So it does look like it was a funding and polling problem. What a mess. And I just about died at the bolded.
Walker's campaign manager unloads 'It's a f---ing bitch, man,' Rick Wiley tells POLITICO of the Wisconsin governor's stunning collapse. By MIKE ALLEN and ALEX ISENSTADT 09/23/15, 05:32 AM EDT
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker pulled the plug on a bloated campaign that was headed into debt and was being undermined by furious donors, a warring staff and — at the root of it all — a candidate who was badly out of his league.
Prior to the governor's abrupt exit from the Republican race, his campaign had a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency plan at the ready: Campaign manager Rick Wiley, in a half-hour phone interview with POLITICO on Tuesday night, said he had an “all-in Iowa” plan that would have moved the headquarters from Madison, Wisconsin, to Des Moines and cut the staff from about 85 to 20 as of Thursday. But Walker, floundering in debates and on the stump, was facing such a sudden drought in donations that even those drastic moves wouldn’t have guaranteed solvency.
“We built the machine that we needed to get a governor in just phenomenal shape to take a stage in a presidential debate,” Wiley said. “I think sometimes it's lost on people the largeness of the job. I think people just look at it and say, ‘Wow! Yeah, you know, it's like he's a governor and he was in a recall’ and blah, blah, blah — he’s ready.
“It's just not like that. It is really, really difficult. ... I'm just saying, you know, like it's a f---ing bitch, man. It really is.”
The staff left the office for the last time Tuesday — the campaign was officially over, and only lawyers and HR people were left as Wiley and the rest headed for The Boathouse, a Madison bar that was the campaign hideout, to enjoy the sunset together one last time.
Walker has a conference call with top donors scheduled for midday Wednesday to discuss what happened. In past such calls, the donors have been able to ask questions. And POLITICO interviews with many of them — in addition to interviews with over a half-dozen Republicans close to the campaign — show that they have lots of them: why the staff was so big, why he wasn’t better prepped for the debates, why he went from front-runner to also-ran in a matter of weeks.
A Republican close to Walker said: “The entire campaign was built a bit larger than it should have been early on. Then after the debates and the resources slowed, modifications were not made. ... Expectations were high, and there was momentum. And the thought was that you needed staff to keep that going, and get more resources coming in.”
Wiley, 46, a former executive director of the Wisconsin Republican Party, had moved back to Madison to a one-bedroom apartment with no furniture to run the campaign. He had just landed in D.C. on Monday morning when he learned of Walker’s decision. Wiley had flown out for a Google panel with rival GOP campaign managers — which he, of course, wound up skipping.
Campaign chair Michael Grebe called and said: “The governor has decided to pull the plug on the campaign.”
By Wiley’s telling, the end came fast. “June and July, up through that first debate, were good, fundraising-wise — really good,” he said. "Hitting your numbers. And we thought maybe we could even project [that] outward, like tick our numbers up a little bit. And then the [Aug. 6] Cleveland debate happened. ... The press corps wrote that he didn't help himself but didn't hurt himself. But the didn't-help-himself narrative took over. And fundraising started to go down.”
The problems snowballed, all self-inflicted. “The week after the debate, our events fell a little bit flat,” Wiley said. “And so then we roll into the Iowa State Fair, and the ‘birthright citizenship’ [gaffe] came up. And that was another one where the donors were like, ‘What's going on over there?’”
Post by 2curlydogs on Sept 23, 2015 14:06:06 GMT -5
There was a great line in a Forbes article in February that sums it all up
"Scott Walker is a mediocre county executive who has risen far beyond his talents. The very notion that he brings the gravitas and talent required to assume the mantle of the President of the United States and leader of the Free World reveals just how low the expectations of many Americans have fallen."
Post by WanderingWinoZ on Sept 23, 2015 14:07:42 GMT -5
On maddow last night, they mentioned that many of his big donors has no clue this was coming. Some were still making calls & had just donated over $1M! he will never run again- nobody will back him =)
Wow. That's one hell of a screw up on foreign policy. He basically could have said "Russia", "China" or "Iran" and then mumbled and it would have been a serviceable answer.
I am still appalled that only 30% of the GOP candidate could name a well known American woman with the $10 bill question.
There was a great line in a Forbes article in February that sums it all up
"Scott Walker is a mediocre county executive who has risen far beyond his talents. The very notion that he brings the gravitas and talent required to assume the mantle of the President of the United States and leader of the Free World reveals just how low the expectations of many Americans have fallen."
I mean, look at Trump, the frontrunner. No government experience and his only "policy" position is to build a giant wall. He hasn't made any other policy statements on anything except to say "I am having people look into that." Our expectations are really low right now.
