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Politics

Scott Walker Didn't Graduate From College a Quarter-Century Ago and The Washington Post Is On It!

Paper devotes 2,300 words to unmysterious 'mystery'

Matt Welch | 2.12.2015 1:08 PM

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I guess Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker must be a serious 2016 presidential candidate, since he's already on the receiving end of 2,300-word Washington Post articles with ominous headlines like, "As Scott Walker mulls White House bid, questions linger over college exit."

So what are these presumably salacious questions? Uh, "why he never finished" college:

Some [friends] had heard that a parent had fallen ill, or maybe there was some financial strain. Others thought he had simply had enough of school.

Fascinating. What far-fetched theory does the governor cling to?

Walker's own explanation has been short and simple. He got a job. He meant to go back. But he just never found the time.

Right. So, um, I mean, has this been controversial to anyone, ever?

Walker's disappearance from campus became a mystery that his political rivals seized on. As recently as 2013, the state's Democrats were still alleging that he might have been kicked out for election-related misdeeds.

OK, now we're getting somewhere…or not: 

They dropped that after Marquette officials told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Walker had left "in good standing."

So to sum up: Scott Walker didn't finish college a quarter-century ago, because he moved on to the next phase of his life. Nobody really cared, until desperate Democrats tried to make an issue out of it 2013, based on a claim that was quickly found to be bogus. And now we're gonna read 2,300 words about it.

Uh, any other important Walker news to break here, WashPost?

He still has not found the time to finish [college]. A spokeswoman for Walker's state office said he is interested in a new University of Wisconsin program — begun during Walker's tenure — that lets older students get academic credit for things they've learned in life. But he's not taking courses now.

THIS JUST IN: Man who left college 25 years ago still not attending! 

Reason on Scott Walker here.

UPDATE: I see from both the comments and Twitter that Howard Dean is actually trying to make Walker's lack of degree a political issue, saying "the issue is how well educated is this guy? And that's a problem." Why, it's almost as if they're trying to bait me to like the guy!

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Matt Welch is an editor at large at Reason.

PoliticsCultureScott WalkerMedia Criticism
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  1. igotnuthin   10 years ago

    Meanwhile half of Obama's life and most of his schooling is still a mystery.

    1. sarcasmic   10 years ago

      Racist!

    2. Gilbert Martin   10 years ago

      And large parts that aren't a mystery are deliberately ignored by the media.

  2. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    I will say Walker has the advantage of having the scummiest enemies, enemies whose incompetent attacks on him make him look much more likable by simple juxtaposition.

  3. HazelMeade   10 years ago

    I kind of want Walker to stay right where he is, keeping Wisconsin public sector unions under his thumb.

  4. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

    He left because Aqua Buddha commanded it so.

    1. Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!   10 years ago

      Nicely done.

      *golf clap*

  5. Monty Crisco   10 years ago

    Where is Tony the dipshit? As afraid as he is of Walker (as ALL libtards are, it is so pathetically obvious), he should be here to shit all over the thread and accuse Walker of being STUPID!!

    You FOOL!! YOU NEVER GRADUATED COLLEGE!!! YOU CAN'T BE PRESIDENT!!

    *Tony smirk* "Got him on a technicality..."

  6. kinnath   10 years ago

    How can anyone run a country this large without an Ivy League law degree?

    1. WTF   10 years ago

      Exactly, he is not one of the Top. Men.

    2. JWW   10 years ago

      Exactly, he won't even know what Central Planning is!!

    3. bob sacomano   10 years ago

      Our black robed magisters have it covered: Harvard, Harvard, Harvard, Harvard, Harvard, Yale, Yale, Yale, Columbia/Harvard.

  7. Counterfly   10 years ago

    You know who else ran a country and didn't graduate from college...

    1. Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!   10 years ago

      William the Silent?

    2. WTF   10 years ago

      Abe Lincoln?

    3. KDN   10 years ago

      George Washington?

    4. HeteroPatriarch   10 years ago

      King Arthur?

      1. Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!   10 years ago

        But how did he get so wise, in the ways of science?!

        1. Counterfly   10 years ago

          A watery tart threw him a diploma.

          1. WTF   10 years ago

            Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' diplomas is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony. If I went 'round sayin' I could be President, just because some moistened bint lobbed a sheepskin at me, they'd put me away!

            1. Bardas Phocas   10 years ago

              +1 lovely filth

            2. Catatafish   10 years ago

              This made my day.

        2. Rasilio   10 years ago

          A watery tart lobbed a sword at him

    5. Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!   10 years ago

      Caesar Augustus?

    6. Francisco d'Anconia   10 years ago

      Aragorn?

    7. Aloysious   10 years ago

      IdI Amin?

      1. Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!   10 years ago

        That is Dr. Field Marshal President for Life Idi Amin Dada to you, sir!

        1. Heroic Mulatto   10 years ago

          Idi Amin is the Original Gangsta

    8. Kaptious Kristen   10 years ago

      William of Normandy? (and he was a bastard, to boot!)

