. Well timed to a national audience that rejected big government."
Well, you may not believe this, but MSNBC was "unable" to link up and show the Walker victory speech.
Shocking, I know.
Maybe Walker should take a page out of obambi's playbook and send MSNBC a DVD of his speech so they can play it tomorrow.
@Birkel, nothing in my statement re: 1776 is incorrect.
In the 1995 movie "The American President", the President, Andrew Shepard (Michael Douglas), was a liberal University Professor from Wisconsin, with Martin Sheen as his Chief of Staff. Hollywood dreams.
Now, both Wisconsinites with a chance at competing for the office are Republicans; one without a college degree.
Wisconsin refuses to imitate art. It makes its own.
I liked the speech. Sounded like a normal human, not a sound bite machine.
Still has to deal with the bald spot if he want to run for President.
A few ideas:
1. Buzz cut
2. Bald look ala Rick Scott
3. American flag tattoo.
4. Adopt a new signature look--a beanie with or without propellor.
5. World's greatest comb over.
6. Governor's Uniform, including Russian officer style hat with gold and green braid and Packers logo.
7. Foam cheesehead
Text from my 67-year-old mother in Oconomowoc after Walker's speech. "Walker makes Chris Christie look like a vulgar low life."
If you really want to see leftist insanity, drop by Democrat Underground.
However, I would caution you to stick around there for no more than 2 to 3 minutes.
It is beyond hilarious.
@Drago - Expected from MSNBC. No one was watching them anyway.
Fox News cut early for Joni Ernst in Iowa.
Everyone is thinking it, so I'll just come out and say it: REPARATIONS BITCHES!!!
Good speech by Walker. I will go to bed happy tonight.
I have to say, I love Mike Tate, the head of the WI Democratic Party. I love him like I love Jay Cutler. I want both of them to keep their jobs as long as possible.
For my part, within the state in which I now live, I am celebrating that Ken Simpler won his race for state treasurer. Who knows whether that is, or will be, a harbinger. There is hope (and, also, a fierce wish that silly words won't undercut that hope).
It felt unaccountably weird both to be voting back in Delaware, the state in which I first voted when I first came of age to vote and voted thereafter for many years, and not to be voting in Iowa, the state in which I voted from the fall of 1996 through the fall of 2012.
Congratulations for the third time in four years, Wisconsin and Scott Walker. We conservative Californians salute you--and stand amazed at what the citizens of Massachusetts, Illinois, and (seriously) Maryland have also wrought. No one predicted a GOP net gain in governorships, and of course few should expect the losers to wise up. Nonetheless now we must get serious about an agenda for the future, incorporating the best of America for the very troubled times ahead.
No wagon of shit?
Wisconsin is MUCH bigger than a pathetic loser pulling a wagon of shit trying to make a point.
Madison is a carnival of protected '60's grandchildren.
Wisconsin is people who get up and start work before dawn to feed them.
Nice to see sanity prevail.
Putting that stuff--and stuff it is--aside, would any of you be interested in my describing the very real differences in physically voting at election sites in Delaware and Iowa? There are marked differences.
Putting that stuff--and stuff it is--aside, would any of you be interested in my describing the very real differences in physically voting at election sites in Delaware and Iowa? There are marked differences.
I hasten to say: This comment ^ is in reference to [an extension of] my own 1:07 comment, and not to any comment that happened to fall in thread between them.
Congratulations to Wisconsin from your friends in Arizona.
About Scott Walker: He must have some good campaign chops by now because he's been literally forced to campaign non-stop since his election because of the incessant attacks on him by Wisconsin progressives. I'll be interested to see how he does in the primaries should he decide to run.
Saw Joni Ernst's acceptance speech earlier. I liked her brilliant pork-cutting ad. She might be the next Palin. But she seems to have a speaking flaw: a phony-sounding laugh, projected much too vigorously. A deeper, less loud laugh at certain appropriate moments during a speech I think is alright but not the high-decibel too-frequent habit she has. She uses it to add unneeded emphasis to phrases, as sort of a punctuation and during quick scans of her speaking notes. Nothing a good speaking coach couldn't easily repair.
Another female politician that looked good to me: Michelle Nunn.
She lost, fortunately. If she had won I think she could have gone far in Democrat circles as a Joni Ernst antidote if for nothing else. Except for being female they are polar opposites. Her biggest mistake seemed to have been her refusal to directly answer the Obamacare question: Would she have voted for Obamacare?
Three possible answers: Yes. No. And the one she gave: a smoke screen of irrelevant rhetoric. She "wasn't there," etc. With her and some other Democrat candidates I think we've seen that either of the first two answers would have been better than the evasion. Not that I think it easy beforehand to know the best political answer for this type of question. Hindsight is 20/20.
Another female candidate that impressed me favorably with her demeanor and speaking style: Shelley Moore Capito
now to bed …
Mellowwwww...
Now teachers,especially good ones, can continue to rest easy. They will keep their jobs with solid municipal budgets thanks to Act 10.
