In an exciting turn of events, on Saturday night Governor Scott Walker (R-WI) received the endorsement from the liberal Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the largest newspaper in Wisconsin.
No governor in recent memory has been so controversial. No governor in America is so polarizing. Everyone has an opinion about Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin.Here's ours: We see no reason to remove Walker from office. We recommend him in the June 5 recall election.
Walker's rematch with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was prompted by one issue: Walker's tough stance with the state's public-employee unions. It's inconceivable that the recall election would be occurring absent that. And a disagreement over a single policy is simply not enough to justify a vote against the governor.
A Marquette Law School Poll in January showed that many people in the Badger State agree. In that poll, 72% of Republicans, 44% of independents and 17% of Democrats said recalls should be limited to criminal wrongdoing. Republican state Rep. Robin Vos has proposed tightening the recall mechanism; he should continue to push for that after the election, regardless of who wins.
Shortly after the endorsement went viral, the Weekly Standard’s Stephen Hayes tweeted that the Wisconsin governor had actually informed him last Monday he didn’t think the Journal-Sentinel would endorse. Apparently, however, the editorial team has had a change of heart.
It's time to end the bickering and get back to the business of the state. We've had our differences with the governor, but he deserves a chance to complete his term. We recommended him in 2010. We see no reason to change that recommendation. We urge voters to support Walker in the June 5 recall election.
In any event, according to the most recent Marquette University poll, Scott Walker holds a sizable six point lead over his Democratic challenger Tom Barrett. Still, it remains to be seen how much – if at all – the endorsement will influence voters on Election Day.
Parting thought: If Walker loses the recall election, he would only be the third state governor in American history to be ousted from office. Let’s pray that doesn’t happen.