      1. Francisco d'Anconia   10 years ago

        William Snow?

        1. Counterfly   10 years ago

          Spoilers!

          1. WTF   10 years ago

            You know nothing, John Snow!

    9. Enough About Palin   10 years ago

      Harry S. Truman?

    10. hamilton   10 years ago

      Maud' Dib?

  8. Catatafish   10 years ago

    It's also a backdoor way to plant the idea in people's minds that "how can we elect someone president when they don't have a college degree?!"

    1. Monty Crisco   10 years ago

      Backdoor? Fucking Howard Dean came right out and SAID it plainly on the morning joke today.

      1. sarcasmic   10 years ago

        (Not that I give a shit what she says) I heard Ann Coulter say that as well. While I think it was in reference to the Supreme Nazgul, I'm sure she'd say the same about the president. And not just any degree, it's got to be from an Ivy League college.

        1. Bill Dalasio   10 years ago

          And not just any degree, it's got to be from an Ivy League college.

          Well, that would rule out Coolidge (Amherst), Cleveland (didn't go), Washington (didn't go, although received a surveyors certificate from William & Mary), Reagan (Eureka)

          Really, was there a president worth a damn who did go to the Ivies?

          1. JWW   10 years ago

            Exactly. An Ivy league degree should be a DISQUALIFYING feature.

        2. Enjoy Every Sandwich   10 years ago

          And without stopping to draw a new breath, these elitist assholes will declare that their approved Ivy League candidates "understand the hard-working middle class".

          1. sarcasmic   10 years ago

            It would be comical if not for the fact that so many people believe that shit.

      2. Catatafish   10 years ago

        I guess they've abandoned any attempt at subtlety and gone straight to the "Bush is dumb" playbook. I wonder if they ever stop to think about the fact that by saying shit like this they are actually calling a vast swath of the populace they purport to represent the interests of idiots as well.

        1. WTF   10 years ago

          they are actually calling a vast swath of the populace they purport to represent the interests of idiots as well

          Well, Obama did get elected. Twice.

          1. Catatafish   10 years ago

            (face of Catatafish chastised)

      3. The Last American Hero   10 years ago

        Something something about the right men from the right families that went to the right schools.

    2. sarcasmic   10 years ago

      Not just any degree. It's got to be a law degree from an Ivy League university. Everyone knows this.

      1. kinnath   10 years ago

        You is late

        1. sarcasmic   10 years ago

          At least I'm not female and late.

          1. kinnath   10 years ago

            Aren't they always late.

            1. sarcasmic   10 years ago

              Um, I didn't mean late, I meant late.

              1. kinnath   10 years ago

                gotcha

      2. Mokers   10 years ago

        Not just any ivy law school. Basically Harvard or Yale. You wouldn't trust somebody who studied law at Cornell or UPenn would you?

  9. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    The GOP could do a lot worse than Walker as its nominee, although I'm sure he's a major dipshit on foreign policy. Curious to see if he jumps on the Rand-bashing that will take place in the primaries.

    1. Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!   10 years ago

      I suspect he will let the leader dogs in the doofus pack do that for him.

    2. John   10 years ago

      I think Walker is going to get the nomination and be the next President. The problem Paul and Cruz have is they are senators. People are going to want a governor this time.

      1. Harold Falcon   10 years ago

        I doubt most of the electorate knows the difference between a senator and a governor.

        1. RightNut   10 years ago

          You'd be surprised, my mother said the exact same thing about senators vs governors.

    3. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

      ^THIS.

      I am also dreading what a trifecta of GOP-controlled House, Senate, and Presidency would do on the foreign policy front. I suspect a new war against Iran.

      1. Francisco d'Anconia   10 years ago

        I am also dreading what a trifecta of GOP-controlled House, Senate, and Presidency

        Paul isn't really a Republican, but he plays one in the Senate.

        1. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

          I support Paul, but have serious doubts about the non-Paul GOP candidates. If Paul wins the nomination, great.

          If he loses the nomination and some other GOP candidate wins the presidency, I hope we don't see a return to the fiscal incontinence and war policies of the GWB + GOP reign.

          1. Francisco d'Anconia   10 years ago

            If Paul doesn't win the nomination, your next President will be a Democrat.

            I know I'll be voting 3rd party.

      2. The Last American Hero   10 years ago

        Does it really matter whether the battlefield shifts over a few degrees longitude? We've been at war for 14 years.

        Std disclaimer: I think the Afghan was was completely botched and should have ended about a decade sooner and was anti-Iraq war since Powell showed up at the UN with unconvincing photographs.

  10. ColonelEngineer   10 years ago

    Someone red pill me on this guy...

    Who is he and why should I care?

    1. HeteroPatriarch   10 years ago

      Governor of Wisconsin, and because HE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A COLLEGE DEGREE!

  11. Joe_in_Indiana   10 years ago

    Washington, Lincoln, Jackson and Truman ALSO didn't graduate from College. 2 are on Mount Rushmore.

