Scott Walker

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

How Trump's Presidency Might Lead to the End of Walker's Governorship

New series of polls by Ipsos has no good news for Republicans.

Scott Walker is, once again, in a very tight race for reelection in Wisconsin.

As far as I know, Time magazine never ran a cover calling Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker the “Republican Savior.” But at one time, he fit the bill.

Scott Walker said Monday he would be willing to campaign alongside President Trump in the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections. The Wisconsin governor, who is running for a third term this fall, spoke at THE WEEKLY STANDARD’s Midwest Conservative Summit in Milwaukee and told my colleague Charlie…

Today on the Daily Standard Podcast, Adam Keiper and Stephen White join to discuss his recent article The Pope's Mess, a review of Ross Douthat's book about Pope Francis. Later, Andrew Egger and Jim Swift discuss the battle royale inside the West Wing to replace Hope Hicks, and host Charlie Sykes…

Gubernatorial elections are high maintenance.

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker recently announced that he would continue pushing for rules that would require individuals to complete a drug test when applying for food stamps. Instead of free groceries, able-bodied adults with no children who test positive for drugs would be pointed toward rehab,…

On May 23, the Wisconsin Department of Justice (WisDOJ) received a call from the state’s ethics board. An employee rummaging around in the basement of the building had found a filing cabinet full of material from the now-defunct “John Doe” investigations into the state’s Republican governor, Scott…

With the U.S. Supreme Court case, Gill vs. Whitford now concluded, we wished to look at how the Badger State found itself at the center of the judicial fight over partisan gerrymander. The following is Part 2 in a series relaying Wisconsin’s recent history in drawing its legislative district lines.

Upon hearing that Congress would attempt to overturn a regulation restricting the use of drug tests for unemployment benefits, several Republican governors sent a letter on Tuesday in support of the resolution.

Cleveland

Echoing fellow Wisconsinite and House speaker Paul Ryan, Governor Scott Walker said Tuesday that delegates to the Republican National Convention ought to vote how they see fit.

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on why Gov. Scott Walker's Cruz endorsement matters.

Scott Walker is endorsing Ted Cruz for president of the United States.

The process of winnowing the Republican presidential field to a few candidates is beginning to take its toll, though the first actual voting won’t occur until February.

Just after Scott Walker bowed out of the presidential race, the New York Times headlined “Scott Walker’s Dismal Finish Is a Fitting Result, Old Foes Say”:

On Monday, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, the Republican presidential front-runner on April Fools' Day, quit the contest. There had been no scandal which disgraced him, no momentous mistake which undermined him. It was simply that he once had support from Republican primary voters; he no longer…

Here's a less than illuminating passage from a hot-off-the-presses New York Times story on Scott Walker bowing out of the presidential race, headlined "Scott Walker’s Dismal Finish Is a Fitting Result, Old Foes Say" :

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on Scott Walker's early departure from the 2016 race.

The fallout from Scott Walker's exit from the presidential race continues in Iowa, which had been the Wisconsin governor's stronghold. The Des Moines Register's Jennifer Jacobs reports that Texas senator Ted Cruz has gained the support of three of Walker's county chairs:

Four members of Scott Walker's Iowa campaign are now aligning with Marco Rubio. With the Wisconsin governor exiting the presidential race Monday, the Walker campaign's network of activist supporters in the early primary states are free to endorse other candidates.

Florida senator Marco Rubio has picked up the support of a South Carolina Republican activist who had previously supported Scott Walker.

It’s hard to exaggerate how shocking it is that Scott Walker is out of the 2016 race on September 21.

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker's presidential campaign announced a press conference for Monday evening, and the New York Times reports the Republican is likely to drop out:

Jake Tapper and CNN pretended during the Republican presidential debate that Obamacare doesn’t exist.  But Republican voters won’t follow suit.  Instead, they are likely to cast their votes largely based on who looks most committed to repealing President Obama’s tenuously perched signature…

A new CNN poll of the registered Republican and Republican-leaning voters finds Carly Fiorina taking second place in the GOP presidential primary, behind Donald Trump and just one point ahead of Ben Carson. The poll, taken over the course of the three days following CNN's September 16 debate, found…

As Jeb Bush and Donald Trump were arguing, Scott Walker interjected:

One of the worst things about Obamacare is that it provides taxpayer funding of abortion.  This is one of the nearly countless reasons why Obamacare must be repealed, and it’s one of the core reasons why it is crucial for Republican presidential candidates to show they have an alternative that…

At a speech at President Reagan’s alma mater on Thursday, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker challenged his GOP rivals on Obamacare.  Walker highlighted his own Obamacare alternative, promising he would send it to Congress on Day One. Observing that members of Congress “need a little incentive to get…

The results of the latest straw poll of WEEKLY STANDARD readers are in. It's not a scientific poll, of course—but since the respondents are very perceptive WEEKLY STANDARD readers, I'm going to claim (why not?) that the results are a suggestive leading indicator of where the GOP race may be going.

