Walker Wins Wisconsin

The Foundation

"In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate -- look to his character." --Noah Webster

Editorial Exegesis

"The year-long saga of the Wisconsin recall is, at long last, over, and Scott Walker is still standing. ... Walker's enemies did everything but release the kraken. And yet, he won. ... Walker won because his reform program is popular, and because it is working. ... Walker won because he represented the taxpayer, while his opponent represented the groups whose livelihoods depend on bilking the taxpayer. Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett served as less of an alternative than a vessel for Big Labor's unmoored wrath. ... And, most of all, Scott Walker saved his job by being the adult in the room. While Democrats in Washington seem to be relying on their belief that the United States government is 'too big to fail' to justify a program of taxing and spending our way out of debt, the states don't have such a luxury. And so, across the country, in states red, blue, and purple, they have turned to men like Scott Walker -- and Chris Christie, and Mitch Daniels, and others -- to close structural deficits, stabilize out-of-control spending, and break the death embrace between Big Labor and Big Government. In taking this toxic partnership head on, in a state with a rich progressive history no less, Walker became its biggest target. His enemies spent a year and a half preparing to take their best shot at him. And a combined total of $100 million or so later, they missed. They missed because voters are starting to understand that governing through crisis requires someone willing to make unpopular choices, stand up to entrenched interests, and hold the line against loud and determined opposition. Quite simply, Wisconsin voters realized that if they no longer had Scott Walker, they would have to invent him." --National Review

What message does Tuesday's failed recall election send to Obama?

Upright

"[T]he political left were trying to demonstrate that power and privileges once granted are eternal. They wanted to run Mr. Walker out of Madison as an object lesson that trying to limit collective bargaining and mandatory dues collection for government unions will end your political career. ... Public unions are never going to cede their dominance over taxpayers without a fight. And it's worth recalling how brutally they fought. They occupied the state capital for weeks. They harassed GOP lawmakers and their families, tried to recall state Senators and defeat a conservative Supreme Court judge, while Democratic lawmakers abdicated their legislative duty by fleeing the state. They lost in the end because Mr. Walker and Republicans rode out the storm, passed their reforms, and are now able to show Wisconsin voters the beneficial results. The longer-term impact of Mr. Walker's vindication will depend on the lesson other political leaders take from it." --The Wall Street Journal

"Much of the Political Punditry Class has been touting [Wisconsin] as a preview of the 2012 Presidential election, but now that the Republican won, don't expect to hear too much of that kind of talk. In fact, the ink was barely dry on the headlines when the word went forth that it was actually a good night for Obama because the exit polling showed Barack Obama leading Mitt Romney 51-45. ... An exit poll showing the incumbent President just barely over 50 percent does not a victory make, seems to me. Even at that, the real issue at the national level isn't whether Obama wins Wisconsin in November, the real issue is the highly touted union-backed turnout operation fell short. ... If the Wisconsin operation was a test run, the Obama campaign might need to go back and do some re-sodding." --columnist Rich Galen

"Scott Walker never lacked courage. It took steely determination not to buckle in the face of militant unions who 'occupied' the stately Wisconsin capitol in Madison when Walker's reforms were first voted on. For two years, leftists have been howling. One of their speakers at a get out the (union) vote rally actually compared Scott Walker's reforms to the 9/11 attacks on our country. And this is the crowd that is forever lecturing us on civility." --columnist Ken Blackwell

"Government debt in Greece is 160 percent of gross domestic product. The other percentages of GDP are 120 in Italy, 104 in Ireland and 106 in Portugal. ... Here's the question for us: Is the U.S. moving in a direction toward or away from the troubled EU nations? It turns out that our national debt, which was 35 percent of GDP during the 1970s, is now 106 percent of GDP, a level not seen since World War II's 122 percent. ... I am all too afraid that Benjamin Franklin correctly saw our nation's destiny when he said, 'When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.'" --economist Walter E. Williams

