Is Republican Gov. Scott Walker unfit for office?
Dr. Glen Barry, a classmate of Walker’s at Marquette University, thinks so.
To put it politely, Walker was not the sharpest tool in the shed, actually amongst the least sharp. With a C average (if that) and never graduating, I am not surprised to see him making up his own math on jobs when the real numbers don’t suit him. This reflects the utter disdain with which he holds truth, knowledge, education, and anything else that clashes with his absolutist worldview of religious and corporate based rule. As a classmate, he displayed a shocking lack of curiosity, original thought, or interest in topics other than his political ascendency.
Walker’s debut in Marquette student politics as a freshman began by stirring up the campus with a McCarthyite investigation into misspending by the Homecoming committee. Despite the President and Vice-President of student government having already resigned over personal expenditures by a larger group of student leaders from student funds – including myself and others unknowingly – no criminal charges of any kind, and no hard evidence of wrong-doing by anyone – Walker grandstands and leads a student government trial of myself and others, that could have been avoided if he so chose.
Walker lost on all counts, but not before destroying a few people’s reputations, and amassing personal power. Sound familiar? Thus began an over 25 year record of bullying to get what he wants, of being insincere and narcissistic, and political grandstanding at the expense of others¸ all for personal self-aggrandizement, and without an ounce of either personal or political virtue.
Later in his freshman year Walker runs for his first campus-wide office – the President of the resident halls – and is beaten by a hastily cobbled together write-in campaign which I helped organize. Already the campus had soured upon a plastic, dishonest, conniving personality.
During Walker’s student body Presidential campaign in his sophomore year, things only worsen. Initially the Marquette Tribune student newspaper endorsed Walker’s opponent – a progressive activist working on social justice issues in the community – but said both would make a good student body president.
But this tepid endorsement changed after Walker was sanctioned for illegal campaigning on numerous occasions, and brutal personal attacks upon his opponent’s character. Walker distributed a mudslinging brochure about his opponent that featured statements such as “constantly shouting about fighting the administration” and “trying to lead several ineffective protests of his own.”
Meanwhile Walker’s campaign was secretly and systematically throwing out copies of the newspaper that endorsed his opponent. In an unprecedented move, the newspaper retracted itself and declared Walker “unfit for office.” He lost in a land slide and was deeply humiliated by his poor conduct.
Thus began an early pattern of ridiculing those concerned with social justice, homelessness, militarism, and racism. Forget about it, in his corporatist and religious world, such issues are not of concern. To care for others’ needs is unlikely to further his political power grab. Reducing taxes and ruling women’s bodies is all he cared about then, and all he seems to care passionately about now.
Scott Walker shamed himself by the way he acted at Marquette. His campaign was one of the dirtiest in school history. Walker left the university not long afterward. The fact that Walker has refused to release his transcripts, along with information why he left, raises reasonable questions if Walker left school on his own volition, as he claims, or if there was another reasons and he was kicked out.
Be sure to read the entire piece by Dr. Barry; it’s well worth it!
Thank you. Old news, but still applicable as a warning.
On another site I ran a discussion group on Scott Walker from the beginning of Act 10 through the recall election updating it with current events and well over 2000 comments/replies.
My initial identification of Walker’s personality was that he was a “zealot” in the most extreme sense of the word including a false conscience that justified any means to accomplish his goals. Later, as I learned about his education and record as Milwaukee Count CEO, I added that he was incompetent as an administrator or executive at any level, public or private.
I agree with Dr. Barry that “Scott Walker is a bad and dangerous man” but worse, one who has risen to his level of incompetency as Governor of Wisconsin.