In a speech at Eureka College, alma mater of President Reagan, Walker will associate himself with the idolized Republican leader, casting himself as a inheritor of his legacy. Doing so would protect workers from being forced to give money to political candidates they don’t support, Walker said.
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Speaking with reverence for the former president, at the place where Reagan gave his first political speech, Walker tried to strike a tone of optimism and urgency.
“That’s why people are upset with Washington”. That’s why I’m upset with Washington.
Walker talked about Reagan’s firing of striking air traffic controllers in 1981, before turning to his own record and recounting how he “didn’t back down” when curbing collective bargaining power of Wisconsin public workers and passing a “right to work” law. We passed those tests and now, I am ready to lead this exceptional country. “She put your security, my security, our children’s security at risk”.
Kurtis Smyth, a Kewanee high school teacher, brought two of his students to watch the governor. A few days later, the governor said, “I’m not going to take a position on that one way or another” when asked in a TV interview about the so-called birthright citizenship guaranteed by the 14th amendment.
Walker is trying to get his campaign back on track after a lackluster performance in the first GOP debate a month ago, a series of statements he’s had to clarify or back away from, and the rise of Donald Trump. At the end of the speech, as the governor was walking down to shake hands with the audience, a man held up a sign reading “Wuck Falker”. Walker took a more reverent tone as he stood near a fragment of the Berlin Wall in the garden. During his remarks, Walker emphasized his battles with unions in Wisconsin and promised more of the same if he becomes president.
Talk is cheap. Voters want action.
“But probably most importantly, Ronald Reagan wasn’t just a conservative or a Republican, he was an eternal optimist in the American people“, Walker said.
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“This is a common thing for candidates to say in this age of cutthroat politics, an effort to show they can withstand challenges once in office and equally important during the general election campaign”. “My promise to all of you here and to everyone else across America is that every week, starting next week, we are going to lay out another one of our reforms, another one of our big bold reforms, starting from day one”.
