What I like most about Scott Walker, unfortunately, also happens to be what makes him most dangerous.
It has been on full display in his two televised debates with Democratic candidate Mary Burke, who continues to run dead even with Walker going into the final days of the Wisconsin governor’s race.
But, first, why in the world would any progressive like anything at all about Walker? I certainly wouldn’t argue that the right-wing policies Walker’s inflicted on this state as governor have been anything other than destructive.
But any journalist who covers politics very long knows there are likable people as well as obnoxious people in both major parties of all ideologies.
I knew and liked Walker before he was a force behind dismantling decades of progressive government in Wisconsin.
Walker was a mild-mannered Wauwatosa legislator doing the soft sell for Republicans on the Sunday morning TV show hosted by the intentionally more abrasive right-wing radio personality Mark Belling.
As a token liberal on the show, I found it disarming to meet a right-leaning politician who always remained pleasant and friendly even though we totally disagreed on, oh, just about everything.
I’d begun my career covering Milwaukee Mayor Henry Maier, who viciously attacked and denigrated The Milwaukee Journal and me personally for doing our jobs. Walker was a whole different kind of politician.
Later, when Walker became Milwaukee County executive and I co-hosted a morning talk show on 1290 WMCS, a radio station with a large African American audience, Walker was always willing to come on the air to defend actions that negatively affected black families and the poor.
As hard as my partner Cassandra and I tried to nail him to the wall, I always felt Walker came off as a likable, decent person who would never intentionally do all the bad things we accused him of doing to the most vulnerable people in the community.
And therein lies the problem. Because once Walker became governor, he didn’t hesitate to do his very worst.
Walker’s real political strength has always been putting a benign, innocent face on right-wing policies that really are reprehensible.
You know, things like destroying union rights for workers to take away their voice in seeking better wages, hours or working conditions; passing percentage tax cuts that assure enormous tax windfalls for the enormously wealthy while scattering a few hundred dollars to working class families seeing their wealth decline; or deliberately sabotaging democracy by creating obstacles to deny voting rights to African Americans, Latinos and other non-Republicans.
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Nice Guy Demeanor, Not-So-Nice Policies
A pleasant demeanor and big, brown eyes can hide a wealth of political sins. A perfect example was Walker’s response in the final debate, when asked how he’d improve the safety of inner city families living in dangerous, free-fire zones.
First, he expressed how personal the issue was to him since his own family lived close to Milwaukee.
Then Walker solemnly pronounced “one of the most important things we’ve done this past year” was working with the city and county to expand the Milwaukee Police Department’s ShotSpotter program—a system of high-tech sensors in high crime areas instantly pinpointing the exact location of gunfire, often allowing police to arrive within minutes.
It was risky, audacious playacting, since many viewers easily could have remembered that Walker opposed funding ShotSpotter before he was for it.
Mary Burke knew.
Burke immediately reminded everyone Walker had publicly refused to include $445,500 to expand ShotSpotter in his 2013 state budget, callously risking real lives.
It was only after Mayor Tom Barrett and Police Chief Ed Flynn continued lobbying for ShotSpotter’s life-saving benefits that Walker and Republican legislators relented early this year and added partial state funding of $175,000 for the program.
Walker never explained why he originally opposed funding ShotSpotter, but right-wing websites at the time questioned whether anti-gun government officials could somehow target so-called legitimate gun owners, who apparently might need to shoot up their neighborhoods.
Walker has always known how to use his seemingly innocent, low-key persona to cover thinly disguised racial appeals to extremists. Running against Barrett, everybody knew what Walker was talking about when he raised fears about the rest of the state “turning into Milwaukee.”
Appearing to be a nice guy even if you really aren’t can take you a long way in politics. Nobody considered George W. Bush very bright, but he seemed like a nice guy. What’s the worst that could happen? A couple of decade-long wars and the second worst economic disaster in history.
We’ve had four years of seemingly nice guy Walker doing a whole lot of things that weren’t very nice to Wisconsin’s environment, its economy, its educational system and its people.
This time maybe we should go for competence, intelligence and concern for real people other than millionaires. Fortunately, Mary Burke’s a pretty nice person too.
