Monday, February 24, 2014

Which Richard Nixon remedy will Gov. Walker choose?

Will Gov. Scott Walker have his "Checkers" moment, or will he treat emails like Watergate?

How will Gov. Walker handle the John Doe emails?
Gov. Scott Walker is avoiding answering any questions that have to do with the recent release of emails relating to the John Doe investigation (the first one).

He’s called the issue “old news,” despite the fact that the emails were just released last week. He refuses to answer any questions because he says it will lead to a “slippery slope” line of questioning: “Once you start on one thing, then there's hundreds of questions on each of those,” said Walker.

That’s sort of the point, however: there are a number questions that citizens of this state want answered. Whether Walker supplies an answer or not is up to him: but a “slippery slope” isn’t created by answering a few of the bigger questions, which are out there and remain unanswered either way.

The way I see it, Walker has two options to chose from, both of which are formulated from another Republican figure from generations ago: Richard Nixon.

In 1952, as he was running as a candidate for Vice President, Nixon was embroiled in a scandal involving improper use of campaign funds. He took to the television airwaves, and delivered what is known as the “Checkers speech.” He explained what he knew, when he knew it, and what he did about the improper actions of those who were involved in the controversy.

As president two decades later, Nixon was embroiled in the Watergate controversy. So troubled and so secretive was he about his knowledge on the issue that the mere mention of Nixon’s name (more than four decades later) remains synonymous with corruption and deceit.

Which type of “Nixon” Scott Walker chooses to be is up to him. In answering the questions, he has a chance to decently present his answers to our inquiries in a meaningful way, one that could satisfy a lot of people’s curiosities. Or, he can choose to ignore the issue altogether, comparing it to a political witch-hunt against him, disregarding legitimate concerns of the citizens of Wisconsin.

We deserve to hear from the governor himself what went on in his offices during his time as county executive. If he chooses to ignore us, he only has himself to blame for whatever political fallout is created.

2 comments:

  1. It is a witch hunt, but we need to thin the number of witches down in the GOP. Harvesting I think is the term for hunting other species.

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  2. Quote: If he chooses to ignore us, he only has himself to blame for whatever political fallout is created. There will be no political fallout. The people that love him won't care, the people that hate him will still hate him and the dozen or so people who aren't sure won't start paying attention until about Nov. 1st. And I use the term "paying attention" loosely. I predict he wins by a margin of 1% for every $10 million he or his surrogates outspends Burke by.

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