At CPAC, Walker Warns of High Stakes in Wisconsin Recall
At a conference filled with speeches from the GOP presidential candidates and congressional leaders, it was a man who is fighting to keep his job as a state executive this year who delivered a campaign-mode keynote address on Friday night in Washington.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a polarizing national figure, spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference's Ronald Reagan Banquet. He defended his barely year-old record -- which will be under heavy scrutiny in a nearly certain recall election later this year -- and warned that the stakes of his all-but-certain race will have national implications that will extend years into the future.
"If we fail -- and I'm not planning on it -- but if we were to fail, I think this sets aside any courageous act in American politics for at least a decade, if not a generation," Walker said.
Walker, the former county executive of Milwaukee, took office in early 2011, and shortly thereafter, unveiled his "budget repair bill," a measure that, among other things, curbed collective bargaining for public employees. Walker's legislation triggered protests by labor organizers, Democrats and liberal activists that shook Madison for weeks. The bill ultimately passed the Republican-led legislature and was signed into law by Walker later in the year.
"Collective bargaining is not a right. In the public sector, collective bargaining is an expensive entitlement," Walker said on Friday.
Last year, Democrats triggered recall elections for the eligible Republican state senators who voted for Walker's bill. they unseated two members of the GOP, but fell just short of retaking the majority. Republicans currently hold a 17-16 advantage in the state Senate. Four more Republican state senators face the prospect of recall elections this year.
"I believe we will prevail," Walker said. "And when we do, it won't just be about electing again a governor in the state of Wisconsin. It will be about sending a message not only to Madison, my statehouse; it will be about sending a message in Springfield, in St. Paul, in Columbus, in Indianapolis, in Austin."
The state Government Accountability Board is currently reviewing the roughly 1 million recall petition signatures that were submitted last month. Organizers submitted nearly twice the number or signatures required to trigger a gubernatorial recall election.
Anticipating a campaign, Walker has been staffing up and running positive TV ads touting his record. Republican and Democratic-aligned outside groups are expected to be a major factor in the race. Already, Americans for Prosperity Foundation has been spending $700,000 airing ads that shore up the way Walker's policies are viewed.
"Many project that there will be as much as 70 million dollars or more spent on the recall elections against me this year," Walker said.
Wisconsin Voters are split when it comes to Walker, signaling a close election. A Marquette Law School poll conducted in January found that 51 percent of voters approved of the job Walker is doing while 46 percent disapproved. Fifty percent had a favorable opinion of him while 45 percent had an unfavorable opinion of him.
On Friday, Walker offered a detailed defense of his policies.
"Our budget is credit positive, our pension system is fully funded and our unemployment rate is dropping down to 7.1 percent," he said.
Former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, a favorite of labor, is the early Democratic frontrunner in the likely governor's race. She's widely expected to have strong support from unions. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who lost to Walker in 2010, is also considering a run. If he enters the race, a nasty primary will likely ensue; Barrett is disliked by labor leaders. For his own part, Walker is already casting his yet-to-be-determined opponent as a puppet of organized labor. Over and over again in his speech on Friday, Walker referred to the "big union bosses" who are working against him.
It's not yet clear exactly when a recall election will take place, but assuming no major unforeseen delays, a June general election appears likely.
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