This is a just brutal pre-autopsy of the Scott Walker campaign that Matea Gold and Jenna Johnson penned for the Washington Post. It’s hard to choose the choicest parts of it, but the ending is a proper summation:
[Stanley S.] Hubbard, the major donor [and media mogul] in Minnesota, said he likes what he is hearing from Walker and he doesn’t understand why his pitch “doesn’t turn people on.”
“I think Walker says all the right things,” he said, but “something’s missing in the demeanor.”
His folks are currently bucking up the sagging morale of his corp of “major” donors by pointing out that he has really strong approval numbers in Iowa that are second only to Ben Carson. So, while the base of the party isn’t offended by him and they kind of like him, there’s “something missing in his demeanor” that’s causing him to hemorrhage support.
This next bit shows that he’s really not capable of fixing this flat-lined demeanor of his:
Some backers also fear that, as a result of his drop in the polls, he has adopted a persona that doesn’t square with his low-key demeanor and personality. As one person who has known him for some years put it, the tough-guy approach — including his recent promises to “wreak havoc” on Washington — is not a good fit.
You’d think that his supporters would be happy to see a little spunk. But, no, they cringe at its inauthenticity and ask him to stop.
And, yet, they bitch that he doesn’t assert himself more in the debates. I mean, it’s not his fault that CNN only saw fit to ask him three questions in the three-freaking-hour debate, but couldn’t he have interjected or something?
Still, their hopes that Walker would have a breakout performance at Wednesday’s debate did not materialize. While many felt he was stronger than he was in the first forum, they were frustrated by his tentative approach to the free-wheeling format and unwillingness to jump in the fray.
Many prominent Walker bundlers came away from the debate uncertain who will eventually emerge as the leader in the crowded field.
So, don’t try to come off as a tough guy because that’s transparently phony, but please don’t just sit there like a wallflower and let Chris Christie dominate you like you’re the third-string catcher for the Beloit Snappers.
That’s kind of a no-win situation for the governor and you can see why his bundlers are getting happy feet.
But before they split on Walker completely, the want him to shit-can his campaign manager. Of course, they won’t say this on the record or on a conference call with dozens of other people on the line:
The Wisconsin governor also faces growing pressure from some financial backers to make staffing changes in an attempt to turn around his campaign.
But in a brief interview with The Washington Post at the Los Angeles airport Thursday afternoon, Walker said he had just completed a conference call with about 80 major donors — none of whom mentioned wanting staff changes.
“It didn’t come up at all,” Walker said, as he waited for a flight to Detroit…
…Some of those on Thursday’s donor call had expected different news. Many backers have directed their ire at campaign manager Rick Wiley, who some Walker supporters believe expanded the staff too quickly and has failed to calibrate spending during the summer fundraising season. A recent count put the number of full-time Walker campaign staff at around 90, and there have been no cutbacks in salaries as there were earlier this summer in former Florida governor Jeb Bush’s operation.
“There is a substantial amount of chatter that he needs to go,” said one major Walker fundraiser, requesting anonymity to discuss private conversations. “People are worried.”
They’re worried so they talk to reporters from the Washington Post. Perhaps Walker will get the message.
In any case, the bottom line here is that Walker is going to stop messing around and focus all his energy on Iowa. He’s going to double how many days he spends there a month from five to ten, which means he’ll be devoting a third of his time to a state he doesn’t even govern and probably another third to fundraising and maybe even a little more for a stop here or there, plus media appearances.
I hope Wisconsin isn’t going to be needing any attention from him, because there aren’t too many days left on the calendar.
To be honest, I don’t really know for certain why Walker is not getting any traction. I mean, I know this didn’t help, but…
Walker’s performance as a candidate has contributed to questions about the trajectory of his campaign. His verbal missteps — often the result of answering questions on the campaign trail with responses that he is forced to amend and later clarify — have been a topic of concern among his own loyalists. Last month, he twice found himself forced to clarify something he had said, first on whether he supported an end to birthright citizenship and again after an offhand answer suggesting he favored building a wall on the U.S.-Canadian border.
Walker has been urged repeatedly to be far more careful in answering unexpected questions, which have overshadowed positive reviews he’s gotten from conservative media and commentators about some of his policy proposals.
So, there’s the fact that he kind of sucks.
And there’s that pulseless demeanor thing.
But even CNN seemed to forget he was a candidate and on the stage and prepped and prepared to answer actual real-life debate questions. I mean, who cares what he has to say?
And I guess that’s the problem, in a nutshell.