It’s been a rough month for Scott Walker. From February through July, the Wisconsin governor topped virtually every poll of likely GOP voters in the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses. But after a lackluster performance in the opening Republican presidential debate on August 6, Walker dropped nearly…

A few people have asked me to elaborate on the thought I tried hurriedly to express at the end of the This Week roundtable. Here it is: Republicans have a problem, while Democrats have a crisis.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD has long observed that Obamacare, which President Obama pitched as a great deal for Americans of all stripes, is really only for the near-poor and near-elderly—at the expense of the middle class and the young. While only a small minority has benefitted from the 2,400-page…

A new Monmouth poll of registered or leaning Republican primary voters nationally finds New York businessman Donald Trump continuing to lead in the crowded GOP field. Trump's support is at 30 percent, 4 points higher than he was in Monmouth's August poll and 17 points higher than in its July poll.

On August 18, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker became the first leading Republican presidential candidate to release a full-fledged Obamacare alternative. Walker’s alternative would fully repeal Obamacare and provide the sort of real reform for which Americans have long been waiting. But there has…

If this was meant to be entertainment, all 10 Flying Wallendas refused to walk the high wire, none of the clowns got out of the tiny car, and the elephants just stood around relieving themselves.

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is nothing if not a campaign veteran. He’s run and won three statewide races since 2010, including the highly contentious recall election in 2012. In fact, since an unsuccessful bid for the state assembly in 1990 when he was just 22, Walker hasn’t lost an election.…

As Jeffrey Anderson noted in this week's issue of the magazine, the issue of Obamacare featured less conspicuously that one might have expected in the first Republican presidential debate. More broadly, the issue has been less central to the GOP primary campaign than one might have anticipated,…

Donald Trump is down nine points among Republican primary voters nationally, according to a post-debate poll from Rasmussen Reports. The real estate magnate and reality TV star still leads the crowded primary field, but with 17 percent support Trump is down nine points from Rasmussen's pre-debate…

A new poll of likely GOP caucusgoers in Iowa finds that Marco Rubio and Ben Carson made the most positive impression in the first Republican debate.

In the days before the Fox News debate last week, Donald Trump said he wasn’t looking to attack any of his Republican rivals unless he was attacked. That’s changed, apparently.

Goffstown, N.H.

Andrew Ferguson, writing in the Wall Street Journal:

A new national Quinnipiac University poll finds Donald Trump leading the crowded Republican presidential primary field with 20 percent support, even as 30 percent of registered Republican voters say there is "no way" they would support him for president. The New York reality TV star and real-estate…

On July 16, we saw the definitive end to one of the greatest abuses of power in recent memory. After five years, the Wisconsin ­supreme court finally halted the Milwaukee district attorney’s notorious “John Doe” investigation that targeted Governor Scott Walker and political allies trying to reform…

Democrat Hillary Clinton is trailing some potential Republican opponents in three key swing states, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac, and doing about as well against the GOP as one of her rivals for the Democratic nomination, Bernie Sanders.

A new poll of likely Republican caucusgoers in Iowa finds Scott Walker with a broad base of support just a week after the Wisconsin governor officially entered the presidential race. The new survey from Monmouth University finds Walker with 22 percent support, leading his closest competitor, Donald…

Ames, Iowa

The latest Suffolk University/USA Today poll is likely spooking Republicans in Washington and eliciting cheers from Hillary Clinton headquarters. The poll finds Donald Trump leading the pack of GOP White House hopefuls with 17 percent support, with all the remaining candidates but Jeb Bush…

As the news of the nuclear deal reached between the United States, its Western allies, and the Islamic Republican of Iran broke Tuesday morning, Republican presidential candidates were nearly unanimous in condemning the agreement.

Waukesha

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on the entrance of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker into the crowded 2016 GOP primary field.

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is announcing that he's running for president today. Because of Walker's anti-Union reputation, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka made sure to weigh in.

