I read something in yesterday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that I found amusing and very telling. Polifact did a fact-check on a remark Wisconsin Governor Scott "These-Boots-Are-Made-For" Walker made in a recent interview. They rated it "Pant on Fire", but I think that the reason why he made that particular taradiddle very illuminating about our governor.
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One of the upsides of Walker's re-election victory is that he no long has to pretend that he might not run for president. Well, it's an upside for him anyway. Last week he appeared on Joe Scarborough and he was discussing foreign policy. In the interview he invoked the Blessed Saint Ronald Reagan and noted that one of his early actions as president was to fire all the striking air traffic controllers. Walker said that this was a significant foriegn policy action, because it demonstrated to our enemies abroad that "we were serious."
"Years later, documents released from the Soviet Union showed that that exactly was the case. The Soviet Union started treating (Reagan) more seriously once he did something like that. Ideas have to have consequences. And I think (President Barack Obama) has failed mainly because he's made threats and hasn't followed through on them."
This is, of course, the statement that Polifact latched onto to prove or disprove. And dang it, it turned out that there are no documents revealing that Gorbachev was shaking in his caviar-lined boots at how tough Reagan was against unions.
But they missed what I thought was the telling point.
Line up a dozen Republicans and ask them what was Reagan's most significant accomplishment in office and you might get a dozen answers; they might say it was challenging Gorbachev to "Tear Down This Wall", or to make Balancing the Budget a National Priority, or lowering taxes (for a while), or making Americans Feel Good About America Again.
I'm not sure anyone would say that sticking it to the Air Traffic Controllers was Reagan's signature act in office; especially regarding foriegn policy.
But Walker would; because crushing unions is Walker's signature act in office. Well, that and surviving a recall election. That is Scott Walker at his most Reaganesque.
And Scotty really reeeeeally hates unions.