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Walker Still Not Sure Obama Is Christian

August 2, 2015 at 3:46 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 80 Comments

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker still isn’t sure President Obama is Christian, Time reports.

Said Walker: “I don’t know. I presume he is.”

He added: “You’re not going to get a different answer than I said before. As someone who is a believer myself, I don’t presume to know someone’s beliefs about whether they follow Christ or not unless I’ve actually talked with him.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Scott Walker

The Awkward Contradiction in Scott Walker’s Campaign

July 30, 2015 at 11:12 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 19 Comments

For Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), “there’s something awkward about the Harley-Davidson motorcycles that he has been posing on at presidential campaign stops: each one bears a sticker on its frame that reads ‘Union made in the USA,'” Reuters reports.

“Walker has made the iconic American brand a centerpiece of his campaign kick-off tour this month, visiting four dealerships and sometimes showing off his own 2003 Harley Road King as he seeks to harness its appeal to older white male voters. But there is another side to Harley that the Republican candidate has been less vocal about — it is a leading example of a successful company that has a strong relationship with labor unions.

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Scott Walker

Walker Says GOP Primary Could Drag on for Months

July 28, 2015 at 4:23 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 30 Comments

Gov. Scott Walker “suggested that Republican primary could drag on for months, driving up the importance of states that vote later in the spring — states like Pennsylvania, which doesn’t vote until the end of April,” Politico reports.

Said Walker: “We’re not just running an early-state campaign. We think with the quality of the field it’s very likely that even states like [Pennsylvania] later in April will play a role. It may go as far as — it could be close to the convention before we know who the ultimate nominee is.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Scott Walker


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Trump Quote of the Day

July 25, 2015 at 4:03 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 128 Comments

“Wisconsin is doing terribly. It’s in turmoil. The roads are a disaster because they don’t have money to rebuild them. Schools are a disaster. Hospitals and education are a disaster. And he was totally in favor of Common Core, which I hate.”

— Donald Trump, quoted by CNN, attacking Gov. Scott Walker in Iowa.

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Donald Trump, Scott Walker

Brown Guides Walker Around New Hampshire

July 22, 2015 at 7:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 9 Comments

Gov. Scott Walker toured New Hampshire with former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The relationship stands to be beneficial for both men: Mr. Walker has access to a well-known surrogate who represents the moderate wing of New Hampshire Republicans; Mr. Brown gets to be seen as a player in presidential politics – he introduced Mr. Walker during his first campaign stop in New Hampshire last week.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: New Hampshire, Scott Brown, Scott Walker

Walker Bets on Iowa

July 20, 2015 at 5:16 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

Scott Walker’s aides “say his path to winning the 2016 Republican presidential nomination goes through Iowa, a course that hasn’t worked for any other candidate for 15 years,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Only twice since 1976 has the Iowa caucus winner ultimately become the Republican nominee for president after a competitive primary—and not at all since George W. Bush in 2000. That spotty history, combined with Mr. Walker’s decision to adopt more conservative positions to please the state’s electorate, makes Mr. Walker’s game plan an uncertain one.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Scott Walker

Walker Signs 20-Week Abortion Ban

July 20, 2015 at 10:10 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 25 Comments

Gov. Scott Walker (R) signed a bill banning abortions in Wisconsin after 20 weeks, the Wisconsin State Journal reports.

“Wisconsin becomes the 15th state to ban abortions at 20 weeks or earlier, which breaks from the viability standard set by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1973 decision Roe v. Wade. Fetuses are generally considered viable at 24 to 28 weeks.”

Filed Under: State House Tagged With: Scott Walker

Scott Walker Stays Relentlessly on Message

July 20, 2015 at 6:52 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 33 Comments

Politico: “In his first days as a presidential candidate in the state where he’s leading in the polls, Walker showed the consistency and attention to detail that propelled him to 12 victories back home — including three statewide wins. He sported the same campaign trail uniform (a blue-and-white checked, collared shirt, jeans and belt), and used the same prop (a rumpled dollar bill pulled from his pocket). He told the same anecdote about his thriftiness that’s become his signature (his shopping habits at retailer Kohl’s) and quoted whole paragraphs of his announcement speech from last Monday, almost word for word.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Scott Walker

Walker Doesn’t Know If Being Gay is a Choice

July 19, 2015 at 11:16 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 53 Comments

Gov. Scott Walker (R) said he is not sure if homosexuality is a choice, The Hill reports.

Said Walker: “I don’t know the answer to that question. That’s not even an issue for me to be involved in. I don’t have an opinion on every single issue out there.”

He added: “I am going to spend my time focusing on the issues I do know and can work on.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Scott Walker

Quote of the Day

July 18, 2015 at 10:42 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 23 Comments

“If you want to ask me again, I’ll give you the same answer 50 more times. So if you want to waste your time on that question, go ahead.”