Milwaukee

When Scott Walker formalizes his presidential run Monday with a long-anticipated announcement, he will have at his side a seasoned veteran of Republican politics and an architect of the modern conservative movement. THE WEEKLY STANDARD has learned that Walker is expected to name Michael Grebe as…

Over the past few months, the boss has conducted an unscientific straw poll to ask newsletter subscribers (subscribe for free!) and TWS blog readers their top three choices for the 2016 GOP nominee. This morning, he sent out the results, and Scott Walker has maintained his lead.

Both Florida Republicans running for president are tied for first among registered voters in their party, according to a new poll of the Sunshine State from Quinnipiac.

Another Sunday, another New York Times magazine, this one featuring a cover story about “Scott Walker and the dismantling of American unions.” Readers of the Old Grey Lady, a newspaper not without its virtues, are undoubtedly aware of its sympathy for down-trodden workers, especially if they belong…

Fresh off its widely-mocked exclusive on the traffic citations given Marco and Jeannette Rubio – fewer than one per year, combined – the New York Times has an in-depth look at Scott Walker and the wealthy conservatives who backed him throughout his rise to national prominence. It’s a classic of the…

Scott Walker does not think he's the front runner in the 2016 Republican presidential primary. Instead, the Wisconsin governor believes that title goes to the former Florida governor, Jeb Bush.

Oklahoma City

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker said America should focus on the current challenges and problems faced in Iraq. Speaking on CBS's Face the Nation, Walker responded to a question from Bob Schieffer about potential 2016 rival Jeb Bush's difficult time answering questions about the 2003 invasion of…

Since announcing his candidacy for the president last month, Florida senator Marco Rubio has surged in the polls for the Republican nomination. He's now tied with Wisconsin governor Scott Walker and trails former Florida governor Jeb Bush by two points in the Real Clear Politics average of polls.…

A new Quinnipiac poll of likely Iowa Republican presidential caucusgoers finds Wisconsin's Scott Walker in front of the GOP pack with 21 percent support and a 9-point advantage over his closest primary opponents. That's down from 25 percent and a 12-point lead in Quinnipiac's February poll, but…

A new poll of likely Iowa Republican presidential caucus goers finds a wide-open field with three candidates vying for the top spot and a plurality undecided. Scott Walker, the governor of neighboring Wisconsin, leads the latest poll from Loras College, earning 12.6 percent support. Florida senator…

According to Gallup, only 7 percent of Americans want immigration levels to increase, while 86 percent either want them to remain at current levels (47 percent) or decrease (39 percent).  With most current and prospective Republican presidential candidates tripping over each other to vie for that 7…

Scott Walker’s recent comments suggesting that the United States’s policy on legal immigration should be focused on what’s good for American workers — a seemingly obvious point that nevertheless has ruffled feathers — offers further evidence of the Wisconsin governor’s political savvy.  When two of…

Nashua, N.H.

Nashua, N.H.

Scott Walker and Hillary Clinton may very well face off against other in the general election for president next year, but the Republican from Wisconsin has claimed to have had Clinton's number for more than a decade. Long before he had become a national figure, Walker said on a Wisconsin radio…

Governor Scott Walker has responded to a shot taken at him by President Obama with his own strong statement.

A new poll of New Hampshire GOP primary voters from the Boston Herald and Franklin Pierce University finds Jeb Bush and Scott Walker are tied at 15 percent support, with a slew of other likely candidates close behind in the first presidential primary of the cycle. Here's the Herald on the…

Urbandale, Iowa

Iowa took umbrage, last week, over something an operative for Scott Walker said.  Or, to be precise, something she once tweeted.  For her indiscretion, Liz Mair was forced to resign from Walker’s political action committee. Walker is not yet an officially declared candidate for president but that…

Scott Walker may not be a candidate for president yet, but the Wisconsin governor’s growing political action committee staff is already going after a potential rival in the Republican primary. GOP strategist Liz Mair, CNN reports, has just signed on to consult for Walker’s Our American Revival PAC,…

After Gov. Scott Walker's performance today in New Hampshire, he was greeted by throngs of supporters (and members of the press), who wanted to shake his hand and ask him questions.

A new poll from the Wall Street Journal and NBC News shows Florida senator Marco Rubio and Wisconsin governor Scott Walker have the most goodwill among Republican primary voters ahead of both men's possible bids for the presidency.

President Obama is responding to Scott Walker's latest move in Wisconsin with a sharply worded statement.

Scott Walker has had a pretty good run as of late. He’s made some new friends and wrong-footed the right enemies and became, in fairly short order, a leader among the pack of Republican politicians running for president.  Perhaps even the leader. 