Ha Democrat Gov Shumlin doesn't even win majority in Vermont!
Now going to the legislature.
I'm really happy for Wisconsin and thrilled that Walker won. Equally happy and relieved with the results in Georgia - I could not live here if another Carter had won.
Good for Walker--if only because this sends a message that Big Labor can't just go knocking off governors who dare challenge their stranglehold on state governments. Hopefully this marks the beginning of the end of their power.
Burke ran a poor campaign and was a remarkably weak candidate. The Democrats are going to lose seats like this if they just phone it in.
Same goes for Anthony Brown in Maryland and Martha Coakley in Massachusetts. Brown thought just attacking the GOP nominee (Hogan) would be all it takes--problem is Marylanders, Democratic as they are, wanted to hear how the governor would address the economic and budget problems of the state, and no one seriously believed that Hogan would put machine guns in the hands of kids even if he wanted to do that. I know my vote for Hogan was a reaction to what seemed an intelligence-insulting campaign from Brown.
Coakley, I don't know what to say about her--is she too extreme for Massaholia? Does she have any major scandals to explain why she lost two statewide races to the GOP? Or is she just that poor a campaigner?
Well, independence from the King of England was independence from an overweening government. The kind of government, for example, that could force you to pay dues to an organization to which you did not wish to belong in order to push a political agenda which you opposed, just to take one example that comes to mind.
eddie willers said...
Proud night for Wisconsin.
What's the matter with Minnesota?
11/4/14, 11:13 PM
As a Minnesotan watching politics for many years, it is "an island of stupid in a sea of red"!
I would only have to move 20 miles east to be in Wisconsin. This could happen.
I gotta say it again, I like your Governor.
"In America, we take a day off to celebrate the 4th of July, and not the 15th of April, because in America, we celebrate our independence from the government...."
Ridiculously ignorant, as a couple of commenters have already pointed out, (or possibly, just mendacious pandering to the "I hate gubmint!" booboisie by a man who had fought expensively and successfully to maintain his hold on a position of power in government). We did not fight to be free of government, and neither did the framers ever espouse or believe in the abolition of government. Just as Walker doesn't.
Hard to believe it was only 2 years ago that the talking heads, on election night, before any real analysis had been done, declared that the Republican Party was finished because of its war on women and minorities.
"...this sends a message that Big Labor blah blah blah...."
???!!!
This is not the 1950s. "Big Labor" is dead, killed long ago, (along with any chance for working people to have a means to fight for fair pay and working conditions...witness the wretched plight of workers in this country right now).
You are a Tory for employer tyranny, a loyalist to the cause of the slave-masters.
Oh BS Robert Cook!
Big labor is decidedly not dead in government and that, for any taxpayer, is a bad deal. Private unions still suck, but there is not much any of us can do about those.
We in Madison, now gave to get rid of John Matthews and his ilk and we will all be better off.
I think we all know what he meant by "government". Tyrannical government.
The kind of government you get when you have a corrupt monarchy.
Or even a corrupted democracy.
Taxation without representation.
Disrespect by a government for the rights endowed to the People by Nature's God against the ever expanding unenumerated powers of the state.
Yesterday was a bloodless revolution. Now it's Democrat's turn to reflect and reform. If they are capable.
"This is not the 1950s. "Big Labor" is dead, killed long ago, (along with any chance for working people to have a means to fight for fair pay and working conditions...witness the wretched plight of workers in this country right now)."
Oh please--I'm not referring to the UAW or United Mine Workers--I'm talking about the public sector unions which last I checked are pretty safely ensconced in almost every level of government. They put Walker in their sights the minute it became clear that he was going to try and reduce their stranglehold on the state, and they forced a ridiculous recall election based solely on disliking his policies rather than any incapacity or scandal. Those unions needed a dressing down.
And the only reason the UAW and similar private sector unions are at a fraction of their original strength? They've already done their share of destroying the industries they had their teeth in. The only successful car industry in this country is the operations in right to work states.
The plight of workers today has a lot more to do with efficiency gains and foreign competition, and eliminating those things would be far worse for workers. All unions would be able to do about that is make the labor market more unwieldy until the industries themselves go under.
"You are a Tory for employer tyranny, a loyalist to the cause of the slave-masters."
I'll take that as hyperbole, but the very idea that someone is a "slave master" when no one is required to work for that "master" sort of belittles actual slaves.
The plight of employees these days is a serious one, and deserving of much discussion--but the answers will not be found in a 1950s playbook.
Text from my 67-year-old mother in Oconomowoc after Walker's speech. "Walker makes Chris Christie look like a vulgar low life."
Well, Christie is from New Jersey.
Congratulations, Wisconsin.
Robert Cook the oikophobe uses the slur "booboisie" to describe the American electorate.
I wish I could get him national air time to push his views!
Now it's Democrat's turn to reflect and reform
Meade, you must be smoking your fall harvest. I'll bet Mary still thinks she was just 1 John Doe Doc Dump from glory.
