Bruce Murphy
Murphy’s Law

Is Walker Crazy Like a Fox?

His campaign for president seems ridiculous. So why is he rising in the polls?

By - Mar 3rd, 2015 11:24 am
The Fringe Candidate. Click the image to watch the video.

The Fringe Candidate. Click the image to watch the video.

That Scott Walker. What a fool.

Yep, the consensus in the media nationally is that Walker has made a string of silly errors in his run for president.

After all, during his appearance in London, he declined to say if he believed in evolution, which is established scientific doctrine. And he later refused to say whether Barack Obama is a Christian (doh, he is) or whether the president loves America. Finally in an appearance before the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAK, that really set off a storm, the Wisconsin governor suggested that handling pro-union protestors in Madison was comparable to dealing with the Islamic terrorists in ISIS.

Even before this last, most outrageous comment, Matt Lewis for Daily Beast roasted Walker as not ready for prime time in a column entitled “Scott Walker’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Answer.” And the liberal American Bridge created a punchy, one-minute online ad that gleefully ridiculed Walker.

Over at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where only their conservative commentator, Christian Schneider, gets to make intemperate comments, veteran political analyst Craig Gilbert gingerly described Walker’s remarks as a “classic campaign flap — part media creation, part candidate stumble,” which “raised questions about the governor’s ability to navigate a fairly routine media gantlet on the presidential stage.” This won Walker the kind of press attention “he didn’t bank on and might have easily avoided,” Gilbert wrote.

Of course, if it was so easily avoided, Gilbert might have asked himself, why didn’t Walker, a skilled and extraordinarily disciplined campaigner, avoid this alleged stumble? Perhaps because his comments were carefully calculated to get him attention and win the adoration of conservatives.

Not long ago, Walker was getting mentioned as a dark horse candidate, at the back of a long list of candidates for the Republican nomination. He had begun to move up in recent months, but now, after three weeks of dominating the news, with an avalanche of free publicity about him, Walker is getting widely viewed as second only to front-runner Jeb Bush.

As Doyle McManus wrote in the Los Angeles Times after CPAC ended, “Here’s what we learned: Bush has staying power, despite conservatives’ suspicion that he’s a closet moderate. Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, is hot — the new more-conservative hope to stop the Bush juggernaut. Sens. [Ted] Cruz (R-Texas) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) could rise if Walker stumbles. Chris Christie looks like a spent force.”

Yes, while all those headlines and pundits were obsessed with Scott Walker, little was getting written about Christie or Rubio, other than to occasionally suggest how much more sensibly they would have answered these questions.

As for the idea that Walker made mistakes, he can only win the Republican nomination by running to the right of Bush. His comments — and all the buzz they set off — helped Walker dramatically showcase his more red meat-than-Jeb persona to conservatives across America.

Those who see Walker’s comments as outrageous apparently haven’t noticed how the Republican Party has changed. This is not the party of Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s or even Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Let us consider the beliefs of GOP voters, circa 2015.

Evolution? Only 43 percent of Republicans believe in it. Walker’s non-committal response as whether he believes in evolution arguably makes him moderate compared to GOP primary voters he is courting.

Is Obama a Christian? An incredible 54 percent of Republicans actually believe Obama is Muslim, 29 percent are unsure of his religion and just 9 percent believe he’s Christian. In that context, Walker’s statement that he doesn’t know if Obama is Christian once again makes him a party moderate.

Does Obama love America? Hell no, according to 69 percent of Republicans. Walker’s refusal to say yes or no is, by contrast, diplomatic, even as it signals his doubts to conservatives who hate the president.

And of course, once all the media hubbub erupted about these comments, Walker strategically dumped on the press for its “gotcha” agenda, adding “they want to talk about things that I don’t think most Americans want to talk about.” That won Walker a new round of stories and once again sent signals to conservatives, among whom just 27 percent say they trust the media.

In short, everything Walker was saying echoes rock-bed Republican beliefs. Of course sophisticated party leaders may not share these views. But that’s not how you get elected in red states these days. Nor is it how you win viewers at Fox News, which offered no criticism of Walker’s comments on evolution and Obama.

Walker’s comparison of union protestors with the murderous jihadists of ISIS, by contrast, was more audacious. Still, by 2010, just 33 percent of Republicans viewed unions favorably, and by 2011, when Walker proposed ending the collective bargaining rights of public employees, polls showed Republicans supported this by 54 percent to 41 percent.

Since then, there have been no specific polls I could find, but the bludgeoning of public employees by politicians like Walker and Christie has undoubtedly helped gin up the distaste of conservatives for government workers. After all, they’re mostly Democrats, aren’t they?

