In Madison, the governor gets buffaloed
MILWAUKEE — So it turns out I'm not the only person in Wisconsin without caller ID.
Then again, I never get any calls from Buffalo bloggers pretending to be one of my billionaire sugar daddies. Unlike our brand-new governor.
Brand-new, and already famous. And already infamous.
It takes a certain kind of talent to go, in just a few short days, from unknown to superstar to dupe to punch line. But that's Scott Walker. Our Scott.
We're so proud.
You've no doubt heard by now of the famous phone call. You've probably even heard some of the juicy parts -- such an amazing mix of preening and sucking up and playing tough. It's Scott the Tactician and Scott the True Believer and Scott the Transformative Historical Figure, all wrapped up in one highly self-satisfied package.
"This is our moment," Scott tells the man he thinks is David Koch, the mega-wealthy industrialist and promoter of conservative causes -- and conservative candidates who toe the line. Scott looks in the mirror in the governor's office and he sees Ronald Reagan, the Ronald Reagan who won the Cold War by firing the air-traffic controllers. (Don't ask.)
"This is our moment," says Scott.
The Titanic had a moment, too. Moments aren't always good for you. But they can be oh-so-helpful to the rest of us. So clarifying.
Lots of folks seized on the evidence that, the governor's frequent public protestations to the contrary, this fight about "the budget" isn't really a fight about "the budget" at all. It's a fight about the unions. The governor wants to get rid of them. Hobble them first, and then get rid of them.
But for me? My snippet to savor came when Fake Koch told Real Scott that he'd been thinking about supporting the governor's union-busting efforts by "planting some troublemakers" among the demonstrators. Up to that point, the protesters -- tens of thousands a day -- had been remarkably well-behaved. (Think "Cairo at the Capitol.")
The governor's caller was offering to fix all that. And the governor's reply?
"You know, the, well, the only problem with that -- because we thought about that. The problem -- the, my only gut reaction to that is right now the lawmakers I've talked to have just completely had it with them, the public is not really fond of this. The teachers union did some polling of focus groups, I think, and found out that the public turned on 'em the minute they closed school down for a couple days. The guys we've got left are largely from out of state, and I keep dismissing it in all my press conferences saying, 'Eh, they're mostly from out of state.' My only fear would be is if there was a ruckus caused is that that would scare the public into thinking maybe the governor has gotta settle to avoid all these problems..."
Lots of words in there, yes? But here are a few you never heard:
"That could get innocent people hurt." Or...
"That would be deceptive." Or...
"That would be dishonest." Or...
"That would be unethical." Or even that old standby...
"It would be wrong."
No sign of those. The reason Scott Walker nixed the "troublemakers" -- the "only" reason, as he said himself -- was his concern that if it went too far, if it caused a "ruckus," it might scare the public and force him to settle for something less than the unions' unconditional surrender.
But any words of concern for the potential victims of this ginned-up "ruckus"? Nope. Any sense that his moral moorings might come loose by approving this kind of dirty trick? Nope.
Maybe he was concerned. Maybe deep down inside, he did feel the twinge of moral compromise. But you couldn't expect Scott Walker to say such things right out loud, could you? To the billionaire who writes all those checks?
Not even to the imitation billionaire.
That's our Scott.
Rick Horowitz is a syndicated columnist. You can write to him at rickhoro@execpc.com.
Feb 27, 2011 at 8:22 p.m.
Suggest removal
PHONE CALLS SCOTT WALKER SHOULD HAVE TAKEN INSTEAD (redux)
Scott, a caller wants to know if we have Prince Albert in the can.
Scott, Jay Leno called; he wants to fly you to Cali for his show.
Scott, Prince Fielder is on the phone, he wants his bat back.
Scott, Sarah Palin is on the phone; are you up for a reality show?
Scott, Dick Cheney is on the phone, when can you go hunting?
Scott, Tom Delay is on the phone but you have to talk now; he only gets one call a day from the prison pay phone (it's a collect call)
Scott, Blago wants to conference in on the DeLay call.
Scott, Wiley E. Coyote is on the phone; will you go halfsies on his ACME order? Also he wants his anvil back.
Scott, Lex Luthor is on the phone; he wants to talk strategy. Also does Luthorcorp kryptonite work on Democratic Senators?
Scott, This is Ronald Reagan. I hope you can take my call soon because I'm calling from beyond the grave and these roaming charges are killing me.
Did I miss any?
Feb 27, 2011 at 6:54 p.m.
Suggest removal
Destroy the union base and destroy a big chunk of the Democratic party's campaign contributions. If we could destroy "big business", we'd destroy the ability of Republicans to campaign. It's all about the money for the political party and disarming the other camp. This isn't really about the little people here at all; it's about political party power at the state, and more importantly, the federal level. Ever wonder about the "redrawing" of district lines?
Feb 26, 2011 at 3:17 p.m.
Suggest removal
To all you Lib/Dem-wits! What is wrong with Walker associating with the Koch Bros? It doesn't seem to bother any of you that Obama is owned by the Billionaires George Soros, the mall developers the Simon Brothers, progressive insurance CEO Peter Lewis, and GE Jeff Immelt and the UNIONS!
Feb 26, 2011 at 1 p.m.
Suggest removal
It amazes me that our governor would have a staff that could let a call like this come in without checking it out. Is the whole capital without caller id? The fact that the area codes of Kansas and New York are not the same should also have been a clue but I guess Mr. Koch could have been in Buffalo.
When other famous people have received such prank calls, they last a few minutes and the person called catches on. This guy went on for what I understand to be an hour. He is obviously aware of who the man was and what his group, Americans for Prosperity, have done for Republicans in our state. After all, this group moved lobbyists into the Capital at the same time Walker was elected. This governor really does know people in Koch's camp.
Feb 26, 2011 at 11:26 a.m.
Suggest removal
Could some tell me the beef with the Koch brothers ?
Feb 26, 2011 at 10:43 a.m.
Suggest removal
I listened to the call and was actually expecting much worse from Walker. He thought he was talking to David Koch because that is whom the caller identified himself as. The supposed dirty, under-the-table, closed door conversations among conservative leaders actually seems to be pretty tame. I didn't hear anything from Walker about union busting. He was led into talking points by "Koch" and I thought kept it fairly civil.
Feb 25, 2011 at 8:33 p.m.
Suggest removal
FromWI: I sincerely hope & pray that there really is not a person alive who could defend this man after hearing the audio of this call. Hope you rethink.
Feb 25, 2011 at 8:10 p.m.
Suggest removal
'"This is our moment," says Scott.
The Titanic had a moment, too.'
Excellent.
Congratulations, Gov. Walker. You may be having your moment.
But you've also just ensured that Barack Obama will win a second term. Because he will rock Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and other states where similar governors are trying to curb collective bargaining.
Way to go.
Thanks, Scott!
Feb 25, 2011 at 2:43 p.m.
Suggest removal
along with the Koch brothers.
Feb 25, 2011 at 11:03 a.m.
Suggest removal
nope it plays into ones character and with walker the people now no it's bad.. Instead of a buffalo I would like to see him on a horse heading out of town..
Feb 25, 2011 at 10:46 a.m.
Suggest removal
Really? A media article that actually realizes that this was a conversation thought to be private with respect given to the caller with a bit of schmoozing and not be antagonizing? I actually think Walker did well not chearleading the prank caller on just for the sake of catering to them.
The whole prank call is really a distraction from the issue for both sides.
Before you post a comment, consider this:
Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy AgreementPost Comment
Commenting requires registration.