Labor & Economy
ALEC Confidential: Scott Walker Talks the Walk
Scott Walker couldn’t have asked for more.
When the Wisconsin governor took the dais Thursday at the American Legislative Exchange Council’s annual conference in San Diego, his audience was ravenous for any vision that included destroying unions and cracking down on America’s criminal underclass.
See more of our coverage of the ALEC Annual Meeting
The venue was the plenary croissants-and-eggs breakfast, but it would be hard to imagine an audience hungrier for the red meat Governor Walker threw out to it.
Every key bill Walker has been associated with, since his get-tough-on-crime heyday as a state assemblyman in the 1990s, has been a plagiarism of an ALEC model bill. Such as laws that eliminated parole (and ballooned state prison populations) or that imposed a voter ID law, gutted public education and teacher protections, and made Wisconsin the 25th right-to-work state.
Walker himself isn’t an actual member of the secretive corporate lobbying network (ALEC only admits legislators, not chief executives), but no other political figure today has so faithfully promoted ALEC’s laissez faire policy absolutism as Walker.
“We took on the unions,” he crowed. “We passed . . . regulatory reform. We defunded Planned Parenthood and passed pro-life legislation. We passed castle doctrine and concealed carry — so law-abiding citizens can protect themselves and their famil[ies], and their property. And I’m proud to say in our state, as blue as it is, our state now says it’s easy to vote but hard to cheat — you need a photo ID to vote.”
The applause was rapturous.
Just in case the Walker/ALEC program was beginning to sound a little too familiar to some of the older ALEC legislators in the house, the presidential candidate admitted, “Years ago, a plan like that worked pretty well under a guy named President Ronald Reagan.”
He characterized what he called “the Obama-Clinton doctrine” as both leading from behind and heading towards disaster. He also invoked the memory of the Iranian hostage crisis of 35 years ago to remind listeners that Iran is still the same dirty dealer.
“We have a president who said that climate change was the greatest threat to future generations,” Walker intoned. “On which the president and I respectfully disagree. The greatest threat to future generations is radical Islamic terrorism and we need to do something about it.”
For that, the Governor received a prolonged standing ovation.
Photo by Bill Raden
Critical Audit of California’s Efforts to Reduce Homelessness Has Silver Linings
Despite Promises of Transparency, California Justice Department Keeps Probe into L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Under Wraps
The Mission to Save the World Through Regenerative Farming
On the Chopping Block: California’s Climate Program for Low-Income Housing
Climate + Young Voters = Biden Victory, Right? It’s More Complicated Than That.
Organizing the Slopes
Dispelling the Stereotypes About California’s Low-Wage Workers
The Transatlantic Battle to Stop Methane Gas Exports From South Texas
700,000 Undocumented Californians Recently Became Eligible for Medi-Cal. Many May Be Afraid to Sign Up.
Report: Banks Should Set Stricter Climate Goals for Agriculture Clients
Tried as an Adult at 16: California’s Laws Have Changed but Angelo Vasquez’s Sentence Has Not
Despite Promises of Transparency, California Justice Department Keeps Probe into L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Under Wraps
‘Every Day the Ocean Is Eating Away at the Land’
No, the New Minimum Wage Won’t Wreck the Fast Food Industry or the Economy
Critical Audit of California’s Efforts to Reduce Homelessness Has Silver Linings
Nurses Union Says State Watchdog Does Not Adequately Investigate Staffing Crisis
Economist Michael Reich on Why California Fast-Food Wages Can Rise Without Job Losses and Higher Prices
In Georgia, a Basic Income Program’s Success With Black Women Adds to Growing National Interest
Report: Banks Should Set Stricter Climate Goals for Agriculture Clients
Unionizing Planned Parenthood
CLASS WAR: The Temecula School Board Battle
Excavating the Future: Stopping AAPI Hate
Excavating the Future: Stopping AAPI Hate
Excavating the Future: Guarding the Hidden Archive
Excavating the Future: Breaking the Silence
Excavating the Future: Guarding the Hidden Archive
ILL HARVEST
Kaiser Therapists: Strike Is About Complying With the Law
‘What They Need Is Someone at Their Side’
Kaiser Therapists Say Patient Neglect Compels Them to Strike
-
Latest NewsApril 3, 2024Tried as an Adult at 16: California’s Laws Have Changed but Angelo Vasquez’s Sentence Has Not
-
Latest NewsApril 17, 2024Despite Promises of Transparency, California Justice Department Keeps Probe into L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Under Wraps
-
Latest NewsMarch 20, 2024‘Every Day the Ocean Is Eating Away at the Land’
-
State of InequalityApril 4, 2024No, the New Minimum Wage Won’t Wreck the Fast Food Industry or the Economy
-
State of InequalityApril 18, 2024Critical Audit of California’s Efforts to Reduce Homelessness Has Silver Linings
-
State of InequalityMarch 21, 2024Nurses Union Says State Watchdog Does Not Adequately Investigate Staffing Crisis
-
Latest NewsApril 5, 2024Economist Michael Reich on Why California Fast-Food Wages Can Rise Without Job Losses and Higher Prices
-
Latest NewsMarch 22, 2024In Georgia, a Basic Income Program’s Success With Black Women Adds to Growing National Interest