    Obama's (or whatever name was used) college transcripts are sealed and hidden from sight.

    Me thinks of a little bias here in reporting.

    Ask the reporters if we should NOT of had Washington, Lincoln, Jackson or Truman.

    If there was a problem with his education, why was he re-elected, survived a recall and has the ONLY STATE that has it's public pension funding at nearly 100%. Top of the list!

    1. WTF   10 years ago

      Washington, Lincoln, Jackson and Truman ALSO didn't graduate from College

      Yeah, but Jackson would murder the shit out of you for the slightest insult.

      1. Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!   10 years ago

        Or sue you, THEN shoot you.

  12. Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!   10 years ago

    Walker's own explanation has been short and simple. He got a job.

    Obviously the lack of a piece of paper saying "he am credentialedated" held him back!

  13. Palin's Buttplug   10 years ago

    Fake scandal #217.

    1. HeteroPatriarch   10 years ago

      Actual fake scandal #, what, 3?

    2. WTF   10 years ago

      First off, the retarded don't rule the night. They don't rule it. Nobody does. And they don't run in packs. And while they may not be as strong as apes, don't lock eyes with 'em, don't do it. Puts 'em on edge. They might go into berzerker mode; come at you like a whirling dervish, all fists and elbows. You might be screaming "No, no, no" and all they hear is "Who wants cake?" Let me tell you something: They all do. They all want cake.

  14. Spoonman.   10 years ago

    Rand Paul doesn't have a college degree either.

    1. Spencer   10 years ago

      he's just a country bumpkin doctor...

      1. WTF   10 years ago

        He's not even a real doctor, he's just an eye surgeon.

        1. Spencer   10 years ago

          well, that's no rocket science...

      2. Florida Man   10 years ago

        Where does the "I'm just a simple country lawyer" thing come from. They parody it with a chicken lawyer on futurama.

        1. Spencer   10 years ago

          i think it might be a play on atticus finch, mixed with matlock and jimmy steward from "anatomy of a murder."

          1. Florida Man   10 years ago

            Thanks

        2. Harold Falcon   10 years ago

          Country lawyer used to mean you didn't go to law school, but got in the bar by some other method, usually apprenticeship or something similar. There's still about a half-dozen states that allow this, including New York, fwiw.

          1. Tonio   10 years ago

            It's called "reading the law" and it is an apprenticeship type deal.

        3. Libertymike   10 years ago

          The late Senator Sam Ervin (D-NC), of Watergate fame, used to say it in an American Express credit card commercial in the late 70s.

          1. Florida Man   10 years ago

            I'll have to YouTube it. Thanks

    2. Counterfly   10 years ago

      I thought he was a licensed podiatrist?

      1. Spencer   10 years ago

        i mean, if he was a real medical professional, like chiropractor or licensed nutritionist... THEN maybe he could get some respect.

        1. Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!   10 years ago

          "I am Seattle Sutton a Registered Nurse and dietitian! I am qualified to be President!"

  15. Spencer   10 years ago

    Look, if we want a society where daycare workers must have a B.A. from an accredited 4 year university, how in the hell can we have elected officials who almost finished college, but left to make money in the workforce and, despite the obvious handicap in the market, still become a success.

    How will that look when you tell all the 19 year olds who are looking after kids that they must go into massive debt and take classes on art history before they can play with kids and teach them the alphabet song?

    for cereal, people. what kind of world are we trying to live in?!

  16. Counterfly   10 years ago

    Marquette is a party school anyway.

    1. HeteroPatriarch   10 years ago

      Jesuit school = Massive amounts of cocaine.

  17. sarcasmic   10 years ago

    When I got my job I was one class short of my degree. I went to the ceremony and everything, but didn't find out that I got a D in Stats until afterwards (D was a failing grade as far as my major was concerned). After a couple years my boss found out. Luckily he was cool about it, and fudged the paperwork to allow me to get it done on the company's dime. Though now I've got the problem of my official graduation date being later than my hire date.

    1. Spencer   10 years ago

      problem? seems like he could just say he saw so much potential that he made an executive decision. problem solved.

      1. sarcasmic   10 years ago

        I mean explaining it to a future employer when I finally escape this shithole and get a real job.

        1. Spencer   10 years ago

          they won't care. Just tell them you were brought on pre graduation because you're a mother fucking super star.

      2. WTF   10 years ago

        Except HR always has to check their boxes.

  18. Paul.   10 years ago

    Walker... Walker... isn't this the dirty bastard that attempted to get control of the pubsec unions?

    1. EDG reppin' LBC   10 years ago

      No. Walker is the guy from Texas in the Action-Flex blue jeans who deals out justice by roundhouse kicks to criminal's torsos.

  19. Pope Jimbo   10 years ago

    One of the best guys I ever worked for only had a GED. He called it his "Good Enough Degree".

    Dropped out of high school and had his rock bottom moment literally wearing the Goofy suit at DisneyLand. Went back and got some schooling to learn about "computers" and left when he got a job.

