Scott Walker endorses Ted Cruz
The Wisconsin primary is coming up on April 5, and Wisconsin’s governor Scott Walker has endorsed Ted Cruz, saying:
Ted Cruz is a principled constitutional conservative who understands that power belongs to the states ”” and to the people ”” and not bureaucrats in Washington.
Walker is popular with Republicans in the state, and plans to campaign with Cruz. His endorsement was hardly unexpected. If you remember, this is what Walker said when he dropped out of the presidential race early on:
Although Walker did not mention Trump by name back then, it was clearly a call for other candidates who were not doing well to drop out, in order to allow a principled conservative to successfully oppose Trump (“the frontrunner”). The others did not follow Walker’s lead until very very recently, and some (Kasich, I’m talking to you) are still hanging on for reasons of their own.
Gov Walker lives up to my expectations again.
My wife heard a “leak” somewhere yesterday that he would endorse Trump. Strained credulity; but, there have been strange occurrences this season.
It makes me wonder why obvious endorsements for Cruz by Mike Lee and Scott Walker had to wait so long. I mean, these guys are all ideologically aligned.
Is it maybe that Walker was waiting for a better offer from Trump or concluded he wasn’t on the Establishment’s short list in a brokered convention?
A former Milwaukeean, I followed closely Walker’s entire ordeal after his masterful emasculation of Wisconsin’s government unions. He would make a great Secretary of Labor. The federal employee unions need to be reined in far more than the states.
Endorsments dont mean anything to regular people, they DO mean something to guide the groups that are political… ie. if you follow X then do what i say… other than that, they dont influence outcomes… but they DO make a nice show bit of bs..
Artfldgr–You know all of this, how?
One counter argument to your thesis is this: a high percentage of the electorate is, ah hem, low information. They do not do their due diligence, but if someone they are familiar with endorses a candidate, that is good enough. When you think of it, probably a more valid method of choosing than from the cattle call debates, or the advice of talking heads in the media.
I have known older relatives in the past who would vote for whomever certain family members told them to vote; and relieved that they did not have to make choices. (Come to think of it, that is one way that Despots hold power–they make your choices for you.)
I made the mistake of thinking endorsements didn’t matter in AZ. I still think Jan Brewer’s word isn’t worth much, but I think Sheriff Arpaio’s endorsement was worth quite a bit.
I would guess that if WI was willing to elect Walker twice (or three times, depending on who you ask) under such stressful conditions, then his endorsement is probably worth a lot.
@Oldflyer – Think you hit it right. I’d also add that even though Walker hinted last week already at providing an endorsement to Cruz, an announcement this week helps provide the appearance of “momentum” to Cruz, rather than peaking “too early” – fits with the notion that a lot of folks are “late deciders” and, a positive newsflash for Cruz may be what they need to bump them over to Cruz.
@Neo – It is pretty clear with just a little contemplation that it is a rather cynical view that Kasich has.
Yes, he has better polling vs Clinton, but the vast majority of the party are not voting for him and is only at 9% of the delegate count. His only bet is a contested convention, and that would be a huge mess if we have to go there.
It is very very hard to see any scenario that his continued campaign does anything good for the party, for conservatism, or even for the country, given the potential he gives Trump (something that should be anathema to Kasich’s stated principles).
No, it looks simply to be for his own selfish reasons.
1. In fairness to Kasich, he put himself out there, he chose to run, and others chose to vote for him. Many others could have also run, but they decided not to. Anyway, I think there is a good reason why Kasich is staying in the race.
2. With the way things are now, Trump has a good chance of getting enough delegates before the convention, assuming an average performance in most states and winning California. Cruz can also do well, but he won’t be able to catch up to Trump and win enough delegates outright.
3. Trump has the best chance of getting to 1237 delegates before the convention. Even if Cruz does really well, and Trump does very poorly in all the remaining states, then those two might be effectively tied, with neither having a majority.
4. That would lead to a brokered convention. This would give someone like Kasich leverage to advance his interests. Right now, Kasich has nearly as many delegates as Rubio, and may pick up a few more. So maybe Kasich sees this as a way to shape things in a way he would like.
5. As for Trump, he can’t be marginalized at this point, even if he does not get the nomination. He and his supporters have to be dealt with amicably, and incorporated in some way, or there may be some difficulties in the general election in November.
Walker’s endorsement and him campaigning with Cruz (and Fiorina) does matter.
