Here & Now

First Lady, Christie Stump for Gubernatorial Candidates

Frederica Freyberg:

First the tale of two cities. The week began with dueling political rallies at opposite ends of the state.
Michelle Obama:

She is all the buzz. She is. But let me tell you, from our interactions, I love her! You know, she is smart, she’s in this for the right reasons.
Frederica Freyberg:

In Milwaukee, the First Lady of the United States fired up an already fired up crowd on behalf of candidate Mary Burke. On the other side of the state, New Jersey’s governor rallied the faithful in Hudson for candidate Scott Walker.
Chris Christie:

I think Wisconsin’s got this moment now, this moment to send a message to the whole country, that we want brave politicians, we want courageous politicians, we want ones who are willing to speak their mind and stand up and do what they say they are going to do.
Frederica Freyberg:

Big name partisans hitting the state in the final stretch of a nail-biter.
Scott Walker:

This is a tight election.
Mary Burke:

This is going to be a tight race, and every single vote is going to matter.
Frederica Freyberg:

And so the candidates’ proxies made their pitch.
Michelle Obama:

Why wouldn’t I come here for this amazing woman? Make no mistake about it. Mary knows how to create jobs, how to give our young people the skills they need to fill those jobs, and she knows that a strong middle class is the key to a strong economy here in Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:

Chris Christie took the opportunity to play bad cop, saying Scott Walker was too polite to bring it up.Chris Christie:

And it’s disturbing to watch Mary Burke make the absolute keystone of her campaign be her economic plan, which turns out not to be her economic plan at all. It turns out to be something she plagiarized, she cut and pasted, and she’s selling it off as her own.
Frederica Freyberg:

The Burke campaign has said a consultant who worked on the plan borrowed pieces from it from other Democratic candidates. He has been removed from the campaign.
Mary Burke:

It doesn’t matter where ideas come from, whether they’re Democrat or Republican, just whether they’re going to get results.
Frederica Freyberg:

On the big issue of jobs, Governor Walker points to three ways to improve Wisconsin’s economy in his stump speech. More tax cuts, higher ed tuition freezes, job readiness training and drug tests for able-bodied adults on government assistance. A reporter from just across the border raised a point with the governor.
Reporter:

Minnesota raised taxes and has 160,000 more jobs than it did four years ago.
Scott Walker:

And the standpoint different states have different circumstances. I think that you ask just about any employer in this state and they’ll tell you they were frozen for about a year and a half because of the protests, the first wave of recalls and the second wave of recalls. That’s why I tell people don’t just look at those first couple years, look at the last year. From July of last year to July of this year, Wisconsin ranks third in the Midwest for private sector job creation.
Frederica Freyberg:

Mary Burke does not cut Scott Walker a break for the course of his term.
Mary Burke:

Four years ago, Governor Walker promised us 250,000 jobs. Today, the results are in. Promise broken.
We’re not even close. In fact, we’re dead last in the Midwest in private sector job creation. The governor’s approach has been to put those at the top and special interests ahead of the interests of the people of Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:

The visiting A-listers brought to mind a certain awkwardness, namely that Mary Burke has not appeared publicly with Barack Obama. But her campaign says the president will soon join her in Wisconsin.
As for Christie and Walker, they’re both on the long list as potential presidential competitors.
Chris Christie:

He would do good at any executive position if he wanted to pursue. But I know this much because I’ve spoken to him about it. He’s not focused on anything beyond November 4th.
Frederica Freyberg:

Michelle Obama is scheduled to return to Wisconsin, this time to Madison, on Tuesday.