Moreover, Walker’s outrageous comment immediately elicited follow-up questions from the media demanding to know how he could make this comparison, which gave Walker another round of press attention where he clarified and softened his remarks. As I’ve previously written, Walker is a master at subtly modifying and continuously redefining his comments for strategic advantage and to deceive people about his real views. The governor’s performance over the last few weeks could be used in a masters class teaching prospective candidates how to rise in the Republican presidential primary.

It’s been interesting to see dumbfounded members of the media fulminate about Walker’s slippery signal sending. The correct answer for a Republican, Matt Lewis insisted, is “Yes the president is a Christian. His policies are bad.” Then, after finishing his coaching, Lewis asked, “Why is it so damned difficult for someone to say that Obama is a Christian who loves America—and he also happens to have been a really bad president? Why not grant him this small concession? He’s never going to be on the ballot again, so why are Republicans still fighting the last war?”

But it’s precisely because Obama won twice that Republicans can’t forgive him and are still angry at him. So why would Walker bypass an opportunity to pick at that scab?

Even conservatives in the media jumped on Walker’s comments about union protestors. Jim Geraghty of the National Review offered this blast: “First, taking on a bunch of protesters is not comparably difficult to taking on a Caliphate with sympathizers and terrorists around the globe, and saying so suggests Walker doesn’t quite understand the complexity of the challenge from ISIS and its allied groups. Second, it is insulting to the protesters, a group I take no pleasure in defending. The protesters in Wisconsin, so furiously angry over Walker’s reforms and disruptive to the procedures of passing laws, earned plenty of legitimate criticism. But they’re not ISIS. They’re not beheading innocent people. They’re Americans, and as much as we may find their ideas, worldview, and perspective spectacularly wrongheaded, they don’t deserve to be compared to murderous terrorists.

That’s a powerful, much-needed conservative chastisement. But it unwittingly raises an interesting question: is the National Review out-of-touch with where conservatives are on the issues today? Frankly, when you look at these polls on Republican voters’ beliefs, it shows how far removed the party of Reagan is from his views on the issues. It’s a little scary. And that makes Walker look like their dream candidate.

Categories: Murphy's Law, Politics

72 thoughts on “Murphy’s Law: Is Walker Crazy Like a Fox?”

  1. PMD says:

    I want to know exactly how he took on the protestors. Did he ever set foot near the Capitol during the height of the Act 10 protests? I don’t think he intended to compare protestors to terrorists. I think he said it because it was a sure to please a CPAC audience. But how did he take them on in a manner that provides relevant foreign policy experience? I don’t get that.

    I also don’t see how he does well after the Iowa and South Carolina primaries. He doesn’t seem like a General Election Republican candidate. He seems like one destined to do well in early primaries with very conservative and religious voters, and then fade away as someone else more likely to win a presidential election rises (Jeb).

  2. David says:

    @PMD… I agree. Maybe Jeb will ask him to be his running mate?

  3. PMD says:

    @David… I have an easier time buying him as a viable VP candidate. Two in a row from Wisconsin for the GOP?

  4. Matt says:

    You have fallen under the same spell the JS boys have. The “crazy like a fox” fellow lost a straw poll of other crazy people to that great statesman Rand Paul. In a “straw poll”. On a weekend in February, 2015. Who the cares?

    The only interesting thing about his run this far is how strongly it exposes the Wisconsin Media. He can say that no one here cares about his views on evolution, and he may be right. Probably not though (he rarely is). But it is pretty damning to watch the media around here scratching their heads and not even noticing that they have failed to delve into a pretty elementary topic about the governor. Of course they have also been uninterested in what seems to be a pretty messianic streak in the preacher’s kid.

    Equally amusing is the pass he gets on: gay marriage, the disappearing Gogebic mine (did we just lose a billion new jobs or something), the casino (did he play that for giant donations from both sides and then just shrug it away) and cutting off planned parenthood.

    Then he goes into the real world and talks about his insipidity and now the media around here ask questions like “is he crazy like a fox?” Nope. We just have a state without fox catchers. So sadly we learn, from the rest of the country, that we have thrice elected a bit of a buffoon. But we can’t say that, cuz are buffoons are “crazy like foxes”, not crazy like a guy who thinks air traffic control in 1980 was part of the cold war.

  5. PMD says:

    The list of (mostly) fringe GOP candidates polling at #1 or #2 before the last election is a long one: Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Rick Perry, Michelle Bachmann, Donald Trump. I’d say Walker is closer to them than he is Romney or McCain.

  6. Jake formerly of the LP says:

    Matt’s comment is spot on- our state’s media refuses to go after the fox and give people the truth. The question that follows is: are they that stupid, or are they under orders from their corporate bosses who are beholden to clicks and Walker campaign dollars?

    As Marquette grad Charlie Pierce put it- if I see a guy walking down the street with a duck on his head, I don’t need two sources to tell me that, and I don’t need to print spin on what it might be.