Oldflyer
Artfldgr
Sorry if this insults or annoys either one of you but although I understand you are in opposition your names are too similar to each other to easily separate at first glance. I forget who’s who all the time. I know, I’m just stupid.
Trump is toast. I was working at a NYC power plant this week and one of the plant operators was escorting me. Classic NYC Union guy, great stories, great character. We were talking about some low quality Chinese parts they had and he commented he maybe Trump might change that situation. In the next sentence though he noted that Trump had better learn to control his mouth!
This confirmed my long held belief that those who claim Trump is just acting like blue collar workers do in NYC are full of it. I work with guys like this all the time and they are respectful of others despite all the friendly jabs and jokes. Donald is just a jerk and its insulting to real workers to tar them like this. I was recently at a site where the iron workers told me that they were taking it easy on a co-worker who just had to put down his dog. No jokes or jabs and he got an easier task for the day. Now could you imagine Donald doing that? Bush, Yes. Obama, No. Donald, if it doesn’t affect him he doesn’t care.
DirtyJobsGuy:
Having been brought up in NYC and having lived there till I went to college, and having visited there at least once and actually several times a year since then, I view the argument that Trump is just being a New Yorker as absurd.
They wouldn’t need an oligarchy of delegates and supporters transfering their support, if individual citizens could electronically transfer their vote to a second and third priority candidate, when their primary doesn’t make the list.
Ah, but democracies need that corruption to make a difference. How else would Democrat dominated open primaries work?
I know, I’m just stupid.
Dyslexia?
That’s not being stupid, that’s just min maxing on different specialized axii.
in the interest of space, and lack of room to refute, i assert Cruz is a lying arsehole… accept it..
thanks.. that is my refutation…
lets see how that works comparatively..
🙂
miklos000rosza, its understandable.. after all, unless its trump, we usually are not that far apart, though i like words and use a lot of them… if its too long, its probably me, not oldflyer.. 🙂
but now i am switching to blind assertion for a replacement to refutation, as space does not allow for more than that…
after that, there may even be enough room for a few nyah nyah nyah’s and a “i know you are but what am i?”
Artfldgr:
There’s actually a vast amount of space between 2000 or 3000-word comments and a simple declarative sentence of opinion.
It’s finding the sweet spot in-between that’s the challenge.
Oldflyer Says:
March 29th, 2016 at 5:34 pm
Artfldgr—You know all of this, how?
i really cant win…
if i put the information to avoid the above, its heck and too long and that is disliked
but if i dont, then someone begs the question and the larger answer..
WTF?
The more attention a race gets, the more minds are made up and the less important endorsements are.
read the work of:
John Hibbin University of Nebraska-Lincoln political science professor
Bryan Brogren UNL senior political science major
Aubrey Jewett, a University of Central Florida political science professor
Brian Knight and Chun-Fang Chiang
Media Bias and Influence: Evidence from Newspaper Endorsements
http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/politics/2014/09/14/endorsements-help-candidates/15637481/
i can list out about 20 more people, and about 8 books
you can do the work, i am tired of getting cut down trying to refute a 10 word assertion.. [no one likes it either.. mostly cause it shows how little they have learned from so many sources as i constantly have a huge memory for such stuff i have read over the past 45 years]
you do the leg work, i have..
but it counts for nothing
if i put up more, you will yell its too long
if people do the work, we can agree in a small space
🙂
It’s finding the sweet spot in-between that’s the challenge.
i agree… let me know when you have a cure for aspergers and that foible it brings to this.
long winded one sided is a point of the condition
thanks anyway… this is why i study and dont bother with people much… too lazy to have studied for an equal conversation.. and i am too long winded if you dont know, as i try to encompass too much
this is why dying is better for us who have lives not worthy of living… we cant do what is required, so we dont get raises, promotions, and more..
when i am dead and gone, the world will be better
as its not better with me… thats OBVIOUS
it sucks
and nothing i can do about it…
i have tried tried tried..
my wife is barren, no raises in 12 years, and more
as i am defenseless, cant navigate the bs, and cant compete in an informal game in which lies and games are the norm. when feminists kept me from college and research, they insured my life would be horrid.
so be happy
if you think your tortured by my answers
just think how the world tortures me about it.
i cant wait till life is over..
i have no place, i fit in nowhere and never will
my wife is punished for being with me, and i love her so
i would love to comply
but your asking me to change how i think
how many times in your life did you change how you think not what you think?
