Scott Walker, Wisconsin governor and presidential hopeful, signed two new laws on Wednesday that would remove certain firearm restrictions. Most notably, the state will no longer require a 48-hour waiting period between the purchase and reception of a weapon. Additionally, off-duty and retired policemen will be able to carry concealed weapons at public schools. These laws come in response to calls for enhanced gun restrictions after numerous mass murders, most recently one that saw a white supremacist murder nine people at a predominantly black church.
Walker’s Wednesday didn’t stop there. This morning CNN published a Scott Walker editorial entitled ‘Obama can’t pass buck on health insurance’. In it he laid out his plan for the future of health care in America saying,
“That plan should be to repeal and replace Obamacare and put patients back in charge of health care for themselves and their families.”
As the Supreme Court mulls over the legality of the Affordable Care Act and is expected to announce its decision in the upcoming days, Walker is taking the opportunity to show how he successfully fought nationalized health care.
These two moves couldn’t be more related. Think of June 24th as Scott Walker’s first attack for the nomination. In signing these two laws Walker was given the microphone of public attention, and instead of dropping it he begged the Supreme Court to repeal Obamacare.
This first wave comes prior to any formal announcement, but this isn’t the first time Walker has tried to get ahead of the field as he was the first candidate to open a campaign office in Iowa.
Addressing the questions concerning his official candidacy, Walker has sidestepped saying that, “My personal process is I have to feel like it’s a calling, particularly for the time and the effort and the impact it has on family and friends.” Walker currently has a 527 group, which exists prior to any announcement and allows for unlimited donations. On his website, a donation is requested with the line,
“Let’s show Governor Walker he has the support to run for President of the United States.”
The website goes on to say,
“It is clear what we have accomplished in Wisconsin can be replicated across the country. Big Government liberalism broke Washington. Limited government conservatism will fix it.”
In curtailing gun restrictions for Wisconsin and thrashing Obamacare, it is clear that Walker is appealing to his base for the upcoming primary season. The topics he picked were both hot-button issues, and with this two pronged June 24th attack, is making a play for supporters that would otherwise donate to the 13 other candidates.
Right now, Scott Walker must fight a battle for name recognition. As a young governor from Wisconsin, he lacks the experience and name-recognition of someone like Jeb Bush, but will try to capitalize on what some may judge as his weakness. He is on the rise, but has a packed Republican field to climb through a packed republican field. On the same day as Walker’s attack, Bobby Jindal was the 13th candidate to announce his intention to win the coveted Republican Nomination. This first field will pull all the candidates farther right, and Walker has positioned himself nicely for precisely that.
Both steps Walker took triangulate a corner built to attract both moderates and right-wing conservatives alike. His position at this point appears quite solid actually as Bush has continuously refused to shift right for the nomination. Walker’s appeal also stems from an increasingly realistic assumption that this Wisconsin governor could carry multiple Midwestern swing states.
Imagine a Walker-Rubio ticket for a second. Walker could get the Midwest while Rubio steals Florida. That would be a scary proposition.
