Governor "I Hate Having to Clean Up My Own Mess" is grumpy today
Governor Scott Walker (R-FitzWalkerStan) is rapidly discovering that the national media is not quite as friendly as his pals in the state and local media in Wisconsin. They have the nerve to ask him questions (even .... gasp ... follow ups) and then print what he says. His latest offerings (
which I detailed here),
haven't been received too well by the folks back home, particularly his refusal to commit to serving a full term if he's re-elected Governor in 2014.
He held a rare presser today.
Gov. Scott Walker on Monday downplayed the possibility of running for president, saying he was focused on his job as governor.
The comment came just three days after Walker told Politico he was not ruling out a run for president in 2016. He also would not commit to serving a full second term if re-elected as governor in 2014, according to the news outlet.
On Monday, Walker took a different approach when asked about it at a news conference ...
"I love being governor," Walker said. "I'm not running for any other job."
Of course he "loves his job" when he's talking to the local yokels. But Walker is nothing if not a political opportunist who jumps in as soon as an opportunity opens up like he did during the Milwaukee County Executive recall.
I'm pretty sure his campaign staff advised him how that was being perceived by the folks back home. It was a gib news item in the highly read Sunday newspapers. They likely reminded him that people don't necessarily like the idea of someone running for re-election who has no intention of sticking around for the full term.
Notoriously amitious, Walkers unguarded comments are generally overlooked or downplayed in our state and local press, but Politico, even though generally more Republican-friendly, just printed what he said. That led Walker with the need to call a rare press conferece to clean up the mess he made.
In his Republican Rock Star role in Meet the Press, Walker stepped in another enourmous pile of poop when he was asked to comment on fellow Republican Rob Portmans about face on LBGT issues (Portmans son is gay). He didn't, however, flip flop on his MTP position since he's fully in line with the GOP anti-gay marriage position that sells big time to Republican voters.
Here's the video if you can stomach it:
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(On Meet the Press Sunday, Walker said;) "The interesting (thing) on the generational standpoint is I’ve had young people ask me I think an appropriate question, is not expanding it to include folks who are not one man and one woman but rather questioning why the government is sanctioning it in the first place," he said on the Sunday show. "I mean that would be an alternative to say not have the government sanction marriage period, and leave that up to the churches and the synagogues and others to define that."
But on Monday, he clarified that he still opposes gay marriage. But he said he is more focused on economic issues and that voters care most about those matters.
(information in italics is mine)
Except that Walker is dead wrong, as usual. While religious institutions perform religious marriage ceremonies, marriage itself is a state institution and, essentially, a contract. You don't have to be married by a religious leader, but cn do so if you want. That's why priests, pastors, rabbis, etc. conclude the ceremony by saying: "By the power vested in me by the State of ______, I now...." It's also the reason that people have to go to court and not their religious leaders if they want a divorce.
Walker didn't talk about his positions on most issues in 2010. Like fellow Republican Ron Johnson who was running for the US Senate, all he talked about was being a Governor who would bring jobs, jobs, jobs and more jobs to Wisconsin. He punted other questions by returning to his jobs message at every turn. And that jobs, jobs, jobs and more jobs campaign focus has been biting him firmly in the behind as Wisconsin slipped from #11 to #42 in jobs during Walkers first term as Governor.
National exposure of Walkers rabidly extremist positions is a good thing. They won't play well with most people who, because of the national attention, aren't aware of what they are.
More, please.
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Update: Hahahahaha Edition.
Nice to know that 1 of 2 high powered RW hate radio in my area is falling on some hard times.
Local broadcaster Joe Scialfa was ousted Friday as WTMJ-AM (620) program director after 15 years with the station. He joined the station as a producer in 1998 and became assistant program director in 2008....
He had also worked as a producer of Charlie Sykes show.
In a memo sent to the staff announcing his departure, Scialfa attributed it to the fact "the station has been underperforming for the last year."
Charlie Sykes, local RWNJ radio host who also has his own TeeVee propaganda show on WTMJ Channel 4, gets a large amount of Scott Walkers time on the radio.
To go along with the GOP meme, maybe it's not the hate message, but the management that's the problem. Hahahahaha.
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