— Gov. Scott Walker (R), quoted by the Wall Street Journal, refusing to answer any question about Donald Trump.

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Donald Trump, Scott Walker

Wisconsin Court Ends Probe That Threatened Walker Bid

July 16, 2015 at 8:51 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

“Clearing a potentially serious obstacle from Gov. Scott Walker’s intended path to the White House, the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a secret investigation into millions of dollars spent on financing of recall election victories by Walker and other Republicans,” the Wisconsin State Journal reports.

“The secret John Doe investigation targeted suspected illegal coordination between Republicans and purportedly independent conservative groups leading up to the recalls.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign, State House Tagged With: Scott Walker

Quote of the Day

July 14, 2015 at 6:05 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 41 Comments

“The left claims they’re for American workers, and they’ve got lame ideas, things like minimum wage. We need to talk about how we get people skills and qualifications they need to get jobs that go beyond minimum wage.”

— Gov. Scott Walker, quoted by Politico.

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Scott Walker

Santorum Points to Gay Marriage Divide in Walker Family

July 13, 2015 at 5:51 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 68 Comments

Rick Santorum warned that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s dissonance with his wife on same-sex marriage could cause him to be less “active” in his opposition, The Hill reports.

Said Santorum: “Spouses matter. When your spouse is not in-sync with you — particularly on cultural issues, moral issues — you tend not to be as active on those issues.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign, Gay Rights Tagged With: Rick Santorum, Scott Walker

Walker Joins Presidential Race

July 13, 2015 at 7:17 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 27 Comments

Gov. Scott Walker tweeted that he was formally joining the 2016 GOP presidential race: “I’m in. I’m running for president because Americans deserve a leader who will fight and win for them.”

New York Times: “Mr. Walker is aiming to be the candidate who appeals to the largest portion of Republican primary voters, a reflection of the fact that he does not have a single strong base of supporters… The risk is that when your potential political coalition is spread out, it is hard to count on any one part of it showing up to vote.”

Bloomberg has a “scouting report” on Walker.

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Scott Walker

Quote of the Day

July 13, 2015 at 7:14 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments

“He has an altar boy’s appearance. But Darth Vader writes his policies.”

— Wisconsin state Sen. Bob Jauch (D), quoted by National Journal, on Gov. Scott Walker (R).

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Scott Walker

Scott Walker Emerges from Anti-Palin Lessons

July 12, 2015 at 9:29 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 69 Comments

New York Times: “While Mr. Walker is ahead in some opinion polls, including for Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses, a series of early gaffes alarmed party leaders and donors and led Mr. Walker to begin several months of policy tutorials. The collective hope is that Mr. Walker can avoid what Mr. Goeas and other advisers describe as Sarah Palin’s problem — becoming a candidate who is initially popular among Republicans, like the 2008 vice-presidential nominee, but loses luster because of missteps as the campaign goes on.”

“Mr. Walker is now emerging from his crash course with the aim of reassuring activists and contributors, who have given relatively modest amounts to his political operation so far, that he will no longer sow doubts about himself with comments like comparing pro-union protesters to Islamic State terrorists, refusing to answer a question about evolution or saying he does not know if President Obama is a Christian or if he loves America.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Scott Walker

Walker Accidentally Announces His White House Bid

July 11, 2015 at 6:49 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 19 Comments

“Scott Walker is running for president, he announced in what appeared to be an unintentional tweet on Friday,” Politico reports.

“The Wisconsin governor isn’t expected to formally announce until Monday, but on Friday afternoon, the Republican appeared to tweet a black-and-white image of himself waving onstage that read, ‘Scott Walker is running for president.’ The tweet was still viewable under his account later Friday afternoon, but had been taken down by Friday night.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Scott Walker

Scott Walker Is His Own Strategist

July 8, 2015 at 2:18 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 46 Comments

New York Times: “As Mr. Walker, 47, prepares for his formal entry into the presidential contest, he has brought on a campaign manager, a pollster and a group of press aides. But he has not hired a strategist — because it might be needlessly duplicative: Those who know him well say that Mr. Walker has always been his own.”

“For all the attention he has drawn because of his confrontations with organized labor, Mr. Walker is at least as animated by political strategy and tactics as he is by policy and ideological crusades. Except for a brief post-college stint fund-raising for the Red Cross, he has spent his entire adult life in politics, first running for state representative at 22. He has held elected office continuously since 1993; the presidential contest will be his 14th campaign. And he comes to the race steeped in the knowledge required of a good political operative: what it costs to compete in swing states; the science of purchasing television advertising time; the art of getting good press.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Scott Walker

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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