OK, I'm a little late with this posting thanks to yesterday's migraine, but Tuesday's elections provided some great insights into Scott Walker's trip to the far reaches of the political spectrum.
Anyone aligned with Walker better think twice about his or her allegiance. They may be safe in Waukesha and Racine, perhaps. But anyone who supports Scott Walker's agenda will eventually own it, personally and publicly. And while the Republicans won't admit it in public, they definitely know it. And they should be worried.
Let's start with Milwaukee County. Now, you can say that Jeff Stone didn't have a chance, thanks to Walker's unpopularity in the county. But Stone didn't move the dial at all. He won basically the same amount of the county39%that Walker won last fall, 38%. Voters couldn't get beyond Stone as a Walker clone, and, quite frankly, Stone didn't do much to show that he's different than Walker. So, yeah, he didn't have a chance. But you'd think that Stone got a huge gift in his opponent, a political novice who, quite frankly, is one of the weakest candidates I've seen in a long time. No track record, terrible speaker, problematic personal life, no platform that folks could rally around, nothing. But voters were more willing to take a chance on Chris Abele than to support a known quantity like Stone. And they did so in huge numbers.
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That said, Stone is now free to support Walker's agenda in Madison and now that he's taken one for the team he'll probably get some of his pet projects fast-tracked. Scratch thatall of the Republicans' pet projects will be fast-tracked now that they know that they're operating on borrowed time. Recalls could jeopardize their majority in the Senate, meaning that they'll have to actually cut deals and make compromises with Democrats or they'll get nothing done.
So, look for the flurry of ultra-conservative legislation to turn into a blizzard. Voter ID, residency changes, privatization of schools, you name it. The Fitzgerald brothers will run with it while they've got the numbers.
And what of the razor-thin difference between the votes for JoAnne Kloppenburg and incumbent Supreme Court Justice David Prosser?
Here again, voters seem to have been quite willing to take a chance on an unknown candidate rather than go with the known quantity. If Kloppenburg's unofficial win holds up, Republicans should be terrified. Even if Prosser somehow pulls out an upset during the recount, Republicans should be terrified.
Now, I know that Walker is saying that the Supreme Court election isn't about him. And that Republicans are saying that there was enough voter fraud to tip the scales in Kloppenburg's favor.
But the fact is that this election was all about Scott Walker.
On Tuesday, Scott Walker proved to be a bad bet. Not only is he responsible for potentially losing a conservative seat on the state Supreme Court, but he wasted more than $2.2 million spent by conservative groups on TV ads alone. For what? A loss? A win after a protracted recount when Prosser should have won in a landslide? These groups are not going to forget this. Sure, they may air ads in the future, but I don't think David Koch (the real one, at least) is going to be calling Walker anytime soon. These folks want a return on their investment, and they may walk away from the recall elections if they think it's a big waste of their time and resources.
Walker is also toxic as a future presidential or vice presidential candidate. Every Walker-related headline in a mainstream media outlet has been negative since February, just a few weeks into his term. Walker slashes bargaining rights. Walker's approval rating tanks. Walker gets punked by a fake Koch brother. Walker generates historic protests. Walker's collective bargaining bill gets tied up in the courts. And now Walker has jeopardized the conservative majority on the state Supreme Courtand the nation is watching. Unlike other conservative governorssay, Sarah Palin before she was tapped by John McCainWalker's got a whole lot of bad local and national press. Nobody's going to want to tie their future to his.
Walker's going to be toxic in upcoming local races, too. Sure, he'll appear at closed-door fundraisers for candidates, but would you appear in public with a guy who's hounded by protesters everywhere he goes? If you were being recalled and fighting for your political life, would you want to get his endorsement? If you thought George W. Bush was kryptonite in 2008, Walker will be worse for Republicans this year and next (assuming he's still in office next year).
So we'll see who actually wins this Supreme Court seat. But even if Prosser squeaks by, Scott Walker will end up being the big loser on Tuesday.