So is it true the Kochs want their money back? I saw a link from The New Yorker where an "aide" said as much.
No.
Well, that article was the Borowitz Report. Which is satire.
But who knows.
I read somewhere the Koch brothers are staying out of the GOP primary. I'm sure they have ways to get money quietly to their chosen candidates, but as of right now, they aren't publicly playing favorites at least.
There was a great line in a Forbes article in February that sums it all up
"Scott Walker is a mediocre county executive who has risen far beyond his talents. The very notion that he brings the gravitas and talent required to assume the mantle of the President of the United States and leader of the Free World reveals just how low the expectations of many Americans have fallen."
I mean, look at Trump, the frontrunner. No government experience and his only "policy" position is to build a giant wall. He hasn't made any other policy statements on anything except to say "I am having people look into that." Our expectations are really low right now.
Yeah, but I will say this: Trump at least comes off as a dumb person's idea of a smart person. He's confident in his bullshit and has no problem taking charge.
Walker just comes off as dumb. He's got this vacant look, he fumbles when being asked questions, and he lets people talk over him. He managed to fool people when he was still a big fish in a small pond, was dealing with a very limited number of policy issues, and had more control over the process. But he's really just Sarah Palin 2.0.
Walker just comes off as dumb. He's got this vacant look
I was amazed the first time I saw what he looked like. I was like, "that's Scott Walker? He looks like someone bonked him on the head and he went crosseyed."
I mean, look at Trump, the frontrunner. No government experience and his only "policy" position is to build a giant wall. He hasn't made any other policy statements on anything except to say "I am having people look into that." Our expectations are really low right now.
Yeah, but I will say this: Trump at least comes off as a dumb person's idea of a smart person. He's confident in his bullshit and has no problem taking charge.
There was a great line in a Forbes article in February that sums it all up
"Scott Walker is a mediocre county executive who has risen far beyond his talents. The very notion that he brings the gravitas and talent required to assume the mantle of the President of the United States and leader of the Free World reveals just how low the expectations of many Americans have fallen."
I mean, look at Trump, the frontrunner. No government experience and his only "policy" position is to build a giant wall. He hasn't made any other policy statements on anything except to say "I am having people look into that." Our expectations are really low right now.
Trump is not a politician. He has no political experience. He has no insider information for how Washington, or even a state government, works in most capacities.
However, he has a great deal of experience influencing politicians, a great deal of knowledge of taxes and economics, and has spent a great amount of time traveling domestically and internationally to take meetings with important business people. Not exactly the things *I* think a president should be made of, but at least experience with some slight relevancy that Scott Walker lacks. Remember Walker's trip to London? That was embarrassing.
We have talked about my rage upon seeing my alma mater's alumni magazine featuring an article on him and calling him an alum.
He is NOT a fucking alum. He did not GRADUATE.
I have a degree from there. MY H has a degree. MY PARENTS, COUSINS, FRIENDS ALL HAVE DEGREES.
CHRIS FARLEY HAD A FUCKING DEGREE.
THIS FUCK FACE DOES NOT HAVE A DEGREE FROM THERE OR ANY OTHER PLACE OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
#mighthaveissues
It's pretty common for a school to consider someone an alumnus if they attended for even one semester.
Sorry to deflate your rage bubble.
Usually only when it serves them. Pretty sure they wouldn't claim another no-name acquaintance who dropped out.
Either way, my Jesuit university should not be claiming this shlub in any shape or form. He stands for NOTHING the university preaches as its core tenants.
It's pretty common for a school to consider someone an alumnus if they attended for even one semester.
Sorry to deflate your rage bubble.
Usually only when it serves them. Pretty sure they wouldn't claim another no-name acquaintance who dropped out.
Either way, my Jesuit university should not be claiming this shlub in any shape or form. He stands for NOTHING the university preaches as its core tenants.
#ragebubblecontinues
I have quite a few friends that went there and they're all pissed about that, too.
Post by Velar Fricative on Sept 23, 2015 21:16:36 GMT -5
I'm still surprised at how he's fallen. I can't believe the debates directly influenced his campaign's downfall. I didn't think people cared about these debates besides us lol.
I mean, look at Trump, the frontrunner. No government experience and his only "policy" position is to build a giant wall. He hasn't made any other policy statements on anything except to say "I am having people look into that." Our expectations are really low right now.
Trump is not a politician. He has no political experience. He has no insider information for how Washington, or even a state government, works in most capacities.
However, he has a great deal of experience influencing politicians, a great deal of knowledge of taxes and economics, and has spent a great amount of time traveling domestically and internationally to take meetings with important business people. Not exactly the things *I* think a president should be made of, but at least experience with some slight relevancy that Scott Walker lacks. Remember Walker's trip to London? That was embarrassing.