Here & Now

Shawn Johnson Reviews Coverage Of Walker's IL Campaign Stop

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

ALSO ON THURSDAY, GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER PLEDGED TO WREAK HAVOC ON WASHINGTON IN HIS ADDRESS TO STUDENTS AT EUREKA COLLEGE. THAT’S THE ALMA MATER OF HIS POLITICAL HERO RONALD REAGAN. GOVERNOR WALKER ALSO PROMISED TO REFORM FEDERAL EMPLOYEE UNIONS THE WAY HE DISMANTLED STATE UNIONS IN WISCONSIN.

SCOTT WALKER:

WE’VE GOT A PLAN TO WREAK HAVOC ON WASHINGTON AND OUR PLAN STARTS ON DAY ONE. AND SO MY — THANK YOU.

[APPLAUSE]

AND SO MY PROMISE TO ALL OF YOU HERE AND EVERYBODY ELSE ACROSS AMERICA IS EVERY WEEK, STARTING NEXT WEEK, WE’RE GOING TO LAY OUT ANOTHER ONE OF OUR REFORMS, OUR BIG, BOLD REFORMS THAT WE’RE GOING TO DO STARTING ON DAY ONE. NEXT WEEK WE’RE GOING TO BE ON MONDAY IN LAS VEGAS, AND WE’RE GOING TO TELL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHAT WE’RE GOING TO DO WHEN IT COMES TO TAKING ON THE BIG GOVERNMENT UNION BOSSES. WHAT WE’RE GOING TO DO TO TAKE POWER OUT OF THE HANDS OF THE BIG GOVERNMENT UNION BOSSES AND PUT IT FIRMLY INTO THE HANDS OF THE HARD WORKING PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY. SIMPLE THINGS LIKE ON DAY ONE, I’M GOING TO STOP THE GOVERNMENT FROM TAKING MONEY OUT OF THE PAYCHECKS OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES FOR POLITICAL UNION DUES BECAUSE I DON’T THINK ANY WORKER IN THIS COUNTRY SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO PUT MONEY INTO A POLITICAL FUND THAT DOESN’T SUPPORT CANDIDATES THAT THEY DON’T SUPPORT. WHY SHOULD YOU HAVE TO HAVE MONEY FROM YOUR PAYCHECK GO TO SUPPORT SOMEBODY THAT YOU FUNDAMENTALLY OPPOSE? THAT’S WRONG. WE’RE GOING TO START WITH THAT ON DAY ONE AND WE’RE GOING TO LAY OUT MORE WHEN IT COMES TO THE SHIFTING POWER FROM THE BIG GOVENMENT UNION BOSSES TO THE HARD-WORKING PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

SO SCOTT WALKER ENVISIONED HIS SPEECH AT RONALD REAGAN’S ALMA MATER AS A WAY TO REIGNITE HIS FLAGGING CAMPAIGN, AT LEAST AS REPRESENTED IN SINKING POLL NUMBERS. WISCONSIN PUBLIC RADIO’S SHAWN JOHNSON TRAVELS TO EUREKA COLLEGE IN ILLINOIS AND JOINS US HERE TONIGHT. HI, SHAWN.

SHAWN JOHNSON:

HI, FRED.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

SPEAKING OF POLL NUMBERS, A NEW POLL OUT TODAY PUTS SCOTT WALKER IN TENTH PLACE, DOWN TO 3% FROM 25% LAST SPRING. THERE ARE NATIONAL HEADLINES TODAY LIKE THIS ONE. THE REMARKABLE IOWA COLLAPSE OF SCOTT WALKER. WHEN YOU SAW HIM AND HEARD HIM YESTERDAY IN EUREKA, DID HE SEEM LIKE A CANDIDATE IN COLLAPSE?

SHAWN JOHNSON:

YOU LOOK AT SCOTT WALKER HIMSELF, I MEAN, YOU WOULDN’T REALLY KNOW ANY DIFFERENCE FROM WHEN HE WAS THE FRONT-RUNNER JUST ABOUT A MONTH AND A HALF AGO. I MEAN, SCOTT WALKER IS BASICALLY THE SAME, NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES. DOESN’T GET TOO HIGH, TOO LOW. IF YOU LOOK AT THE VENUE AROUND HIM, YOU LOOK AT THE MEDIA RISERS, FOR EXAMPLE. YOU KNOW, THERE’S NOT A BIG CONTINGENT OF TRAVELING NATIONAL MEDIA WITH SCOTT WALKER RIGHT NOW, EVEN AS HE GIVES WHAT HE WAS BASICALLY BILLING AS A BIG SPEECH IN EUREKA. AS HE WAS SORT OF TELEGRAPHING THAT WE’RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT HERE AND THERE WASN’T A HUGE CROWD THERE TO WATCH IT.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

AND THAT COMPARES TO THE KINDS OF CROWDS THAT OF COURSE DONALD TRUMP IS COMMANDING STILL, RIGHT?

SHAWN JOHNSON:

YEAH. I MEAN, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT DONALD TRUMP, HE’S PACKING THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE INTO ARENAS. THEY’RE LOUD. THEY’RE RAUCOUS CROWDS. YOU TALK ABOUT THE SPEECH AT EUREKA COLLEGE, WHICH IS A SMALL COLLEGE. IT WAS CHOSEN FOR SYMBOLIC REASONS, NOT BECAUSE IT COULD DRAW A BIG CROWD. I MEAN, THIS IS RONALD REAGAN’S ALMA MATER, BUT ABOUT 150, MAYBE 170 PEOPLE THERE WATCHING THE SPEECH. PRETTY QUIET, ALL IN ALL.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

SO IT WASN’T SUPER ENERGIZED, PRETTY LOW KEY, AS YOU SAY.