    But our media is afraid to call Walker a liar and a fool, because it kills the golden goose and the access he gives to state journalists. And the 20%er, mouth-breathing and bubble-world crowd that makes up GOP primary voters are the only ones Walker cares about at this moment.

  7. PMD says:

    I lived out of state for a few years and wasn’t in Wisconsin in 2010. I know the JS endorsed him then. Does their coverage of him seem to have changed a lot since then? More critical, more indicative of some buyer’s remorse (outside of PR person Christian Schneider)? Did they go easy on him before the 2010 election? Did they extensively cover his time as a legislator? They probably had more reporters and resources 5 years than they do now.

  8. Frank says:

    Firstly, I am an undecided independent voter. I just can not put any merit behind criticism of Walker or any of the Republican candidates by their “liberal” adversaries, when the Democrats are unequivocally supporting Hillary Clinton. Clinton is running unopposed in the Dem primary, while openly funding her run with money from big business, big banks, and the .001%. And yet, somehow, big bad Scott Walker is in the pockets of the special interests?! I simply can not get beyond the hypocrisy of this. And Democrats say the Republican party has been taken over?

  9. PMD says:

    So what if someone criticizes Walker and it has nothing to do with special interests? Is it valid? And why only mention special interests when this story discusses much more than that?

  10. Frank says:

    Many qualms people have with Walker are legit. I hold some of them, as well. This article does not broach any of those legit qualms tho. The questions that Walker “punted” on are so astronomically irrelevant to the bigger issues. Issues such as what companies, banks, foreign governments have gifted the Clinton Foundation and why? Why did she not use her govt email address and what emails did she choose not to report and why? And yet, the liberal media outlets talk about evolution and Obamas religion. So when Walker says “These aren’t the issues voters care about” I find myself shaking my head in agreement (and leaning more towards voting for him). It just seems petty to me and makes Dems look oblivious to the fact they are lock step with the face of the political establishment. How did this become of the nations “liberal” party?

  11. PMD says:

    First of all, the media has been asking candidates stupid questions since well media has existed. I read a funny bit the other day about LBJ ripping into a journalist back in the ’60s over what he perceived to be a dumb question. If you aren’t prepared for all kinds of questions from the media, you might not be ready for prime time. And let’s face it: blaming the “liberal” media is a tried and true strategy for Republicans. It’s part of their playbook, and they sure aren’t afraid to use it.

    Second, you seem a little obsessed with the Clintons. Is this story about Scott Walker or Hillary Clinton?

  12. Wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    Lincoln said about Grant: ” He wins battles”. As Wisconsin Conservative Digest sez about Walker : “He defeats the Left”. He is our hero!
    He fixed the mess that the Left made in Milwaukee County and he fixed the mess that Doyle left in the state.
    Doyle/ Barrett could not run a whore house in Alaska at the height of the gold rush!

  13. wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    Bruce, thanks you for this comic relief everyday. I never see one answer to any of the problems of Milwaukee, the state, on this site, just dopey talking points and whining about Scott cause he has whipped them in the worst defeats in history of the state.

  14. PMD says:

    If this site is so terrible, why are you here posting every day? Nothing better to do with your time?

  15. Wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    Site is great, what is better, eating ice cream or destroying Liberal arguments.

  16. PMD says:

    Ah eating ice cream, duh. Eating ice cream beats just about anything.

  17. Observer says:

    Those remarks were certainly planned. You have to be far right to entertain the base. The moneymen were more interested by his push for RTW. It would never have seen the light of day had not SW wanted it and wanted it badly. His desire to court the Reagan Democrat (aren’t they all dead by now?) is why he gives the appearance of being coy when asked.. “I’m really not in favor but what is a minister’s son to do if it is put on my desk”. Really?

  18. Calvin Pi says:

    “And he later refused to say whether Barack Obama is a Christian (doh, he is) or whether the president loves America. ”

    Why do you believe he is a Christian, or that he loves America? Because he said so?

    Really?

    If you believe that, I have a health insurance policy I want to sell you. If you like it, you can keep it: The President said so, and I believe him.

  19. PMD says:

    I think Obama is Christian, but who cares if he is or not? Since when is being Christian a prerequisite to being President? Anyone can say they are a Christian. Doesn’t make it so. I know plenty of people who claim to be Christians but their words and deeds are anything but.

  20. Jake formerly of the LP says:

    We’d like to thank Dumb Dohnal (aka WCD) for illustrating the type of loser Walker is trying to attract. Unfortunately, while the Dumb Dohnal types are only about 20% of the voting public, THOSE DINGBATS VOTE EVERY TIME. Combine that with a media that won’t call out Walker for dishonesty and foolishness, and you see the result.

