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Flash, Mike...have you heard this?

He is a very personable speaker who can connect with common sense conservatives. I feel that his campaign can resonate with conservatives while not alienating most moderates.
 
Walker is the best candidate right now, period. He is a true conservative from a blue state. He is a leader. He is from the heartland. He has won 4 elections in the last 5 years or 6 years.

I like him, a lot.
 
Originally posted by nashvillegoldenflash:
He is a very personable speaker who can connect with common sense conservatives. I feel that his campaign can resonate with conservatives while not alienating most moderates.
Flash, I think for a lot of conservatives, the biggest sticking point with Walker is his past comments regarding illegal immigration and amnesty. I'm a little concerned as well, although, according to the article (below), Walker claims he isn't for amnesty, but also support citizenship for the illegals and supports liberalizing the rules for legal immigration. Frankly, it sounds to me as if Walker is not quite sure himself where he stands on the issue.


Scott Walker: "I'm not for amnesty"


posted at 6:01 pm on February 2, 2015 by Allahpundit







Via support for a path to citizenship for illegals is shaping up to be his biggest liability on the right in the primaries. (Amazingly, Martha Raddatz didn't ask him about that during their exchange.) Obviously he's going to "evolve" on this issue. But how far? Let's flag this as the starting point so that we can track it as it happens.


Two points. One: He says he's not for amnesty, his citizenship stance notwithstanding, but that's not a new soundbite for Walker. "Amnesty" means many things to many people; to the Gang of Eight, for instance, the fact that illegals would be forced to meet certain requirements (paying back taxes, etc) before qualifying for citizenship meant that their plan wasn't "amnesty." Walker's been insisting for more than a year that he doesn't support "amnesty" either even though he does support citizenship and liberalizing the rules for legal immigration. Two: He's quick to tell Raddatz that he'll lay out his own immigration plan eventually if he becomes a candidate, which is his way of saying "don't ask me anything too specific right now." Listening to him here, you would think he didn't have firm opinions on immigration yet beyond some basic principles like "secure the border." But that's not so. Watch him field a question on immigration from 2013 in the second clip below and note what he says about border security at around 1:30. For Walker, securing the border is less a matter of building a fence or hiring 10,000 new Border Patrol agents than it is about relaxing the rules for legal admission to the U.S. His view seems to be that if you want to come here to work, it should be very easy for you to do so - easy enough that you wouldn't even think of crossing the border illegally, as the legal route would be just as simple. Think you'll be seeing this in a Ted Cruz attack ad six months from now? I do.





This post was edited on 2/6 3:55 PM by bigbadjohn45
 
Originally posted by Blueraider_Mike:
Walker is the best candidate right now, period. He is a true conservative from a blue state. He is a leader. He is from the heartland. He has won 4 elections in the last 5 years or 6 years.

I like him, a lot.
Mike, you're not the only one who thinks that about Walker. In fact, political contributor Dick Morris (who I don't always agree with but nonetheless respect his opinion) wrote a recent article stating that he believes Walker can win (see below).

What say you? Do you agree with Morris that Walker has a legitimate chance of winning?




Scott Walker Could Win

By Dick Morris on February 4, 2015




Published on TheHill.com on February 3, 2015


Scott Walker is the only ambidextrous candidate in the Republican field. He appeals equally to the Republican establishment and the Tea Party/evangelical wingers.


All other candidates fit neatly in one or the other box. While Jeb Bush's record in Florida used to make him the most attractive member of his family to conservatives, he has blown that accolade with his strong support for immigration amnesty and Common Core.


Chris Christie was never the darling of conservatives, but his appeal to establishment Republicans is obvious.


Neither Bush nor Christie is a switch-hitter.


On the right, Ted Cruz's views fit the Tea Party like a glove but his brand of fiery politics may be too much for establishment ears. He is so effective and so on target that he scares the cautious GOP establishment to death. Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum have perfect pitch in appealing to evangelicals, but, perforce, are too out there for the more establishment types.


Rand Paul and Marco Rubio both have the potential to be transcendent, Paul because he is blazing new ideological grounds and Rubio because of his cautious, respectful tone.


But both are very young and the establishment doesn't want to take chances. Can Rubio hold his own on a national stage (without frequent gulps of water)? Can Paul's libertarian ideology catch on? The establishment would rather not find out with the presidency on the line.


Paul also runs afoul of the national security wing of the establishment, a potent part of the centrist coalition.


Rick Perry once spanned the centrist and Tea Party wings of the party - until he imploded in 2012. Can he recover from his ungraceful exit last time? Can he overcome the phony indictment under which partisan Texas prosecutors have forced him to labor? We don't know yet.


Cruz, Paul, Rubio, Huckabee, Santorum and Perry are all are hoping to be crossovers, keeping their Tea Party base but appealing to the center as well. But Walker is effortlessly able to battle for the establishment, the Tea Party and the evangelical vote. And there is no reason for him to have trouble with national security voters, either.


The Wisconsin governor has been elected and reelected, and defeated a recall attempt in a key swing state. His combat credentials are enough to assuage worries the establishment might have about a first-time candidate. His record on job creation and fiscal discipline is admirable. He is the Christie who succeeded; Wisconsin is where the New Jersey governor dreamed his state would be.


Yet Walker's credentials as a battler against the left earn him backing from the right wing of the Republican Party, including his stand against municipal unions, amnesty and Common Core.


From the Republican point of view, he is America's most successful governor. He offers a chance to take the education issue away from Hillary Clinton. He has actually turned a school system around, ironically, by applying some of the very same remedies Clinton first proposed in Arkansas in 1982 but has long since abandoned in her sycophancy toward the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.


And Walker has been vetted. He has been through a trial by fire that no other GOP presidential aspirant has. Under the constant pressure of the municipal labor unions, continuously tested in recalls (both his own and his senators'), he has survived nicely.


Energetic, young, charismatic and fresh, Walker provides just the kind of generational contrast Clinton has most to fear. And, now with Mitt Romney out of the race, he can spread his wings.


View my most recent videos in case you missed them!


House GOP Centrist Women Rebel On Abortion - Dick Morris TV: Lunch Alert!


The Only Vice President To Write A Hit Song…And Win A Nobel Prize - Dick Morris TV: History Video!


Hillary Trapped By Iran Sanctions Issue - Dick Morris TV: Lunch Alert!


Obama Gives Up On College Savings Tax Hike - Dick Morris TV: Lunch Alert!


Will Walker Run? Dick Morris TV: Lunch Alert!http://www.dickmorris.com/will-walker-run-dick-morris-tv-lunch-alert/

This post was edited on 2/6 4:02 PM by bigbadjohn45
 
Flash, I still believe that Walker needs to clarify and affirm his stance on illegal immigration and amnesty before he can gain the support of many true conservatives. As we've discussed, Ted Cruz hits the nail on the head with every issue in my view. Furthermore, he can articulate conservatism with few (if any) peers. It'll be very interesting to see how the Republican field unfolds--especially when the debates begin. Cruz is a renowned expert debater who can hold his own against anyone. My hope is that Americans listening to those debates will catch on to Cruz and support him.
 
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