SHAWN JOHNSON:

YEAH. IT ACTUALLY TOOK THE CROWD A LITTLE WHILE TO KIND OF GET INTO THE SPEECH. YOU KNOW, THEY SEIZED ON ISSUES LIKE OBAMACARE MAYBE MORE THAN THEY DID ON WHEN THE GOVERNOR WAS TALKING ABOUT HIS BATTLES WITH UNIONS IN WISCONSIN.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

RIGHT. AND A YOUNG CROWD, THOUGH TOO, COLLEGE AND HIGH SCHOOL KIDS, I UNDERSTAND.

SHAWN JOHNSON:

IT WAS.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

NOW, AGAIN, THE NEW DAY ONE PLAN IS GOING AFTER FEDERAL UNIONS. IT SEEMS TO HAVE KIND OF THE PERFECT SYNERGY WITH RONALD REAGAN HAVING FIRED THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS AND THEN WALKER’S OWN TAKEDOWN OF WISCONSIN UNIONS. BUT HOW WAS THAT RECEIVED? YOU SAID THEY DIDN’T REALLY GO FOR THAT. THEY KIND OF UNDERSTOOD OBAMACARE?

SHAWN JOHNSON:

JUST BECAUSE I KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO ASK THAT QUESTION, I WENT BACK AND LISTENED TO IT AGAIN, AND THE LINE ABOUT THIS IS WHAT WE’RE GOING TO DO WITH FEDERAL UNIONS, THAT IN ITSELF DIDN’T BRING THE HOUSE DOWN OR ANYTHING. I MEAN, THAT LINE BY ITSELF DIDN’T DRAW APPLAUSE. AND IT’S FAR FROM SCIENTIFIC, BUT JUST IN TALKING WITH PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE AFTERWARDS ABOUT WHAT THEY LIKED, WHAT THEY DIDN’T LIKE, YEAH, SOME PEOPLE, AT LEAST ONE WOMAN I TALKED WITH REALLY LIKED THAT HE WAS GOING TO GO AFTER UNIONS. BUT A LOT OF THE YOUNGER VOTERS WHO WERE THERE, THAT DIDN’T REALLY CLICK WITH THEM.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

YOU’RE SAYING TOO THAT SUBSTANTIVELY HIS SPEECH HAS CHANGED.

SHAWN JOHNSON:

YEAH. I WOULD SAY IF YOU’RE LOOKING AT WHAT WAS NEW IN THIS SPEECH FROM A POLICY LEVEL, IT WAS THE TALK ABOUT GOING AFTER FEDERAL UNIONS. THAT WAS NEW. STYLISTICALLY, A LOT OF IT WAS NEW. I MEAN, THERE WERE A LOT OF THE SAME ELEMENTS THAT YOU’VE HEARD FROM WALKER OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS AND REALLY EVEN OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. BUT THIS WAS A BREAK FROM HIS IOWA STUMP SPEECH THAT HE’S BEEN GIVING OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN FOR THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS. AND HE REALLY GOT AWAY FROM THIS “I’M SCOTT WALKER, THE EVERY MAN. I SHOP AT KOHLS.” AND HE REALLY EMPHASIZED “I’M SCOTT WALKER, THE GOVERNOR WHO GETS THINGS DONE.”

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

AND HE’S GOING TO HAVE TO DO THAT IN NEXT WEDNESDAY’S DEBATE. HIS TOP SENIOR AIDE SAYS THEY MAY NOT BE GOING FOR A HOMERUN IN THAT, BUT PLAYING SMALL BALL, GETTING SOME CLEAR AND DECISIVE HITS, TALKING ABOUT THESE PLANS. SO YOUR UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THAT’S WHAT HE’S GOING TO DO ON WEDNESDAY.

SHAWN JOHNSON:

WELL, YOU KNOW, SCOTT WALKER ACTUALLY TALKED ABOUT THE DEBATE IN THIS SPEECH AT EUREKA, AND HE — IT’S THE FIRST TIME I’VE HEARD HIM SAY I’M GOING TO CHALLENGE THE OTHER REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES. IN THIS CASE HE WAS SAYING I’M GOING TO CHALLENGE THEM TO COME UP WITH THEIR PLANS. WHERE ARE THEIR PLANS TO REPEAL OBAMACARE? HE’S REALY EMPHASIZING I’VE GOT THESE DAY ONE PLANS. BUT I THINK NOTABLY, IN MY TIME COVERING HIM HE HAS ALWAYS DOWN PLAYED DEBATES. HE’S ALWAYS SAID THAT’S JUST A CHANCE FOR ME TO TALK DIRECTLY TO THE VOTERS. I’M NOT SO CONCERNED ABOUT THE OTHER CANDIDATES ON THE STAGE. HE SAID THIS ABOUT THE LAST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE AND HE KIND OF DISAPPEARED AT TIMES. THIS IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE YOU HEAR SCOTT WALKER SAYING I’M GOING TO CHALLENGE ESSENTIALLY THE OTHER CANDIDATES WHO ARE THERE. WE’LL SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. HE’S NOT REALLY A NATURAL, YOU KNOW, RHETORICAL BOMB THROWER OR CONFRONTATIONAL WHEN IT’S FACE-TO-FACE LIKE THAT.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

WE’LL SEE HOW THAT GOES. SHAWN, THANKS VERY MUCH.

SHAWN JOHNSON:

YOU’RE WELCOME.