    It’s a very short-term mentality that will implode sooner than later, but it gets headlines during silly season, when the national writers are looking for something to justify their phonetic-baloney jobs in the horse race

  21. wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    the fun listening to the losers whine here. Jake, u are the wurst.

  22. Observer says:

    He’s done it again. He just announced that he will push for a 20 week abortion ban.

    “As the Wisconsin legislature moves forward in the coming session, further protections for mother and child are likely to come to my desk in the form of a bill to prohibit abortions after 20 weeks,” his letter said. “I will sign that bill when it gets to my desk and support similar legislation on the federal level.”

    Source: http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/walker-he-will-sign-abortion-ban-after-20-years-b99455459z1-294898821.html

    He didn’t give any explanation of how “mothers” will be protected.

  23. Observer says:

    Frank, welcome to my club. My club consists of independent undecided voters. It’s a big tent and we welcome various pov’s trying to decide who will make the best next President. Right now I have no one that excites me.

  24. Wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    Observer why don’t you take your little hatchet and sit in delivery room. When one pops out, wrong color, downs, birth defects, girls and then chop their heads off.

  25. Michael says:

    The JS had a great article the other day where they politely called out Walker for saying one thing to get elected and then turning around and dropping bombshells after he is office. He will say anything if it will get you to vote for him and then do what he was always planning on doing anyway.

    Expect to see more hard tacks to the right, despite his reelection language, as he courts the out of state primary voters.

  26. Observer says:

    DD/WCD/Paul??, In Wisconsin your race accounted for 70% of all legal abortions. Why don’t you take your racist self back to Facebook and quit lowering the level of discussions here.
    From Wiki:
    Racism consists of both prejudice and discrimination based in social perceptions of biological differences between peoples. It often takes the form of social actions, practices or beliefs, or political systems that consider different races to be ranked as inherently superior or inferior to each other, based on presumed shared inheritable traits, abilities, or qualities. It may also hold that members of different races should be treated differently. Among the questions about how to define racism are the question of whether to include forms of discrimination that are unintentional, such as making assumptions about preferences or abilities of others based on racial stereotypes, whether to include symbolic or institutionalized forms of discrimination such as the circulation of ethnic stereotypes through the media, and whether to include the socio-political dynamics of social stratification that sometimes have a racial component.

    While I’m guessing you would not actually harm someone solely based on skin color, you have stated over and over here how you make assumptions on an entire race based on your bigoted point of view. (except for our High Sheriff, of course). It’s 2015 and it’s time you change.

  27. wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    Milwaukee run by White Liberal Racist following Margaret Sangers wishes.

  28. Observer says:

    Margaret Sanger wishes are guiding Milwaukee? Who knew but you DD. I thought it was George Soros or was that Saul Alinsky? I don’t even know what you mean by a Margaret Sanger wishes. DD, you ever run for public office? Other than the White Citizen Pharmacist Council that is. Ah, that’s enough for a night. Have a good one Bob. Gotta sharpen my hatchet blade for the next ones coming out.

  29. Marie says:

    Check out Matt Taibbi’s article in Rolling Stone: “Scott Walker, God’s Gift to the Democratic Party.”

    http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/scott-walker-gods-gift-to-the-democratic-party-20150227

    He notes that even if they’re lying, prez candidates need to offer a vision for the whole country, and not treat 50 percent of populace as domestic terrorists. Walker compares himself to Ronald Reagan, but I doubt anyone else does.

    It’s scary, but seems unlikely, that Walker could win the White House. More frightening are his incessant, and effective, efforts to trash Wisconsin.

  30. CK James says:

    Walker isn’t worldly by any means. In fact, it would be painfully hilarious to hear him debate ANY other candidates, (Republican or Dem), should he get the chance.

    I remember Paul Ryan getting broken down, visibly frustrated and thrown out of sync by Joe Biden in the ’12 VP debates. And RYAN is far more intelligent, and more aware of political issues than Walker.

    NOW picture WALKER attempting to understand, explain and defend his stances on issues of foreign policy, budget & finance, tax reform, improving entitlement programs, etc.??

    Bottom line – Walker is smart enough and informed enough to know that he’s NOT smart enough, or informed enough to be the next President. He IS smart enough to realize that the primaries, (at least the early stages) will provide him enough name recognition to get a good book deal and sell it to tea party enthusiasts – AFTER he abandons his ambitions for the White House.

    By the way – @MATT – your analysis of the local media is accurate and well articulated.