    Great guy to work for. He was also the most politically incorrect people I have ever known. Amazing he got as far as he did.

  20. Irish   10 years ago

    I love that they're confused why he hasn't gone back. The governor of Wisconsin is paid $145,000. In a state with Wisconsin's low cost of living, that is a shitload of money.

    They're therefore wondering why he doesn't blow 30 grand finishing his education when his current job pays him out the ass and he got that job without a college degree.

    1. paranoid android   10 years ago

      But Irish, he doesn't have the respect of people who write for the Washington Post, which is clearly the important thing here.

      1. Libertymike   10 years ago

        Neither does Tony.

  21. Palin's Buttplug   10 years ago

    The Latest Economic Conspiracy Theory
    129 Feb 9, 2015 10:06 AM EST
    By Barry Ritholtz

    Friday's jobs numbers were big, and the revisions below the surface were huge. Yet even before the release, the birther/vaxxer/flat-earther crowd had warned us about phony numbers. As public policy, this kind of conspiracy thinking can cause the deaths of infants and the elderly. At least in markets, it merely loses you money.

    http://www.bloombergview.com/a.....obs-report

    Gallup CEO is whack.

    1. WTF   10 years ago

      I bet you're the kind of guy who would fuck a person in the ass and not even have the goddamn common courtesy to give him a reach-around. I'll be watching you.

      1. Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!   10 years ago

        You should use some of those Nork slogans.

        *Shriek nonsense posts*

        WTF - "Let the strong wind of fish farming blow across the country!"

        1. WTF   10 years ago

          That's a great idea.

      2. Old Man With Candy   10 years ago

        I like you, WTF. You can come over to my house and fuck my sister.

    2. Spencer   10 years ago

      wait, so because everyone SHOULD already know better, it's cool to see it as face value?

      And because everyone SHOULD already know the government is lying to us means it's ok for them to lie to us?

      This is the dumbest piece of tripe I've read in a long time.

    3. KDN   10 years ago

      Friday's jobs numbers were big

      O RLY?

      Turning to the survey of households, the unemployment rate was little changed at 5.7 percent in January. The jobless rate has shown no net change since October. There were 9.0 million unemployed persons in January, little different from the prior month. The number of unemployed persons who had been jobless for 27 weeks or more was essentially unchanged (2.8 million). These individuals accounted for 31.5 percent of the total unemployed.

      With this administration, simply treading water is cause for celebration.

      1. PapayaSF   10 years ago

        I remember the Bush/Reagan years, when a leftist friend explained to me that the official numbers of 4-5% unemployment actually vastly understated the problem. Of course now 5.7% is wonderful.

        1. The Last American Hero   10 years ago

          Ah yes, the McJobs argument. I haven't heard that since about January 2009.

        2. WTF   10 years ago

          Yes, and they were writing stories lamenting Bush's "jobless recovery".

        3. Libertymike   10 years ago

          True, but let us not forget it was under the administration of Ronnie "the FBI snitch" Raygun that the government substantially "revised" how unemployment was calculated.

          Sure, it has been "revised" since then under dirty democrat regimes as well.

          1. R C Dean   10 years ago

            When you have to go back a generation for your tu quoque, its probably past its sell-by date.

            1. Libertymike   10 years ago

              You know my post was not a tu quoque.

              Do I belong to, or cheer for, team BLUE?

              Did you see how PapayaSF initiated the Reagan reference?

              1. bob sacomano   10 years ago

                Reagan may have messed with unemployment calculations but there's no denying the multiple upon multiple quarters of consecutive real GDP growth in the 6's and 7's that Reagan ushered in after about two years of letting his pretty radical tax and regulatory reforms take effect.

    4. Dweebston   10 years ago

      And yet every quarter those revisions make a hash of the previous quarter's numbers.

      BUT MUH JOBS REPORTS

    5. HeteroPatriarch   10 years ago

      birther/vaxxer/flat-earther crowd

      Yeah, leading with a straw ad hominem really builds up the credibility. I mean, I know it actually does with Shrike, but everyone else should think about why that was needed before assigning this author credibility.

      1. Rasilio   10 years ago

        yeah especially since the vaxxers are equally likely to be liberals as conservatives

    6. Enough About Palin   10 years ago

      "Let us turn the whole country into a socialist fairyland by the joint operation of the army and people!"...

    7. Irish   10 years ago

      That article is one of the dumbest things I've ever read.

      He goes after Gallup because Gallup pointed out that the unemployment rate doesn't count people who drop out of the workforce.

      Except that's not a conspiracy theory. It's a fact regarding how unemployment is calculated. It's also a very important fact, since the failure to count people who drop out of the labor force means that our actual economy is still in much worse shape than the unemployment rate would indicate.

      So he claimed Gallup was engaging in a conspiracy theory when they stated a fact which is incredibly relevant to the discussion.

      1. PapayaSF   10 years ago

        Yup.

      2. WTF   10 years ago

        Yes, and the labor force participation rate is the lowest it's been since the 1970s. If the rate was the same as when Obama took office, the unemployment rate would be much higher.

