Last year, when angry protesters filled the streets of Madison, Wis., denouncing Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to curtail some union collective bargaining powers, President Obama was eager to associate himself with the union cause. “Some of what I’ve heard coming out of Wisconsin, where they’re just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally, seems like more of an assault on unions,” Obama told a Milwaukee TV reporter in February 2011.
Now, it’s just days until voters decide whether to recall Walker — an effort started, maintained and financed by the unions. If the polls are correct, Walker, who is being challenged by Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, seems headed toward keeping his job. And now, the president is not only no longer talking about Wisconsin, he’s actually seeking to distance himself from next week’s likely Democratic defeat.
“This is a gubernatorial race with a guy who was recalled and a challenger trying to get him out of office,” top Obama campaign official Stephanie Cutter said Wednesday on MSNBC. “It has nothing to do with President Obama at the top of the ticket, and it certainly doesn’t have anything to do with Mitt Romney at the top of the Republican ticket.”
Barrett would have loved a presidential visit to help shore up his faltering campaign. But even though Obama’s re-election effort depends heavily on union money and muscle, the president said no. Instead, former President Clinton will visit Milwaukee on Friday to offer last-minute support