  31. George C says:

    Everyone should just ignore WCD, textbook troll behavior from him/her, if you stop giving them the satisfaction of an argument they will eventually leave

  32. tim haering says:

    Bruce, how can you write such a lengthy analysis without once noting how like Sarah Palin he is – so clearly void of substance, so void of what Citizen Dave dubbed “intellectual curiosity,” so poised and ambitious. My Heavens, if he repeats that Reagan-air-traffic controller analogy one more time, he’ll just turn into a Mama Grizzly on the spot. Let him live his dream. When voting time comes, Walker will be back in Madison, a sadder but wiser governor, maybe ready to finish that degree after all.

  33. Wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    No, I will not. Since 1967 when I was writing political columns int he Post newspapers and elsewhere in the country. I have pushed people to force the white liberal racists that run Milwaukee, all male, like Bruce, to fix the mess. They do not. instead they fund trolleys for Yuppies, Arenas for dribblers, but the big elephants go right by them
    Milwaukee’s problems are: Crime, MPS, We did do 220 and CHOICE but not enough, heroin, abandoned houses, lousy management, top ten worst in country, Milwaukee county govt. a laughing stock in state, poverty, 57% youth unemployment, human trafficking, heroin epidemic, high taxes and corruption. As long as these are here I will be speaking out and point out the disaster that you Leftists have been to country, state, but most of all Milwaukee. Invite you all to the St. Pat’s Conservative luncheon with new plans to fix Milwaukee from Kooyenga nd Darling. The Left keeps it the same to keep Blacks and Hispanics in bondage.. David will MC and talk about how to fix crime.

  34. David says:

    WDC….. you seem to like the 220 program. Didn’t Walker cut the cut program in his budget? WCD, as a white, liberal racist, what should I be doing right now? Help me out here. How can conservative, suburban and outstate Wisconsin help to solve the problem of a dysfunctional Milwaukee? Act 10 is in place and we understand Koonyega and Darling have an economic development plan…. sort of. besides these two things, what should we be doing exactly? You’ve written policy papers and have been involved in the struggle for 45 years so you must have more to say. I’m being serious…. give us some REAL fixes and I’ll respond. Please don’t call me an idiot, racist, clown, moron, dummy, Dem, whiner, jerk…. you’ve already called me those things.

  35. David says:

    WCD…. I take that back, I do need you to explain Koonyega’s and Darling’s plan as well.

  36. wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    Too big to type here, email their office and they will send you plans. Clarke, Kooyenga have some plans to help Milwaukee. Abele, Barrett, dimitrjiv, Barrett ,Sheehy all want trolleys and Arenas.

  37. Wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    David: Frankovis and Clarke have in depth plans for crime, Bruce knows them and they can be found by googling Glenn Frankovis. Yes, I have worked on MPS for 40 years. In 1974 I wanted to bust up MPS, return power to the neighborhoods and parents cause the Vliet st. gang wrecks anything that people want to do. Must be busted up. Best thing to do is buts it up into high school and feeder groups with school board from neighborhoods allocated so much per student or give vouchers to everyone and it will sort out. Nothing can be worse than what we have.
    Abandoned houses the aldermen should have taken charge long time go for every house in their district and found entrepreneurs that will go in and homestead the houses with some small loans if they can fix them up. Heroin, there is not good answer, only prevention. First we must teach kids to read and then get them jobs in there. To do that we need to tell the dopey left to look for 1 percenters instead of yelling “tax the rich”, kill the 1%ers.”

  38. PMD says:

    David I have repeatedly (and with nothing but sincerity) asked him to tell me what he likes about Darling and Kooyenga’s plan. He always says there’s too much to type or do your own research or both. He doesn’t know or care. They’re both Republicans so he loves it. Whenever he is asked to provide details about something he wholeheartedly endorses, he never does. He’s an old, frothing-at-the-mouth, right-wing loon. Part of a dying breed.

    “Over 50% of Americans Will Be Nonwhite Within 30 Years” (http://time.com/3730385/census-projections-diversity/)

  39. PMD says:

    Old, white, right-wing loon of course, or the link makes no sense.

  40. Bruce Murphy says:

    Just an FYI: I’ve never seen any such crime plan which Dohnal refers to, or any other plan from him, for that matter.

  41. wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    Bruce, you are wrong again. go back in your records. I referenced Frankovis on numerous occasions and you researched it and had some sort of reference number or google. It has been year and you are getting older. You better go se that movie about Alice. maybe help. Try Namenda, Aricpet, or stop sniffing glue.
    We have convinced Conservatives from around the state the leadership, starting with most of those here like Bruce will never solve any of Milwaukee’s problems so people like Alberta and Kooyenga have taken it on despite the fact that they see little politcal value to them. It is a start just as is Paul Ryans’s efforts.

  42. Wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    Bruce, ask some 12 year olds how to use Bing or Google and the top entry is Glenn, Frankovis’s book, he is retired police captain under Artie Jones who was much more influential, driven out by the white liberal racists along with Stamper , and many others, his book outlines how he reduced crime.
    Loon?? Best you can do. why ar you guys all so lazy, check things out research. I do not have time to baby sit you kids.

