Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is a proven fiscal conservative, and his stock continues to rise as Republicans think about their possible candidates for 2016.
Coming off two failed presidential races, some say the Gand Old Party is in disarray. When asked about the divides between the Republican establishment, Tea Party conservatives and Libertarians, Gov. Walker paraphrased the Gipper, saying in politics, someone you agree with 80 percent of the time is an ally.
“We don’t have to have everybody agreeing on every single issue in order to move forward as far as conservatives and people like me, Republicans, but we do need to largely be singing out of the same hymnal,” Walker told CBN News.
The son of a Baptist preacher, the governor is still influenced by his father’s style of communication.
“As conservatives we think with our head, but that’s how we communicate, which is great from a process standpoint, but we need to talk about things from our heart,” he said.
Asked if growing up in the pew with his father in the pulpit helped him share his message politically, he responded, “Well, it did because, again, it’s the logic of how my father would share the message but also the emotion.”
The 45-year-old has become a conservative hero after living to tell about the severe cuts he made to Wisconsin’s budget to pull it out of a $3.6 billion shortfall—and he’s still at it.
“I’m making changes going forward that say if you’re an able-bodied adult, you’re not a senior but you’re an adult who’s able to work, if you want to get food stamps in our state going forward, you either have to work or you gotta be signed up for an employment program,” Walker said.
“Now the left will say, ‘Ugh, you hate the poor. This is all about making it more difficult to get on government programs,'” he continued. “I challenge that right back and say ‘No, I love, I love the people in my state. I love them so much I don’t want them to be indebted to the government for the rest of their lives. I want them to find it easier to find a job, not harder to get government benefits.”
For Republicans to win in the future, Scott says they must be optimistic, relevant and courageous.
“You know, I think in the last presidential election, unfortunately, a lot of people knew what the threat was with this president—what would happen over the next four years if he was re-elected, but there wasn’t enough given as an alternative to say, this is why we’re for something, this is what we’ll do,” he said.
As for what the future holds, Walker says only God knows.
The governor says it’s his two sons who inspired him to run for public office, and regardless of where God leads him, he hopes to use his gifts to help make the nation the best it can be for the people.
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