The more time I spend watching this, the more I think I could do a whole piece on what a moron Chuck Todd is. But we'll save that for another day. Instead, we'll just enjoy the complete shellacking Scott Walker puts on him over the course of 30 minutes here. It doesn't matter what issue Todd comes at him about - Wisconsin job growth, the Milwaukee Bucks arena, border security, the fight against ISIS, the Iran nuclear deal, gay marriage - no matter the issue, Walker is prepared, responds with facts and doesn't get rattled.
I know the political buzz lately is that Walker's campaign is faltering because Trump is on the rise and Walker is languishing in the mid single digits. Watch this interview and you'll understand why that's a stupid thing to be worried about as August 2015 draws to a close. Candidates with staying power are not the ones who can generate poll numbers 15 months before the election. They're the ones who know what they're doing and know what they want to do. Like this guy:
A few specifics to point out:
1. Everyone is talking about Walker supposedly proposing to build a wall on the border with Canada. He did no such thing. Listen to the exchange again. It was Todd who said that. Walker agreed it's legitimate to want to secure the northern border, but said nothing about building a wall. That came only out of the feeble mind and quivering mouth of Chuck Todd.
2. He absolutely nails the question of why the state is committing $4 million a year to a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks. Because not doing it would cost the state $6 million a year in lost income tax revenue from Bucks players. Everything Todd tries to nail him on the question just makes him look like the moron he is.
3. On ethanol subsidies, he is clear in saying they should be phased out over the course of several years. Todd tries to say his position is not clear, but it's perfectly clear. Unless you're a moron.
4. On ISIS, Todd asks the dumbest question imaginable: Would ISIS still be a force if we hadn't gone into Iraq. Wrong question. Right question: Would ISIS be a force if Obama hadn't pulled out of Iraq in 2011? And no, they wouldn't. Walker doesn't address that directly but he does make it clear that the military needs to be unleashed to really fight.
5. On Wisconsin's position on gay marraige vis-a-vis Wisconsin's legal options at the time, Todd clearly has no understanding of the distinction between a governor's legal options and his personal beliefs. Walker tries to explain but it's hard to explain anything to a moron.
6. Walker completely obliterates Todd's attempt to imply that liberal policies in Minnesota are superior - and are getting superior results - by demonstrating that he knows the facts a lot better than Todd does. He explains how different the starting points are, in addition to mentioning that that Illinois is a much better comparison because Illinois has had liberal governance for a long time - as did Wisconsin before 2010 - and the change for the better in Wisconsin has been dramatic whereas things have gotten dramatically worse in Illinois.
Bottom line: Walker's record is excellent and he knows how to explain that. Walker's policy proposals are solid and he knows how to put them across. It's very hard to get your message across when you're being interviewed by a moron who continually asks moronic questions, but it's a testament of Walker's skills that he does so very well anyway.
