The calm "incidental" governing style of Scott Walker is intentionally
deceiving. Since he doesn't attack his opponents directly, voters are lulled
into believing the unbelievable; that criminal activity or blatant policy failures
are things that happen around him, and aren't caused by him.
For instance, Democratic
voters in Milwaukee kept voting him back in as County Executive, despite nearly
bankrupting the county and making spending cuts he knew the County Board would restore.
From mandating unnecessary medical procedures-putting bureaucrats between doctors and their patients-to perpetuating racist school mascots, Walker is getting away with claiming none of these things are not on his radar. But Scott, you've signed them into law after long deliberations and reassuring press releases to your base.
Cap Times
Once again, Gov. Scott Walker’s approval rating hardly budged. In the past two years, his approval rating has not once dipped below 46 percent or risen above 51 percent in the Marquette University Law School poll …remained stable despite significant changes in how Wisconsinites perceive the economy.
In October 2012, for instance, 53 percent of respondents in a Marquette poll said they believed the economy would improve in the next year … In that poll, Walker’s approval rating was 50 percent.
A year later, in October 2013, 32 percent believed the economy would get better, 29 percent believed it would get worse and 35 percent believed it would remain the same. And yet Walker’s approval rating in that poll was 49 percent, apparently unharmed by the dramatic hike in pessimism about the economy.
Poor job creation, mismanaging the Wisconsin Economic Development
Corporation as chairman, point blank saying he wanted to divide and conquer
constituents, and lackluster business activity have done nothing to move his
approval ratings, an unsettling result that doesn't bode well for his Democratic opponent.
An approval rating below 50% is generally considered as trouble for an incumbent, especially when he has a very high disapproval rating and his campaign financing from the previous election is under investigation. He has a very thin margin for error and will need all the vote suppression he can manage.
ReplyDeleteGareth is correct. Walker's approval is a lot softer than his disapproval. Only about 30% of the state are gutless mouth-breathers- the other 15-20% are just going with the flow because that's what they're "supposed" to do, or because they haven't been exposed enough to the failure to jump ship.
ReplyDeleteThe real question regarding Walker is whether 2014 is like Bush in 2004, or Bush in 2006? And it's up to the Dems to not be defensive and weak like 2004, and aggressive in exposing the failures and being the change agent, like they were in 2006. The resemblances between Mary Burke and John Kerry are merely coincidental.