  43. Observer says:

    So is the High Sheriff David Clarke the same David Clarke that wants Eric Holder and Barak Obama to apologize to the police officers in Ferguson Missouri? And of course it is. Here’s 7 emails circulated by those police officers that David Clarke loves so much. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/03/04/the-seven-racist-e-mails-the-justice-department-highlighted-in-its-report-on-ferguson-police/?tid=sm_fb
    I think David Clarke needs to do the apologizing for supporting such un-American individuals.

  44. Bruce Murphy says:

    Bob, you didn’t link me to any study but referred me to Frankovis, who never sent me anything. It’s not the first time you’ve referred me to research that you can’t provide a link to.

  45. PMD says:

    A college student should try Bob’s tactic the next time their History or English professor gives an assignment. Just say “sorry professor, I know everything there is to know about the topic, so do your own research. I wonder what grade they would receive?

  46. David says:

    Area Saturation Patrol A Policing Strategy That Works
    Author: Glenn D Frankovis

    AREA SATURATION PATROL ASP is a policing strategy which is designed to conduct on-going active patrols of Police District (neighborhood) crime hot spots. This book explains and examines a very successful policing strategy. This enforcement philosophy was implemented in two police districts that Glenn D. Frankovis commanded as a captain with the Milwaukee Police Department. During the summer of 2001, Milwaukee?s Metcalfe Park neighborhood, located in District #3, was a virtual war zone. Fox News 6 reporter Mara MacDonald?s investigation dubbed this troubled area a killing field. In an effort to prevent more bloodshed, Police Chief Arthur Jones called on Captain Glenn Frankovis to assume command of District #3 in November of 2001. Glenn had previously served as the Commanding Officer at District Five, where he implemented an Area Saturation Patrol (ASP) strategy that worked wonders. In 2002, overall major crime in District Three declined 8.1 percent, shootings plummeted 42.8 percent, and the number of homicides decreased 48.6 percent. Within 12 months, the near north side policing sectors under Frankovis? command had witnessed one of the largest one-year declines in per capita homicides in urban America. But could the man with a plan, and his hard-charging foot soldiers, put a lid on the violence of Milwaukee?s killing field? After all, Metcalfe Park was surrounded by other neighborhoods teetering on the brink. Instead of making excuses, requesting a huge influx of new officers, or whining about budgets, Glenn Frankovis met the challenge head-on. In his second year at District Three, the commander?s ASP strategy and no-nonsense policing style resulted in a further reduction of 6.5 percent in major crime and a 15.5 percent reduction in violent crime, including a 21.7 percent reduction in robberies. Because of Glenn Frankovis? leadership, families could ? for the first time in years ? congregate peacefully outside their homes and enjoy the summer without being intimidated by predator gangs. Ironically, it was the stellar commander?s use of the word ?thug? that caused Milwaukee?s newly appointed, politically correct chief-of-police, Nan Hegerty, to remove Frankovis from District Three. Today, Glenn Frankovis remains one of Milwaukee?s legendary crime fighters. Chiefs of police, politicians, pundits, and anyone else interested in knowing what it takes to drive down crime and improve their city?s quality-of-life, should read this book. –Steven Spingola Lieutenant of Detectives, Homicide Unit, Milwaukee Police Department (Retired) « less

  47. wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    Bruce I did not say I linked you nor did I say that Frankovis sent you anything, he said to me that you are such a biased Leftist that you would not pay any attention to what he said or did, but you did say that you had looked up the records and that Frankovis wrote a book which anyone can find by looking at Bing, first one in line.
    All the Left does on here is use silly quotes, talking points never reference to the fact that Milwaukee is constantly on thee list of top ten most violent for aggravated assaults, that only 50% of the crimes where guns are used are prosecuted for such, that it is one of the most segregated in country, worst poverty, worst schools, top ten worst run, plus the other things that I have referenced. The lazy people on this site never do any research. The Black and Hispanic people in this community deserve a lot better than the clowns running the city and are speaking here.
    David Calrke has cosntantly stated that police are not perfect, as al of us know. we all have had problems with cops at some time. but as a frequent vicitm of crime, 18 pharmacy burglaries, 3 home burlgaries, 3 auto burglries, 3 armed robberies, assualts and trheatened assaults plus too many shopping lifting to mention here. In the years that I ahve had cops here 98% are great. tMy son is in FBI. Teh bad ones shoudl be fired and go to jauil if they msisue pwoer or break laws.

  48. Wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    Thnaks, I am worst typist. Bruce, just think in the time you spent to give a non answer to everyone you could have used Bing and referenced it. Ask a 12 year old to help.