        1. AlexInCT   10 years ago

          Last I heard it was 44% of employable people in full time jobs and dropping...

      3. Palin's Buttplug   10 years ago

        Bullshit. The wingnut LFP # is way off.

        There are only 1.2 million people more than in 2005 who are NOT in the labor force who want a job.

        http://research.stlouisfed.org.....es/NILFWJN

        1. Irish   10 years ago

          http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000

          The wingnut LFP # from the Bureau of Labor Statistics?

          It's hilarious that you attack people for being conspiracy theorists and then claim that the BLS labor force participation rate is a 'wingnut number.'

          1. Palin's Buttplug   10 years ago

            I accept the BLS number. But it does not reflect retired boomers under 65.

            1. Irish   10 years ago

              A number of whom retired early because they knew they'd never get another job at their age given the continuing weakness of the economy.

              Which you don't care about because who gives a shit about Americans being forced out of the labor force when you've got Obama's boots to lick. If you seriously think the decline in LFP by a full 4% since 2007 is a natural decline that isn't seriously hurting people, then you're even dumber than I thought.

  22. Counterfly   10 years ago

    Walker is obviously saving his last year of eligibility in case the football team needs him to come back and redeem the program, a la Sinbad in Necessary Roughness.

    1. Spencer   10 years ago

      that movie is awesome because Texas State (the name when I graduated) plays Southwest Texas State (the name when I started).

      Also, I have a theory that Scott Bacula was actually playing Sam Becket and time traveled to fix the problem of the farmer getting his shot at college ball. the audience doesn't see all the scenes with Al.

      1. Counterfly   10 years ago

        I'm honestly surprised there isn't a Youtube mashup of Quantum Roughness.

        Also Kathy Ireland back when she was Kathy Ireland!

        1. Spencer   10 years ago

          I'm full of good ideas youtube hasn't gotten to yet!

        2. Francisco d'Anconia   10 years ago

          Still not bad for 51.

          1. Libertymike   10 years ago

            A little flabby in the arms and shoulders for my taste.

            I bet sarc would agree!

      2. HeteroPatriarch   10 years ago

        that movie is awesome because Texas State (the name when I graduated) plays Southwest Texas State (the name when I started).

        Interesting. Like the NES Dodgeball game where you had to play the gray scale US team after you beat the Russians.

      3. bob sacomano   10 years ago

        Viva San Marcos.

  23. Dweebston   10 years ago

    This just in: lefty rags still impossible to take seriously as journalistic contenders.

  24. Pope Jimbo   10 years ago

    Well this explains why Walker is trying to cut $300M from the state's university system. Pure envy at all them college boys.

  25. AnnaLLope   10 years ago

    Making money online is never easy, because it has now become me. I freelance on the Internet, earning $ 375 per hour. By doing the work only requires that you have a computer and an Internet connection, you can have one in your home to get more time with his family. A little effort and a handsome profit dream is just a click away .......

    ????? http://www.netcash50.com

    1. Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!   10 years ago

      As God is my witness, I would have sworn this was posted by "Anal Lope" when I first read it...

      1. Tonio   10 years ago

        Don't stop there...

        1. Swiss Servator... Switzy!   10 years ago

          I think SugarFree would have to carry on from there...

  26. John Titor   10 years ago

    So wait, the people who are using largely using computers made by companies founded by college dropouts (Gates and Jobs) and using social media heavily influenced by a dropout (Zuckerberg) are now shitting on dropouts. Classy.

  27. Pope Jimbo   10 years ago

    Why, it's almost as if they're trying to bait me to like the guy!

    Well to be fair, those jokers are masters of that sort of baiting.

  28. PapayaSF   10 years ago

    What Walker should do is release a list of the courses he had planned to take and needed for a degree. I doubt that anyone would look at it and think: "Oh my God, a President who didn't take French 301?? It's inconceivable!"

  29. John C. Randolph   10 years ago

    He's smart enough to end the mandatory collection of union dues from teachers, so he's OK by me.

    -jcr

  30. John   10 years ago

    The thing about Walker is that there isn't any dirt to be found on him. If there were, the unions, who spent tens of millions of dollars making him run two re-election campaigns in four years would have found it. He is also the governor or Wisconsin, a traditionally moderate or Progressive state. So they won't be able to claim he is some bible carrying right wing crazy from Texas. And unlike Romney, he wasn't born rich and never worked on Wall Street. So much for calling him an out of touch plutocrat who hates women. And sure the public employees hate him but they always vote Democrat and a lot of Democrats hate them too. If "he destroyed the unions" was an effective attack rather than a political asset, they would have gotten him recalled in 2012.

    The only thing they have to use against him is "he didn't go to the right school". I wish them luck with that line of bullshit because they are going to need it.

    1. The Last American Hero   10 years ago

      Also, his hair is presidential, albeit not at the Romney-esque level of Presidential Hair.

      1. John   10 years ago

        He would have the best Presidential hair since Bill Clinton.

