How did Scott Walker get elected? Wisconsin’s previous governor, Dem Jim Doyle, did not seek re-election; Walker ran against former US Representative Tom Barrett, and won by a margin of 52-47%.
Not surprisingly, the categories where he had a significant margin over Barrett are the ones you would expect a Rep to win: males, (including men with children); people making at least $50K; folks without advanced degrees; non-union households; Tea Party supporters; and suburban and rural voters. However, he was handily beaten in Milwaukee County, where he made the same kind of changes he’s proposing now at the State level when he was County Executive.
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) indicated Walker was doing exactly what he promised he’d do if elected. According to Graham, Walker campaigned on a promise to “challenge collective bargaining because it…impedes progress when it comes to education. It’s too hard to fire anybody, it’s too complicated. And I’m going to change the system.” To Graham’s point, “in a democracy when you run on something, you do have an obligation to fulfill your promise,” and so Walker is not taking people by surprise.
As part of the same conversation, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) noted that “If you think this is just about money and the budget, then you might believe that Cesar Chavez was just working to get a couple pennies more per pound for grapes or that Martin Luther King was really working for access to hotels and restaurants.”
There will certainly be more to come on this one.
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