Essential Liberty

"So many people, myself included, almost never drink any full sugar soda. ... So really, what's the big deal [about Mayor Bloomberg's proposed soda ban]? I believe it really is not about the soda. It is about the underlying belief by government regulators that if there is a problem, the government not only should, but has the capacity to fix it. ... [W]hen a government official says something like 'we as a society have to do everything possible to fight obesity,' he sounds reasonable, but when you realize he was really talking about the government, it becomes a bit more troubling. The fact that they use the euphemism suggests that even the heavy-handed regulators know that people don't want the government to be doing things that should be left to society." --National Center for Public Policy Research Senior Fellow Jeff Stier

Insight

"Useless laws weaken necessary laws." --Baron de Montesquieu Charles-Louis de Secondat (1689-1755)

"Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress." --French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), speaking from experience

D-Day

Today is the anniversary of D-Day. More than 160,000 troops landed on a 50-mile stretch of heavily fortified beaches along the Normandy coast of France in what was largest invasion force in history, involving more than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft. Read more and comment here.

The Demo-gogues

Pot, meet kettle: "Folks out there are still anxious, they're still scared about the future. And so what the other side is counting on is fear and frustration, that that in and of itself is going to be enough because they sure aren't offering any new ideas. All they're offering is the same old ideas that didn't work then, and won't work now." --Barack Obama

Blame game: "Now, here's the thing, though: We're not where we need to be. We're not there yet. We saw that in [Friday's] jobs report. Yes, a lot of that is attributable to Europe and the cloud that's coming over from the Atlantic, and the whole world economy has been weakened by it. And it's having an impact on us." --Barack Obama

Excuses: "The underlying fundamentals for the economy are actually quite good, and we need to keep that in mind. We're doing in the Congress a whole series of things to actually help stimulate the economy." --Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE)

Still running against George W. Bush: "We are not going back to a set of policies that say you're on your own and that's essentially the theory of the other side. You know, George Romney." --Barack Obama, perhaps confusing his current opponent with his perpetual one, though George Romney was Mitt's father

Rewriting history: "Republicans know that they can't win this election on the merits. Barack Obama, who has been fighting for the middle class and working families, has begun to get this economy turned around -- taken, after three years, an economy that was hemorrhaging 750,000 jobs a month and now we've had 27 straight months of job growth in the private sector, a resurgence in the manufacturing sector. And they know that that is thanks to [Obama's] policies." --DNC Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)

Civility: "I think the [Republicans'] next act will be dragging women out of patient rooms into the streets and screaming over their bodies as they get dragged out of getting access to women's health care. That's what I feel like is occurring today with the legislation that is on the floor. ... First of all, there is bipartisan and unilateral and unanimous support that we should not have agenda-based abortions for the sake of getting one gender over another. That's a human, humane and humanitarian issue that none of us quarrel with." --Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) opposing a law to ban gender-based abortions

John McCain also lost: "John McCain believed in climate change. John believed in campaign finance reform. He believed in immigration reform. I mean, there were some areas where you saw some overlap. In this election, the Republican Party has moved in a fundamentally different direction." --Barack Obama

Is that a compliment? "I know, literally, Barack and I talk about it. Neither one of us would have had any shot. The same with our wives. Both wives are smarter than both of us. Literally, these very accomplished women would not have any chance without some [government] help." --Joe Biden on the "war on women"

Nanny state: "Is purchasing two 16 oz sodas too much of an inconvenience to help reverse a national health catastrophe?" --New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on his large sugary drink ban

Dezinformatsia

The BIG Lie: "What should be done about the economy? Republicans claim to have the answer: slash spending and cut taxes. What they hope voters won't notice is that that's precisely the policy we've been following the past couple of years. Never mind the Democrat in the White House; for all practical purposes, this is already the economic policy of Republican dreams. ... The fact is that we have already seen the Republican economic future -- and it doesn't work." --New York Times columnist Paul Krugman

