Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker traveled to President Ronald Reagan’s alma mater on Thursday and issued another “Day One promise”: to stop “big government union bosses” in their tracks. Walker has recently announced a series of actions he pledges to take on his first day in office that would distinguish him from the other 16 major Republican candidates for president.
“On Monday, I will travel to Las Vegas to lay out our big, bold ideas to transfer power from the big government union bosses to the hard-working taxpayers,” Walker told the crowd at Eureka College in Illinois. “On day one, I will stop the government from taking money out of the paychecks of federal employees for political union dues. … Why should you have to have your money go to a candidate you fundamentally oppose? That’s wrong.”
Walker’s campaign has long centered on the message of the governor’s record as a “fighter who wins.” But as Walker’s position in national polls slipped following the first GOP presidential debate, he has spent more time talking about his future plans and unveiled specific policy proposals, including his plan to repeal and replace Obamacare and how to end the president’s executive actions on immigration immediately upon entering the White House.
In central Illinois on Thursday, Wisconsin’s governor said he would “wreak havoc” on Washington and drew inspiration from Reagan.
“Ronald Reagan shaped much of my view of the world,” Walker said. “In his first inaugural address, he said we should all remember that the federal government did not create the states — the states created the federal government. That’s why I talk about sending power and money from Washington back to the hard-working people in the states.”
“I have been tested more than anyone else in this race and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone else. … I have passed that test time and time and time again.”
Walker’s next exam will come Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. Following his performance in the first debate, the governor fell from third place to seventh, as measured by RealClearPolitics’ average of national polls. He now receives the support of fewer than 5 percent of voters surveyed in the average of national polls.