    2. Libertymike   10 years ago

      John, just because they didn't find any dirt does not mean that they won't make it up.

      1. John   10 years ago

        Yeah, see Bo below. But even that is unlikely to work since if it did, they would have done it when he ran for re-election.

    3. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

      "they won't be able to claim he is some bible carrying right wing crazy from Texas."

      This is the same guy who couldn't say evolution is true when asked recently, right?

      1. John   10 years ago

        And that was just a gaffee he won three state wide elections in four years.

        If the best you got is "he didn't go to the right school" and "he might doubt evolution", you have got nothing. No one but people who are already voting Democrat are going to care.

        1. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

          Walkers electoral victories, at least the last two, involved his outspending his opponent by a lot. Whoever the GOP nominates is probably not going to have that kind of advantage.

          1. Idle Hands   10 years ago

            While whoever the GOP nominate won't be able to boat race the Dem candidate in raising funds, I don't think anyone on the D's ticket is going to get the level of money Obama was able to generate.

            1. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

              Hilary could, but no one else probably.

          2. John   10 years ago

            He only if you don't count the millions labor unions spent. You are repeating a partisan talking point that has been debunked about a million times.\

            In terms of strict numbers, Walker spent some $30 million; Barrett and the unions spent $25 million. That's not a 7-to-1 differential. And when you add in unions' inherent advantage in ground game, you're talking about a better-than-even split for Barrett.

            http://www.breitbart.com/big-j.....oney-suck/

            The 7 to 1 statistic is jut a flat out lie that ignores the $21 million dollars the unions spent trying to defeat him. You need to stop repeating it. You post it on every single Walker thread and everyone knows it is not true.

            1. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

              Are you counting Walkers outside support John?

              1. John   10 years ago

                Yes. Walker's $30 million includes outside sources. RTFA. The 7 to 1 figure is a lie and you need to stop repeating it.

                1. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

                  Where'd I say '7 to 1' John?

                  1. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

                    Here's the figure I've quoted before:

                    "Walker and Republican groups and committees outspent all of the Democratic candidates, groups and committees $58.7 million to $21.9 million in the governor's race "

                    http://www.wisdc.org/pr072512.php

                    1. John   10 years ago

                      first, that is not 7 to 1. Second, the figures used to back that claim up include this fotenote.

                      *Estimated spending for a phony issue ad group or a political action committee or corporation that did not report its electioneering activities.

                      Really? You are giving me unsourced statistics from a pro democratic website that admits it is counting shit that others don't.

                      Further that website grossly underestimates the spending by labor groups. Here is the source my original source linked to.

                      http://www.maciverinstitute.co.....0-million/

                    2. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

                      Where'd I say 7 to 1 John?

                      Note the source I linked to is dated after your sand of course even later than it's source. It's had more time to examine the documents and reports.

                    3. John   10 years ago

                      Here is the nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity, quoted in the Breitbart ad above.

                      Campaign contributions tell only part of the story. National unions have kept Barrett's campaign alive by funding outside groups dedicated to defeating Walker. More than a year since Walker limited collective bargaining rights for most public employees, the nation's three largest public unions ? the National Education Association (NEA), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) ? have channeled at least $2 million from their treasuries and super PACs to two Wisconsin-based independent expenditure groups.

                      There was no huge Walker money advantage. Tell your handlers to give you better talking points so you can concern troll about Walker more effectively.

                    4. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

                      You're terrible with figures. That two million dollars doesn't clear the gap. Besides, my source counts the WI independent groups spending

                    5. John   10 years ago

                      No Bo., I am not terrible with figures. You just can't read. Try looking at this link again.

                      http://www.maciverinstitute.co.....0-million/

                      Which part of raised $20 million and spent $18 million do you find so hard to understand?

                      Walker did not outspend his opponents by a lot. The unions spent $18 million dollars running ads against him. So, your claim that his election victories were because of his money advantage or that he has any kind of a significant money advantage, is just not true.

                      So stop fucking lying and saying he did.

                    6. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

                      John, you keep pointing to a site working with older reports than the one I provided.

                    7. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

                      And John, where'd I say 7 to 1?

                    8. John   10 years ago

                      So fucking what? The source you provides ignores the union money. Did the union money get unspent?

  31. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

    This is silly. It's just a fact that it's unusual for statewide office holders to have a college degree. Walker is a dog bites man story. Maybe that's not the way it should be, but it is.

    1. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

      To not have a degree

    2. Francisco d'Anconia   10 years ago

      It will be interesting to see who Bo votes for in the General.

      1. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

        Paul I'm hoping.

  32. The Last American Hero   10 years ago

    You know, a Paul-Walker ticket could grab some votes from the Fast n Furious fans.

    1. John   10 years ago

      +1 Porsche Carrera GT

  33. robc   10 years ago

    http://www.satirewire.com/news.....ison.shtml

  34. MJGreen   10 years ago

    I'd only consider a demerit if the opposite had happened, and he turned down a job so that he could finish college.

    Poor Howard Dean.

