POLITICS

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker urges nation's conservatives to stand strong against protests

Patrick Marley
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Md.

Gov. Scott Walker drew on his experience battling protesters six years ago to encourage conservatives Thursday as they face fierce criticism over President Donald Trump and his policies.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, D.C., Walker said his fights with unions — and GOP success at the ballot box in the years afterward — showed conservatives win when they listen to voters.

“Sadly, in Washington it is common practice to ignore the will of the voters,” Walker said to a cheering crowd. “For too long the media and the status quo defenders spend their time listening to the noise of the protesters and the rhetoric of the pundits. ... My plea to you today is to not get caught up in Washington, to not forget the voters, to not ignore the people who live in reality all across this country every single day.

“Don’t forget them. Don’t forget their families. Don’t forget their neighbors. Fight for them."

His live-streamed speech kicked off several days of political activities for the governor as he gears up for a re-election bid next year.

Walker will be holding meetings this weekend with the Republican Governors Association, where he is chairman. In that capacity, he will sit down Friday with the Washington Post for an hour-long, live-streamed interview.

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In his CPAC speech, Walker said he spoke to Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos, soon after protesters blocked her from entering a middle school.

“I called Betsy DeVos and I said, ‘You know what? Been there, done that,’ ” Walker said, citing a 2011 incident in which protesters glued the locks shut at Messmer Preparatory Catholic School to try — unsuccessfully — to keep Walker from reading to children there.

Walker has long enjoyed support from DeVos, a billionaire backer of efforts to expand school voucher programs.

In response, Brandon Weathersby, a spokesman for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, criticized Walker for laws he has signed over the years.

"Before President Trump brought his unpopular policies to the White House, Governor Walker was already signing anti-worker, anti-women, anti-immigrant, and anti-LGBT legislation in Madison. Unfortunately for Wisconsinites, we've been there and done that. Our state deserves better than Trump-lite," Weathersby said in a statement.

For his CPAC appearance, Walker returned to themes he has used in speeches over the years. He described the protests against him — sparked by his move to all but eliminate collective bargaining for public workers — as angry, disruptive events from a loud minority.

He noted he has won election three times — including once in a recall election sparked by his Act 10 labor measure — and that Republicans have gained seats in the Legislature in the past three elections.

“Why? It’s because common sense conservative reforms work,” Walker said.

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After his 10-minute speech, Walker and three other GOP governors sat on a CPAC panel moderated by Rick Graber, president of the conservative Bradley Foundation headquartered in Milwaukee.

On that panel, Walker called for giving more power to the states, saying the federal government should not be responsible for anything beyond the military, Medicare and Social Security.

“I think just about everything else is done better by the states,” he said.

For example, environmental regulations should be handled by states, not the federal Environmental Protection Agency, Walker said. That was an idea Walker first floated in 2015 during his short-lived bid for the presidency.