Working With Someone With Asperger’s
http://www.forbes.com/2010/08/03/asperger-syndrome-workplace-leadership-careers-autism.html
People with Asperger’s syndrome have trouble reading social cues. They can be long-winded, insensitive and impolite, often failing to look people in the eye. They can also produce remarkable creative breakthroughs.
unless i am someplace where the latter excuses the former, as in high level research… i am screwed.
please… someone shoot me!!
i will die smiling…
how about putting up some of the stuff that i do that people like? 🙂
at least i am lucky.. i have a prety normal life compared to others.. most who are on disability and not making near six figures… (despite being entry level and no raises for 12 years now… my life was over 12 years ago, and they didnt let me know)
thanks guys
sorry
🙁
hey, why dont you show them what kind of office they give someone like me? (it was better in fortune 50 companies who valued me highly… but that was before the fruit bat that cleaned me out, faked her murder and destroyed my life cause i couldnt read her intents till it was past the point of no return… )
at least my son is a naval officer and a good guy
take care everyone.
i dont fit
After the Wisconsin GOP has won so many highly contentious statewide elections, I’ve got to think they have a great get out the vote machine. If this endorsement puts some of it to work for Cruz in addition to his own organization, I think this endorsement could have a large impact.
From my lips to God’s ear.
I’m in no way convinced that the polls showing Hillary beats Trump are correct. I think the polls are distorted by the fact that many people no longer have landlines and by the fact that many people don’t want to admit they are for Trump.
Keeping in mind that Presidential elections are won by getting the votes of un- or weakly affiliated, independent, and crossover voters, generally (but not always) LIVs, I’m struck by the number of crossover voters Trump is gathering.
I’ve been asking my Eloi friends lately, what does Hillary answer when Trump says, “I know you’re corrupt, I’ve bought you!” — mostly their response has been “Unnnh. . .”, with an occasional weak “That’s just politics.” I don’t think that response will get very far with the Morlocks.
It’s really a shame that Trump, the asshole, was the only one of our candidates who realized that the public was saying “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” and built his entire campaign around it.
Richard Saunders:
Actually, Trump wasn’t the only one who realized that. He just got the most press at first because a few of his statements were most radical, and then he realized that was the ticket and capitalized on that and expanded it.
At the beginning, several other people realized the anger and were appealing because of their status as outsiders. Chief among them were Cruz and Fiorina, as well as Carson. They just were nowhere near as outrageous as Trump. Even Trump wasn’t all that outrageous in his kickoff speech; he just got a lot of attention for the “rapist” remark and decided after that to emphasize that sort of outrageous approach. See this.
RS…
Trump alienates PLENTY of people, too.
The Press buries that lede, too.
Jeb! was right about one thing: Trump is a terrible nominee — hence the number of Democrat voters who crossed over to boost his prospects.
None of them crossed over to boost the prospects of either Rubio or Cruz — both would be exactly the guys they would not want to face in the Fall.
In the caucus states, Trump has been consistently weak.
The highest margins of victory seen to date belong to Ted Cruz.
‘Mr. Inevitable’ has but rarely approached 50% in a three-way race.
The single most likely outcome, at this point, is that Trump fails to win the nomination during the first two ballots.
Then the Convention turns into a ‘super caucus’ which was its roots in the first place.
Failing to obtain the nomination from the Convention does not mean that the nomination was stolen from Trump, Cruz or anyone else.
You don’t get much more divided than the Democrats in 1960.
They still prevailed — stuffing the Chicago vote — with the Mob’s able agents — victory after a fashion.
Neo — exactly. He saw it, saw that it was emotional, not rational, then built his whole campaign around the emotional. As I’ve noted before, he’s a real estate guy. You have to move fast, be flexible, and make the other party think they are getting what they want (even if sometimes you actually have to give what they want to them). The most important thing, the ONLY thing, is to close the deal. “Principles? We don’t got no stinkin’ principles. We don’t NEED no stinkin’ principles!”
blert — I hope you’re right about the convention, but I wouldn’t bet that way.
Cruz should have dropped out since he has zero chance of winning a general election, but principles.
holmes:
Funny thing, Cruz polls a great deal better than Trump in a general election. Are you saying that Trump should have dropped out even sooner than Cruz should have?