We've just finished tabulating the results an online poll conducted during the last week of WEEKLY STANDARD readers. They were given a chance to let us know who would be, as of now, their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices for the GOP presidential nomination. We want to thank the 3,700 readers who…

The Democratic National Committee is already asking its supporters to "Stop Scott Walker." That's the subject of an email sent along this afternoon to supporters.

Over the past few days at CPAC, Sean Hannity has asked various prospective Republican presidential candidates to list their “top five agenda items.” Former governor Jeb Bush’s list did not include repealing Obamacare.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on Scott Walker and his battle with the D.C. press corps, all while President Obama capitulates to Iran.

It’s still two years before the next president takes the oath of office, but the contest that will determine who raises his right hand that day started in earnest last month for Republicans, with a grassroots gathering in Iowa and a meeting of high-dollar donors in California.

It was more than 20 years in the past that a Bush and a Clinton faced off against each other in a presidential election. Back in 1992, that was incumbent GOP president George Bush and his successful Democratic challenger Bill Clinton. Twenty-three years later, Bush's son Jeb and Clinton's wife…

Encouraged by Fox News host Megyn Kelly, Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin mocked former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her Ivy League degree in remarks posted to Kelly's Facebook page.

The Washington Post has a long article up about Scott Walker's formative years. It has some fine reporting, but the overall tone and headline are curious: "As Scott Walker mulls White House bid, questions linger over college exit." 

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on Scott Walker's path to the 2016 GOP nomination.

Scott Walker has proposed higher education budget reforms and many people in higher education are unhappy.

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker leads an early poll of New Hampshire Republican primary voters, NH1 reports:

Scott Walker told ABC that he would not rule out putting "boots on the ground" to fight ISIS:

The first ad making the case for Scott Walker for president of the United States, from his newly formed committee called Our American Revival:

In this week's newsletter, Bill Kristol reports the results of the un-scientific reader poll of the 2016 Republican presidential field:

Scott Walker has won every round of his long fight with Big Labor in Wisconsin, but it wasn’t until November 4 that he delivered the knockout punch. In his third gubernatorial election in four years, Walker defeated Democratic challenger Mary Burke by 6 points. It was the same margin of victory he…

Two years after it was supposed to help revitalize Atlantic City, the $2.4 billion Revel casino—all 57 stories of it—is closed. It’s an expensive eyesore that sums up Atlantic City’s decline.

West Allis, Wis.

It's still a year and a half before the first presidential primaries of 2016, but Gallup has a new survey out asking Republicans and Democrats about the potential GOP candidates. Analyzing those candidates' familiarity and favorability among Republicans, Gallup has discovered the best known and…

Madison school board member Mary Burke is the Democratic challenger to Wisconsin governor Scott Walker. But Democrats should hope interested voters don't head to MaryBurke.com. Wisconsin Republicans snagged the web address before Burke could and have created a near-mirror image of Burke's real…

Rebecca Kleefisch, the Republican lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, likes to talk about butter. By the time we’re done talking, I know exactly how to buy a month’s worth from a Wisconsin Kwik Trip—and what Kleefisch thinks that has to do with Republican politics.

In Wisconsin, as Jason Stein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast, with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on his recent feature story on new revelations about Benghazi.

Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal and Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, both Republicans, have written a letter President Obama saying the IRS scandal "is big brother come to life."

Ephraim, Wisc.

MItt Romney reportedly asked Florida governor Rick Scott to "downplay" the Sunshine State's improving job numbers, according to Bloomberg News:

The New York Times profiles the mayor of Thessaloniki, Yiannis Boutaris, the Scott Walker of Greece:

Much has been made of Barack Obama’s comment Friday morning that the “private sector is doing fine.” The mockery is well-deserved.

Less than twelve hours after he won the election to recall him from office, Scott Walker made a direct and forceful pitch to Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney: go big, and go bold.

Here's an indication of just how impressive and broad-based Scott Walker's 7-point win was last night: If the Democratic strongholds of Dane County and Milwaukee County had 100 percent turnout of registered voters, and every other county remained the same, Walker still would have won the state by…

Mitt Romney's statement last night was more interesting than the normal formulaic election night press releases of the genre. Here it is:

The National Republican Senatorial Committee released this web ad last night, placing Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin on the losing side of the Wisconsin recall effort:

Scott Walker won for a simple reason: He did what he promised to do as a candidate and it worked.

