Come on, you have to admit: it sounds better than “The team that is building Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s political organization for a possible presidential campaign has brought on a GOP strategist with Iowa ties: David Polyansky.” As the Des Moines Register notes, Polyansky was one of Senator Joni Ernst’s key advisers during her successful campaign last year: he was also involved in getting Mike Huckabee to win the Iowa caucuses in 2008 and Michele Bachmann to win the Ames Straw poll in 2012. True, neither Huckabee nor Bachmann went on to win the nomination: then again, neither Huckabee nor Bachmann are Scott Walker. Besides, this is clearly about Iowa. Presumably the Duke of Skull Throne will be seeking suitable courtiers for the other primary states…
Via RCP.
Some people I have read were dismayed by this news because of the name “Huckabee.” I don’t understand why the fact that this is a local who understands the local politics and has a good track record isn’t acknowledged. No one person can understand the ins-and-outs of every state party so hiring locals who do know has to be done.
It is similar, I think, to those complaining about the establishment in Washington DC and wanting to replace that establishment. Fine, if you want to do that you have to replace the establishment in the state parties first. Where do you think these people came from in the first place? They didn’t start out on the big stage, Carnegie Hall, they started out in local and state politics before heading on. I have told people that if they want to have these people replaced then the task starts at the state level moving in people who are more acceptable to you and the response is always “We don’t have time for that!”
And that is where I shake my head. Short of widespread simultaneous fatal coronaries there is no way to remove an establishment save through attrition over time. The Left didn’t get control of the Democrats overnight, after all, But no one wants to do the work – just complain about “the establishment.”
Rather depressing to consider, actually.
Okay, you can remove an establishment with machine guns, but we don’t do that in America and that is why we have nice things.
After a certain point you simply have to learn to accept that This Thing Of Ours comes with a good deal of whining (I point no fingers, mind you). As to this guy working for Huckabee: Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses in 2008, didn’t he? If I want to win the Iowa caucuses, sure I’ll go find somebody who was in on winning them previously. Won’t be a magic bullet, but at least I’d have institutional experience on what a winning Iowa campaign looks like.
I agree that you hire a successful local guy to help you navigate through the thickets of local politics – dealing with all of the weird people and trying to avoid giving slightest offense to the touchiest of the prideful. All I want to know is why that should surprise people. Like they get surprised that replacing an establishment involves people staring at the bottom.
That’s why the Republican gains in the statehouses and governor’s mansions are so important, the pool of people just expanded, and what was the pool called “the establishment” got diluted.
Anyway, that’s enough. This isn’t my forum but yours. Just wanted to vent a little.
Hey, we’re pretty much in agreement on this one. I think that I’m just more used to hearing people gripe. 🙂
Meanwhile Jeb and Mitt are fighting over Steve Schmidt.
Because they want to prove to everyone exactly how unfit they are to run the country.
Scott Walker again proves he’s willing to do the unsexy things it takes to WIN a campaign. Well played.
And Moe, your title is hereby awarded “Clickbait of the week.”
Thank you for the great laugh, Moe