  49. PMD says:

    So do any districts in the department currently use the ASP strategy? And WCD, violent crime is down 11% since 2008, while property crime is down 30%. Who gets the credit? Flynn has been in his role since January 2008.

  50. David says:

    PMD…. I checked a little and Flynn does employ ASP. But it’s a tactic that can only be used sparingly. Its a little like Marshall Law and obviously very expensive. Man…. sure wish we had Act 10 for police so we could manage the force better.

    I’m not saying Milwaukee doesn’t have a crime problem, because I believe it does. However, I never trust those top 10 lists because one year we’re on it and the next we’re not in the top 20. Also, many cities dilute their stats by including the county population. Indy, Louisville, San Antonio, Charlotte…. and the list goes on. Since WCD is so in love with the lists, I’ll monitor the lists he references and report back. Since crime is down, someone must be doing something right. WCD???

  51. Bruce Murphy says:

    Bob, I do my best to respond to readers, but given the number of times you have claimed there was research which you didn’t produce, I don’t bother as I don’t have time for wild goose chases.

  52. wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    Crime is down nationally for many reasons, C, Carry, less kids, but in Milwaukee aggravated assaults are not, that is key read. Flynn was caught by Journal cooking the books on that. He is not suing Frankovis’s plans or Giuliani’s. Every guy arrested for the worst crimes have long list of felonies. Flynn/Barrett/kremers/Chisholm have made deal about putting minorities in jail/felons that is part of problem, Clarkes has talked about that at length.
    Bruce you must be prepared to defend. I always tell people about what is out there. Mostly you just use talking points.
    David, i constantly list the problems here in Milwaukee have listed what should happen on many occasions and have never seen one word of value come out of anyone’s mouthes here on how to fix things. We fix things in suburbs and have worked with everyone to fix Milwaukee. Tommy wanted to take over schools but was stopped. At least with CHOICE and 220 we gave some a chance. If we want to destroy segregation we need to get kids jobs and teach them to read. eft does not give them a chance for anything. No jobs, cant read, crime ridden, drugs, poverty.

  53. Observer says:

    “…but as a frequent vicitm of crime, 18 pharmacy burglaries, 3 home burlgaries, 3 auto burglries, 3 armed robberies, assualts and trheatened assaults plus too many shopping lifting to mention here….”

    Holy cow Bob I didn’t realize you were the example that High Sheriff David Clarke was using when he told all of Milwaukee’s jaja’s and busia’s to go out and buy a gun and defend themselves because you couldn’t count on Milwaukee’s Police (and County deputies) to respond. But wasn’t your pharmacy in Wauwatosa? I guess that’s not too important but I’ll try to be a kinder, gentler, opponent if we ever spar in the future.

    You are a real living breathing Joe Btfsplk.

    Question: SW turned down a train whose repair yard was in Milwaukee’s inner city where presumably the jobs would have gone to those same unemployed folks you care about so much. How does that compute?

  54. Observer says:

    btw, Glenn Frankovis pulled a Palin and quit when he was given a cushy job he didn’t care for. He had been reassigned after using some injudicious language when describing residents in his district. If that wasn’t enough he turned around and sued the City for $400,000! Hardly anyone to use as a good example when talking to Milwaukeeans Bob.

  55. Wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    Frankovis was one of the best cops in Milwaukee and called the thugs, thugs, in a letter and the chicken female chief, had an alderman crab about calling thugs in that area thugs, which there are plenty and pulled him off the streets. Evidently she thought that all these drug dealers murders just needed a little love. That sent a message to all the thugs that they could have free rein in that violent area. Dumbest thing anyone ever did and caused her to lose her job when her contract was up. She was put in spot cause of PC and that is why we have horrible violence in inner city. Thugs ahve free rein. Cops arrest, courts let them go.
    city deserved the suit. Instead of worrying about all the great people that live in inner city Observer and the other liberals let the thugs go.

  56. Jake says:

    I like how Walker cultists don’t care about their gods lack.of character, they get on their knees for a 13$ average over two years property tax cut, while he wants to borrow in the billions, and sell off state assets, as long as he’s your liberal punishing hachetman, I guess it exposes you situational principles.

    Kings for a day, fools for a for a lifetime.

  57. Steve says:

    navigate a fairly routine media gantlet (railroad track) on the presidential

    or

    navigate a fairly routine media gauntlet (glove) on the presidential

    CPAK
    or
    CPAC

  58. PMD says:

    While I hardly ever agree with Jonah Goldberg, I found myself mostly agreeing with his piece on Walker in today’s JS. Walker’s evasiveness on issues big and small coupled with his tired attacks on the media suggest he is gunning for talk show as opposed to oval office.