The early draft of the exit polls this morning showed a 50-50 tie in the Wisconsin recall race. It's still early, but the best bet is that Scott Walker meets or exceeds his margins relative to 2010, which points to a 5-point win or better. This suggests that the early draft of the exit polls were…

Mitt Romney just issued this statement, congratulating Scott Walker for his victory in tonight's Wisconsin recall election:

NBC News projects Republican governor Scott Walker will hang on to win the Wisconsin recall election. The projection comes with only 21 percent of the vote in. Currently, Walker has 61 percent of the vote, while Democrat Tom Barrett has only 39 percent.

An encouraging email this morning, from Dan G. from Mequon, Wisconsin:

Today is the Wisconsin recall election. If Republican governor Scott Walker prevails, so will conservatives, since his reforms of collective bargaining will survive, and he shall have curbed some of the worst excesses of the American labor movement.

Steve Hayes reported Saturday on President Obama's refusal to get his hands dirty—or even to get Air Force One's wheels dirty—by landing on the soil of the great state of Wisconsin prior to Tuesday's recall election between Scott Walker and Tom Barrett.

Over at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s website, Christian Schneider notices something funky about that new PPP poll:

Milwaukee, Wisc.

Public Policy Polling, a Democratic firm that conducts surveys for the SEIU and the left-wing website Daily Kos, reports that its final poll shows Wisconsin governor Scott Walker leading Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett 50 percent to 47 percent. PPP's poll is the only public poll conducted in the past…

Barack Obama seems determined to avoid Wisconsin.

Milwaukee

Waukesha, Wisc.

Milwaukee

Wisconsin Rapids, Wisc.

Caledonia, Wis.

Steve Hayes, with Juan Williams and Charles Krauthammer, last night on Fox News: 

The other day, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel endorsed Wisconsin governor Scott Walker in the recall gubernatorial election.

Bill Kristol, with Karl Rove, Joe Trippi, and Evan Bayh, earlier this morning on the Fox News Sunday Internet-only after show, Panel Plus: 

The Milwakuee Journal Sentinel, the largest newspaper in Wisconsin, has endorsed Republican governor Scott Walker in the June 5 recall election:

In the Wisconsin gubernatorial recall race, Republicans and Democrats continue to spar over the jobs numbers under Governor Scott Walker's administration. Republicans have been touting the fact that the unemployment rate has declined from 7.7 percent to 6.8 percent since Governor Scott Walker took…

An interesting thing happened in the Wisconsin recall primary yesterday: Governor Scott Walker received more votes than Tom Barrett and Kathleen Falk combined, the two leading Democrats fighting to challeng him on June 5. Walker won the votes of 626,538 Wisconsinites, despite the fact that he had…

Brookfield, Wisc.

In February, Public Policy Polling found Wisconsin governor Scott Walker trailing Milwaukee's Democratic mayor Tom Barrett by 3 points (46 percent to 49 percent). But a new PPP poll conducted for the liberal website Daily Kos shows that Walker has retaken the lead:

Madison, Wisc.

Madison, Wisc.

Mark your calendars: Wisconsin's state election board officially announced today that the recall election between Governor Scott Walker and the winner of the Democratic primary will take place on June 5. Polls show the recall race will be tight in battleground Wisconsin. And, as Stephen F. Hayes…

"Doomed."

The next major test for Republican presidential candidates is April 3 in Wisconsin, where GOP voters are not accustomed to having much of a voice in the presidential primary process. But even with Wisconsin looking like an important state – in some ways maybe a decisive one – voters there are more…

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker asks voters to "help [him] oppose the recall" in his most recent ad of the election cycle. "[Walker] draws a distinction between jobs lost under Gov. Jim Doyle's administration and his efforts to help employers create jobs," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Throughout the 2012 election cycle Republicans have pined for a bold, conservative reformer—a leader courageous enough to make difficult choices and articulate enough to explain them to a skeptical public. The good news is they have such a candidate. The less good news: Scott Walker isn’t running…

Here are excerpts from Wisconsin governor Scott Walker’s prepared remarks that he’ll deliver tonight at a dinner at CPAC in Washington, D.C. (Walker’s staff insists that the governor frequently deviates from prepared remarks.)

Although the polls show Ohio's collective bargaining reform headed for repeal in a referendum Tuesday, Governor John Kasich has no regrets he signed the legislation last March. “Everybody’s got to face this sooner or later,” Kasich told THE WEEKLY STANDARD in a phone interview. "This is part of an…

CNN: "GOP rejects Dems offer in 'super committee,' negotiations 'deadlocked' over taxes"

A potential recall campaign against Wisconsin governor Scott Walker looks much more hopeless this morning. WisPolitics.com reports:

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker added his voice to a growing chorus of conservative leaders calling on Congressman Paul Ryan to join the Republican presidential race. Walker, one of the country's most popular figures with rank-and-file Republicans, says that Ryan's leadership on the difficult…

Madison, Wisc.