  35. Sevo   10 years ago

    So, it seems that, unlike Obo, the guy actually had a job at one time? And Howard Dean doesn't like that?

    1. Libertymike   10 years ago

      Well, let him go and SCREAM about it!

  36. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

    You know what's going on here? Groups that see themselves as victims or oppressed are very wary when outsiders point out issues with one of their own. Feeling embattled they are worried that scrutiny from within will lead to bolstering critics of the group. This is why some blacks feel the need to defend ridiculous figures like Sharpton.

    No one plays the victim card better than conservatives. They never fail, it's always a cabal of 'the media' academe and of course the nefarious GOP establishment that are picking on them.

    So when someone like the Post points to the fact that their current darling Presidential candidate lacks an achievement which would get his application tossed in half the jobs in the US today there can be room only for wagon circling.

    Why not hold out for someone with Walkers values but sans the questionable resume?

    1. John   10 years ago

      That or maybe no one should care that he left college to get a job. There is always that.

      This is not a legitimate criticism of Walker. The guy has been a governor for going on two terms now. Unless they can find a dead girl in his college dorm room, no one cares about his college days.

      People who actually accomplish things in their life don't have to rely on their college records to get ahead. It is only people Obama who fail at every job except getting elected who have to brag about what they did in college. Most other adults don't have to do that and most people don't give a damn about what someone did 20 years ago.

      1. Libertymike   10 years ago

        A+ on that last paragraph.

      2. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

        I see, so the fact that you're preferred candidate for President would be considered unqualified for half the jobs in this country doesn't trouble you a bit. Rush has given his marching orders and lemmings gotta march!

        1. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

          If conservatives were a mature movement rather than one of perpetual victim hood they'd be able to hold out for someone who will tell them everything Walker would AND who has a better resume.

          I know a guy with an MD from Duke, for example...

          1. John Titor   10 years ago

            If conservatives were a mature movement

            As opposed to the immature credentialist snob lecturing them.

          2. robc   10 years ago

            I know a guy with an MD from Duke, for example...

            But he is a socon.

          3. John   10 years ago

            Bo, your concern trolling is more pathetic than usual. Conservatives need to worry about what people did in college rather than what they have done in the 25 years since.

            1. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

              Hey, it's your party, nominate a guy who couldn't get an interview for McDonalds manager if you like. I mean, people like you have bet on so many right horses lately!

              1. John Titor   10 years ago

                I love how you immediately devolve into childish screams of 'stupid Republicans' when people call you on your empty elitist snobbery. "Oh no, he can't get a job at McDonalds!" Yes Bo, but how does he GOVERN? You know, his actual job? It's almost like the people you're claiming are 'immature' are shockingly mature enough to support a person for their policies rather than their credentials. Unlike some people.

              2. Gilbert Martin   10 years ago

                Bill Gates never graduated from college either.

                Go on and explain how "unqualified" he is to run anything.

        2. robc   10 years ago

          I'm unqualified for 1/2 the jobs in this country and I have an Engineering degree.

          What does that have to do with anything?

          Heck, Im unqualified for most engineering jobs. Nuke, Mechanical, Industrial, I could handle them, but civil? chemical? Fuck no.

          Credentialism is one of the worst things happening in America.

          Fortunately, in the fields Ive recently (20 yrs) worked in (IT, brewing) its totally unnecessary.

          Whatever Walker did before politics is apparently similar.

          1. robc   10 years ago

            Based on a very approximate sample, craft brewers come from 3 fields approximately equally:

            1. Brewing (ABI, MC, etc)
            2. Law
            3. Engineering

            Its probably really four, with the fourth being "everything else".

            But Law and Engineering are very common.

            1. Swiss Servator... Switzy!   10 years ago

              If I could make the same living brewing, I'd use my JD to light a fire.

        3. John   10 years ago

          I see, so the fact that you're preferred candidate for President would be considered unqualified for half the jobs in this country doesn't trouble you a bit.

          Walker has a degree first of all. Second, Walker has been governor of a state. That is direct and valuable experience for being the chief executive of the country.

          This country has done largely well with former governors as Presidents. In contrast, Obama's Harvard Law degree or Hillary's Yale one says nothing about their qualifications to be President. Going to law school doesn't make you qualified to be a chief executive. Actually serving as one, in contrast, does.

        4. Rasilio   10 years ago

          Your assertion that half the jobs in the country require a degree is just bullshit and you know it.

          The number of jobs which actually require a degree is a tiny fraction of those where the employer requires a degree for no legitimate reason the overwhelming majority will waive that requirement for any candidate with a demonstrated record of success in the field.

          Basically half the jobs say they want a degree, 80% if those really don't require it though. Of the 10% of jobs which do require it 80% of those the requirement is a purely bureaucratic one as the job could quite easily be learned and mastered by someone without a degree and those requirements are often waived for talented individuals.

          The other 2% of jobs which do actually require a degree you are talking about highly technical fields like medicine and science where there simply is no where to acquire the skills and knowledge needed for the job except a college campus.