  59. Chris Jacobs says:

    I think all of the appeal and popularity for Walker grows whenever the left attacks (especially the recall), and eventually those attacks die out in a whimper over continuous failure and fatigue. He doesn’t get rattled by overblown statements by the press, protests, or antagonism. He is able to take the calm rational approach, and any fierce opposition tends to end up being tuned out as irrational. Even hecklers can’t phase him. Frankly, the fact that liberals get so riled up over him nationally really affirms his strength as a leader, and that attracts his core voters nationally as well.

  60. Willie Ray says:

    Wisconsin Conservative Digest says: Walker can’t help but dilute Wisconsin’s soul. Walker outsourced his brain to national monies. When he is impatient with talk of compromise, he strikes like a monied puppet. “Compromise is for pussies” is his refrain. The 47.5% that did not vote for me can stick it, Democracy IS, WEINER takes all, plain and simple. Is this not an Eagle scout merit badge, “to the victor goes the spoils.” Conservatives can only Digest a Wisconsin bland gruel. They love to eat there own cooking. Boiled potatoes and chopped chuck fried loose, hold the ketchup, waitress.

  61. Kyle says:

    Willie, if you want anyone to believe your comment, don’t say it came from WCD. You did nicely mimic his nonsense and spelling errors though. Well done.

  62. Wlilie says:

    Kyle, as John Prine once said, “just trying to have me some fun,”. :}

  63. Wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    Bruce the thing that is even more enjoyable than ice cream, is to listen to the anti-Walker rants. After all it has to be really embarrassing to the giant intellects of the left, that have wrecked Milwaukee, to know that they have been defeated by a college dropout 3 times by landslide.

  64. Marie says:

    WCD, so by any stretch when is 52% of the vote a landslide? If our college dropout wants to promote that path, he’s doing a good job of making higher ed less accessible here than ever.

  65. wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    marie you have rather limited intelligence I see. When every body got to vote in fall he got 80%. In primaries only 15% voted. the the white liberal racists almost got their way. The white Conservatives came out to vote for the best man.

  66. Nathanael says:

    The facts that Walker supported a child pornography ring running out of his office, supported defrauding charities for veterans (also run out of his office), the fact that he set up a secret email system — knowing and admitting that it was illegal — to conceal these operations, and also to conceal the fact that he was using government-paid time to do campaign work; the fact that he refused to even maintain the office buildings he worked out of in Milwaukee, even after concrete was falling on people’s heads….

    …he’s toast on the national stage. He’s coasting in Wisconsin because the newspapers *do not report on this stuff*, and even Mary Burke was unwilling to actually tell the truth about the little criminal Walker.

  67. wisconsin Conservative Digest says:

    Nathanel you are the filthiest liar win wisconsin maybe US. Walker or his office never had anything to do with any porn. supposedly some guy living with Rusell did, He was never convicted of anything. There was not any porn on the email system set up by Russell, Walker had nothing to do with it except to use it thinking it was campaign email program. Russell stole money from the vets program, Walker turned him in. Parking structure was not built by the Walker group and there was not any indication of any problems according to the reports. Under previous administration of Ament it was built and all kinds of violations were not reported or found by inspectors. It has been thoroughly investigated by the papers and all of these things are lies. I do love it to hear the Lefites whine cause Walker has whipped their butts three times.

  68. PMD says:

    WCD you have a lot in common with Christian Schneider, defending Walker at full volume as frequently as possible. Does it ever hurt when you constantly bend over backwards in order to stand up for him? He could confess to a felony and you’d blame it on the media.

  69. AG says:

    PMD, I’m no fan of WCD… but Nathaniel’s post was pretty out there and full of falsehoods and spin.

  70. PMD says:

    I didn’t read it past the first sentence. That was all I needed to know about its content. My post applies to pretty much any WCD post here concerning Walker.

  71. Steve Pacewicz says:

    “I want to know exactly how he took on the protestors. Did he ever set foot near the Capitol during the height of the Act 10 protests? I don’t think he intended to compare protestors to terrorists. I think he said it because it was a sure to please a CPAC audience. But how did he take them on in a manner that provides relevant foreign policy experience? I don’t get that.” ~ PMD

    Because he’s a drama queen & needs to “Divide and Conquer”. He’s made it clear. He has a plan to demolish this state and others if he makes it to Washington. Walkers ‘Shock and Awe’ in Wisconsin is/ has created the exact results he wants to see. There is a confusion that his ilk revels in and feeds off of and I can see these goffball republicans getting him elected, just to see the bullied get their comeuppance.

    If there is no revolution due to this derelict, we have truly become a country of idiots.

  72. Liz Yohn says:

    Steve Pacewicz, I agree with your commentary, and summarize your assessment by saying that Walker is no more and no less than a tool. By the way, I think we have some mutual friends who are wondering how/where you are. Hope you are well. Message me at lizyohn@yahoodotcom?

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