Powerful labor unions incorporated into the government is a Fascist idea that Hitler himself embraced, as did Mussolini.
That doesn't make it automatically wrong. Hitler also was against animal abuse. But it does suggest that maybe it is an idea that bears a little closer examination before swallowing.
Fact check...
July 4 - Independence Day
September 17 - Constitution Day
Walker is right again, dummies.
Happy with the results of the Michigan gubernatorial race, but you have to wonder how a guy like Rick Snyder, who came in, immediately fixed the state and balanced the budget without significant tax hikes, BARELY scrapes by running against a big-govt hack that represents everything that we just put behind us here in Michigan 4 short years ago. Renewed but pessimistic at what the future may bring here in Spartyland.......
@MadisonMan:
The tone of your comment made you sound pedantic.
Unskew the polls:
Did anybody else notice how the polls were so skewed?
Why, it's almost like the pollsters were wrong. One wonders if they were just as wrong in 2012. Margin of cheating with Obama heading the ticket.
The soundest basis of democracy is an armed citizenry.
Somewhere in Wisconsin, a befuddled Garage is walking around, twiddling ball bearings in his hand, muddering "It was the secret servers, I tell you! It was all on the secret servers!"
Meanwhile, those around him are looking into what it'll take to get him confined for his (and their) protection.
Democrat tears make my coffee taste especially sweet this morning.
As hard as it is for some people to understand, millions of Americans don't go through life looking for government to help us. All we ask is for the government to quit targeting us because we work in the private sector for a living.
Pride goeth before a fall. I doubt very much if Walker will win next year's recall election by a similar margin.
"Yesterday was a bloodless revolution. Now it's Democrat's turn to reflect and reform. If they are capable."
Hardly. It was the typical and entirely to be expected expression of dissatisfaction by the electorate with the status quo. They'll find soon enough they have simply voted for continuation of the status quo, but with new people from the other wing of America's uni-party in place of those they have put out.
There is no reflection and reform possible by paid vassals of Wall Street; they'll just wait their turn to get back in power after another election cycle or two when voters vote again for their dissatisfaction the the continuing status quo.
I am bathing in WI Democrat tears this morning. It makes the skin so soft.
Now, lets see that good ol' progressive contempt for the WI voters from our usual suspects here.
"Fact check...
"July 4 - Independence Day
September 17 - Constitution Day
"Walker is right again, dummies."
Nope. "Independence Day" is not a celebration of "independence from government," but of independence from a former and loathed government that will be replaced by a new government.
"Robert Cook the oikophobe uses the slur 'booboisie' to describe the American electorate."
"Oikophobe?"
From the doubled Soviet Socialist Republic of New York, New York, congratulations to Wisconsin for a victory for common sense and decency. Now nail that DA in Milwaukee and when he is convicted make him work in a hospital.
Oikophobia: Why the liberal elite finds America revolting - WSJ
Used in a sentence: "An oikophobe is likely to call the US electorate a 'booboisie>'"
I wonder why people Robert Cook openly finds revolting won't appoint him dictator by acclamation?
"Now nail that DA in Milwaukee and when he is convicted make him work in a hospital. "
Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm is lucky the original tea partiers are not still around. He would be tarred, feathered, and run out of town on a rail.
http://watchdog.org/181470/scott-walker-election-john-doe/
I wanted so badly this morning to go on Facebook and say, Hey, all you Walker derangement syndrome members -- will this make you finally, finally, JUST SHUT UP?
But I didn't ......
There's your hard left in a nutshell: their slobbering fanboy love for government in the abstract is matched only by their bitter hatred for the government we've actually got.
But I didn't ......
They wouldn't, even if you had.
"I wonder why people Robert Cook openly finds revolting won't appoint him dictator by acclamation?"
I wonder why you think I would want to be dictator?
Dear lefties, commies, pinkos, socialists, and morons (but I repeat myself:
"independence from the government" != "elimination of government"
April 15th is not dependence on govt., April 15th is slave for govt. day, April 15th is finance politicians' vote buying day.
Robert Cook said...
"Fact check...
"July 4 - Independence Day
September 17 - Constitution Day
"Walker is right again, dummies."
Nope. "Independence Day" is not a celebration of "independence from government," but of independence from a former and loathed government that will be replaced by a new government.
So it was independence from government because a new government hadn't been formed yet. We were still being governed by the continental congress. What hed to be done before our consti8tution was ratified by the colonies?
I wonder why you think I would want to be dictator?
Because you're an annoying busybody.
Congratulations to Scott Walker. He sounds like a class act, able to rise above all the hate thrown at him.
Meanwhile, here in CA Anne Gust was re-elected to her second term.
Among readers of firearm-related blogs, April 15 is known as "Buy A Gun Day," on which day one takes one's refund from tax withholding and buys guns and ammo, recognizing the utility of firearms as indicia of freedom from tyranny.
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