"Milwaukee gains more than it loses in budget bill," reads the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel headline. And so you understand why unions are in such a rush to hold recall elections before voters see the benefits of Wisconsin's new law:

"U.S. Is Intensifying a Secret Campaign of Yemen Airstrikes"

The headline was bracing: “Emails Catch Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Lying.” It came on a tweet from @ pwire, the Twitter account for something called Political Wire, an online news digest. The publisher, Taegan Goddard, takes the reports of others, adds links to their articles, and sends them out…

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the controversial collective bargaining bill passed by the Wisconsin state legislature and signed by governor Scott Walker was published as law on Friday, despite a county judge's temporary restraining order:

Another note on the Koch money funding Democratic campaigns. While Harry Reid and the DSCC try to raise money off the liberal animus against the Koch brothers, the DSCC and a handful of Democratic senators have given no indication that they are willing to give back the thousands of dollars their…

Giuliani: "We Cannot Create Another Iraq"

Scott Walker was finished. 

Hmmm:

In recent months, in response to a series of austerity measures, we have seen civic unrest in the streets of London, Athens, and other European capitals. Some of the cuts that sparked the chaos are quite moderate. In France, for example, violence broke out over the government’s proposal to raise…

While Democrats are now outraged that the state senate voted last night on the budget repair bill without Democrats present, Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett encouraged Republicans to do just that on Monday night.

Rasmussen is out with a new poll showing that likely Wisconsin voters remain opposed to "weakening collective bargaining rights" by a 57 to 39 percent margin.

Madison, Wisconsin

As the faceoff in Wisconsin enters its most critical stage, America finds itself bombarded with an array of polling data designed to provide insight into the thinking of citizens (not always registered voters) on the standoff between Governor Scott Walker (and the state’s Republican legislators) on…

Regarding the battle over the budget and public employee unions in Wisconsin, the state's voters support the Democrats over Republican governor Scott Walker by eight points, according to a new Rasmussen poll:

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker told THE WEEKLY STANDARD this evening that it is indeed possible for Senate Republicans to vote on the collective bargaining portion of his budget repair bill with a simple majority of senators present. "You could technically do it,” Walker told me, but he said he's…

Madison, Wisc.

Who’s pulling the strings on Wisconsin governor Scott Walker? Well it’s got to be someone – since obviously no Republican would act out of principle.

Andrew Sullivan caught a give-and-take between me and Juan Williams on Fox News on Monday night and raises a fair objection.

Madison, Wisc.

Madison, Wisc.

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker explains his argument to the Heritage Foundation:

In my post yesterday on the optics of the Wisconsin union battle, I noted in passing that FDR was quite vocally opposed to the creation of public sector unions. Roosevelt was an ardent supporter of unionism generally, but even he thought the idea of using collective bargaining against taxpayers was…

In evaluating the battle over public sector unions in Wisconsin, it's worth considering for a moment the state of American unionism. It's not a pretty picture, as far as unions are concerned.

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker has issued a statement in response to the Senate Democrats' departure from the state to avoid a vote on legislation that would require public union employees to pay more for their health insurance and pensions:

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker has issued a statement in response to the Senate Democrats' departure from the state to avoid a vote on legislation that would require public union employees to pay more for their health insurance and pensions:

Florida governor Rick Scott has rejected federal funds for high-speed rail connecting Orlando and Tampa, a decision that could send up to $2.4 billion in stimulus money back to the federal government. In a statement, Scott says that the red ink in President Obama’s budget – and the higher taxes the…

Republican New Jersey governor Chris Christie is in Illinois today to try to convince businesses to leave that state for his. Christie’s argument is simple: Come to New Jersey for lower tax rates; stay in Illinois for higher taxes. 

The New York Times reports:

If the 2010 midterms are, in fact, the wave they seem to be, it will have crested in the Midwest. The numbers in Wisconsin are huge – much bigger than pre-election polls suggested. One of the big winners is Scott Walker, the Republican candidate for governor. With 44 percent reporting, Walker holds…

With 49 days until the midterm elections, Wisconsin looks increasingly like it will be among the most intensely contested states – between primaries there Tuesday and the November 2 general election.