Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker told Newsmax TV that his June recall election victory proved that “the taxpayer’s back in charge.”
“The real question we had early on was who’s in charge?” Walker, the only governor in the nation’s history to survive a recall election said in an exclusive interview at the National Review summit in Washington on Saturday. “Is it the big government special interest, in this case the big government public-employee union bosses? Or is it the hard-working taxpayers?
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“Our win on June 5 was really about empowering the taxpayers of our state — not only at the state level, but at the local level,” Walker added. “A lot of these core decisions about taxation happened in school districts and town boards and county boards all across our state and across America.
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“My hope is this has inspired others not only in other statehouses, but, particularly, in this nation’s capital to say that you can make tough but courageous decisions ultimately fall through and see positive results.
“We need leadership thinking more about the next generation than the next election,” Walker added. “And at a time when people and voters crave leadership, the voters will respond accordingly.”
As such, Walker is not considering the GOP presidential ticket in 2016. His choice is fellow Wisconsonian Rep. Paul Ryan.
“I had to work pretty hard twice in the last two years to be governor of the state of Wisconsin,” he said. “For all of the people who elected me, for all of the people who helped me in Wisconsin and elsewhere with tremendous grass-roots support, I owe it to them and myself to be focused on being governor.
“But the interesting thing is the reason people talk about [a 2016 presidential run] isn’t because of me. It isn’t because of some great speech I gave,” Walker added. “It’s because of what we’ve done, the reforms we enacted and the positive results they’ve had in our state. We’re going to continue to do that.”
As for Ryan, “Paul embodies the kind of courage that is lacking in Washington and many other places across this country,” Walker said. “Whatever he chooses to do, whether he’s going to continue to grow in House leadership or whether he runs for the presidency, he’d be exceptional.”
In his wide-ranging interview with Newsmax at the summit, Walker:
- Did not rule out allocating Wisconsin’s electoral votes proportionally. “It's an interesting idea. I haven't committed one way or the other to it. For me, and I think any other state considering this, you should really look at not just the short-term but the long-term implications. Is it better or worse for the electorate?”
- Said any efforts by President Barack Obama to stem gun violence in America must consider the mental-health element. “That’s the bigger issue. These other issues give us a false sense of security.”
- Credited the president for putting forth an “aggressive” agenda in his inaugural speech. “Even though I disagree with a large chunk of that agenda, he’s aggressive about it. He’s laid out what he wants to do — he’s reaffirmed it in his inaugural address, and he’s going to try and do it. The responsibility of other leaders is to provide a positive alternative to it.”
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