What spending cuts? "The U.S. economy added just 69,000 jobs in May, far below economists' expectations. The report suggests that the GOP's deep spending cuts and other austerity measures have undermined growth." --ThinkProgress

Not his fault: "The bleak jobs report on Friday predictably had heads snapping toward the White House, looking to President Obama to do something. Yet his proposed remedies only underscore how much the president, just five months before he faces voters, is at the mercy of actors in Europe, China and Congress whose political interests often conflict with his own." --Jackie Calmes and Nicholas Kulish in the New York Times

That's racist: "[M]aybe [Mitt Romney's] not running for the presidency of the United States, maybe he's running for the presidency of 'Caucasia-stan' or some place that doesn't have anyone of color in it." --MSNBC contributor Karen Hunter

Unhinged: "Scott Walker could very well be indicted in the coming days." --MSNBC's Ed Schultz

America stinks: "[The Star Spangled Banner is] an abomination. ... Are we the only ones who are brave on the planet? I mean all the brave people live here. I mean it's just stupid I think. I'm embarrassed, I'm embarrassed every time I hear it." --radio talk-show host Bill Press

Newspulper Headlines:

Breaking News From 2013: "Obama to Spend Night at His Chicago House" --FoxNews.com

We Blame George W. Bush: "President Obama Blames Congress for Weak Jobs Report" --Yahoo! News

Ask Elizabeth Warren: "Why Are Indian Kids So Good at Spelling?" --Slate.com

Questions Nobody Is Asking: "Do All Evangelical Leaders Believe Gays Should Be Put to Death?" --Huffington Post

News You Can Use: "On National Donut Day, Be a Patriot -- Eat One for Yourself, One for Your Freedom" --Competitive Enterprise Institute website

Bottom Story of the Day: "Hollywood Stars Largely Absent at Romney Fundraiser" --Los Angeles Times website

(Thanks to The Wall Street Journal's James Taranto)

Village Idiots

More blame game: "If you look at this jobs report, manufacturing is up, the best record in two decades, largely because of what the president did relative to the auto industry. What was down was construction, what was down was education -- the very things the president has been trying to get Congress to act on were the things that were down." --White House adviser David Axelrod

Topsy turvy: "Anyone in politics would like to have great economic numbers. I would make the argument that we do have excellent numbers on job creation. ... We saw what the Republicans did when they controlled the government. ... It is the Democrats who get the economic engine of this economy moving forward again." --former DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe

Predictions: "There's nobody out there that thinks that Governor Romney is unqualified. ... This race in the end is not gonna come down to what Governor Romney did in his business career. It's not even gonna come down to what President Obama's done in the first three-and-a-half-years. I think it's gonna come down to who the American people believe have the best plan to get us out of the economic fix that we're in; to get the economy moving again." --former Penn. Gov. Ed Rendell

Race bait: "I've heard a consistent drumbeat of concern from citizens, who -- often for the first times in their lives -- now have reason to believe that ... some of the achievements that defined the civil rights movement could now hang in the balance." --Attorney General Eric Holder attacking voter ID laws

Short Cuts

"Unemployment's still looking pretty bad. In fact, the White House has a new slogan on jobs creation -- 'Hope and Change the Subject.'" --comedian Jay Leno

"According to the latest Nielsen ratings, CNN has lost 50% of its viewership in the last 12 months. In their defense, competition's tough. The Drying Paint Channel HAS added over a dozen colors since then." --Fred Thompson

"I'm sure glad the unions spent all that money for this big public effort to reaffirm what a great governor [Scott] Walker is." --humorist Frank J. Fleming

"South Dakota park police arrested a fifty-year-old Chicago man they caught trying to scale Mt Rushmore. It was a long afternoon for everyone. It took them an hour to explain to President Obama that climbing Mt. Rushmore doesn't entitle you to say that you're on it." --comedian Argus Hamilton

Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!
Nate Jackson for The Patriot Post Editorial Team