Governor Scott Walker (R-WI) got some bad news this week. After he was forced out of the Republican primary early a few months ago, his poll numbers took a significant hit. His hope, of course, was that time out of the national spotlight, which was profoundly negative of his candidacy, would help his image and approval rating recover in Wisconsin in time for reelection in 2018.
The latest polls from Marquette University Law School (the “gold standard” for polling in Wisconsin) say otherwise, showing his approval rating declining from a post-primary high of 43 percent to a painful 39 percent, a sign that he’s trending back down to the low approval ratings that dogged his presidential campaign.
Then, as in now, Walker decided that the fault couldn’t possibly be his own. This time he pinned it on the traditional Republican scapegoat: that mean, negative media.
Jessie Opoien of The Cap Times reports:
“The governor placed blame on the media for focusing on the negatives, adding that ‘headlines are always negative and bad things.'”
He then backtracked a bit, apparently realizing that he was bashing the media in a media call.
“It’s not just media. I think media is a reflection of human nature. We tend to, all of us, unless we sit back and think about it, tend to focus on challenges as opposed to where we are. By and large, we hear good things at the listening sessions.”
The most glaring problem with Walker’s excuse regarding Wisconsin’s piss-poor performance during his tenure is that he justifies it by what he hears in listening sessions.
You know, his statewide listening sessions. Which are invite-only, and closed to the press. It’s okay, though, just trust him.
In other words, he thinks we should ignore the statewide poll (which he himself has cited in the past) because it doesn’t jive with the opinions of his pre-approved guests at his sham sessions.
It would be more shocking if it wasn’t so par for the course in Wisconsin. State legislators have held public sessions for several major pieces of legislation, including the right-to-freeload bill last year.
Even after state Republicans listened to testimony from an almost entirely opposed crowd, among them some major business owners that didn’t want to change the relationship with their employees’ union, the bill passed both statehouses with flying colors. In a satirical testimonial, a bankruptcy lawyer thought he would discuss how profitable this bill would be for his business.
If you are ever elected to public office, you have to walk in knowing at least one truth. You will be criticized. Heavily. The higher up you go, the more criticism you will face.
If you can’t handle it, you’re not fit for office.
Featured image by Michael Vadon via Flickr, available under Creative Commons 2.0