          1. John   10 years ago

            The funny thing is that being President is kind of a technical job. There isn't any college degree you can get to prepare for it. The only job that really does much to prepare you for it is being a state governor.

            Bo is so desperate to concern troll us on Walker he is actually claiming that Walker is unqualified to be President because he didn't get his degree 20+ years ago and the fact that he has done the one job that best prepares you to be President means nothing.

            IN Bo world, you hire the guy with the puppetry degree over the guy who did an apprenticeship in the job you are hiring to fill.

            1. Rasilio   10 years ago

              CEO and wartime General/Admiral would also do it but yeah there is no class in college that can teach you how to be a chief executive.

              Even basic leadership classes won't really help

        5. Hey Nikki!   10 years ago

          the fact that you're preferred candidate for President would be considered unqualified for half the jobs in this country doesn't trouble you a bit.

          What troubles me is that so many of those jobs require a credential that's necessary only to prove you're willing to spend a lot of money and time signalling your obedience to social norms.

        6. dantheserene   10 years ago

          WTF are you even talking about?
          That the number of jobs that require some sort of credential to get past the HR gatekeepers who don't understand the job and couldn't hope to provide a meaningful interview is too high would be a valid point in an argument on that subject. It is meaningless here.
          So is claiming that some BS study is valid simply because it came out later than another that actually considered the variables, but I don't want to cross you up too many ways at once.

        7. Bill Dalasio   10 years ago

          I see, so the fact that you're preferred candidate for President would be considered unqualified for half the jobs in this country doesn't trouble you a bit.

          This is one of the most stupid arguments I've ever heard you make. You're descending into Tony territory here. Let me clue you into something. Nobody gives a fuck about your precious little college degree after an entry level job (and before you ask, I have an MBA from a top 20 school, although I'm probably prouder of my CFA). Walker's been the governor of a state. Anyone with an IQ that hits triple digits should be able to evaluate him on that. There's reason to have qualms about Scott Walker. His lack of a degree is only one a complete and utter mediocrity educated well beyond his intelligence would pose.

    2. John Titor   10 years ago

      Because it's not a 'questionable resume' to not have a college degree?

      Please prove that a college degree is a requirement to successfully govern.

      1. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

        John, isn't it highly unusual for a statewide leader to lack one?

        In fact, you probably couldn't get about half the jobs in this nation without one.

        Of course people with degrees can be fools and people without titans, but it's unusual for a reason.

        1. Mike G   10 years ago

          He's 47. Show me a job that just having the degree will get a 47-year-old, versus looking at what they've actually done with their life.

        2. Rasilio   10 years ago

          No not really.

          It is moderately unusual in the US in the post World War 2 era simply because so many of our elected officials come from legal backgrounds and in most states it is impossible to pass the bar without a law degree. Another large pool of politicians are political science majors who get their first jobs in government agencies where credentialism runs rampant.

          That said...

          http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.....ress/?_r=0

          6 years ago 5% of Congress had no College Degree so no, not all that unusual at all.

        3. John Titor   10 years ago

          Oh no, it's 'highly unusual'! What an excellent supporting argument!

          In fact, you probably couldn't get about half the jobs in this nation without one.

          And that is relevant to the position he holds, without a college degree, because...(ignoring the fact that plenty of non-technical jobs overstress the importance of a college degree).

          Again, prove that a college degree is a requirement to successfully govern. You have shown zero evidence as to why that is the case besides empty credentialist whining about it being 'unusual'.

    3. paranoid android   10 years ago

      So when someone like the Post points to the fact that their current darling Presidential candidate lacks an achievement which would get his application tossed in half the jobs in the US today there can be room only for wagon circling.

      Are you open to the possibility that there are people who actually don't care about whether he has a degree and don't see that as a disqualifying factor? I don't really care about Walker one way or the other, having never been to Wisconsin, but I recognize a sleazy hit-piece like the Post's story when I see one (the phrase "questions linger" is usually kind of a giveaway).

      In fact, this obsession with credentialism instead of useful qualities like work ethic is a trend I would personally like to see reversed, and maybe a Walker candidacy would help achieve that--am I a GOP flak engaging in "wagon circling" because I won't call him an uneducated rube?

      1. Bo Cara Esq.   10 years ago

        I wouldn't call him an uneducated rube, just that it's very unusual and potentially a red flag. If you went in for a lot if jobs much less important than President you'd have to overcome that deficit in your resume. Pretending that's not the case is bizarro land stuff.

        1. paranoid android   10 years ago

          If he was Chance the Gardener showing up from nowhere as a complete no-name and trying to get people to take him seriously, you might have a point. I'd be interested to know what, if any obstacles the lack of degree presented to Walker when he entered politics. But, just like a degree is insignificant to an employer next to years of experience working in the relevant field, I don't see why it should matter at all to voters when his record as governor (for good or for ill) can speak for itself.

          1. PapayaSF   10 years ago

            ^This.

        2. John   10 years ago

          So six years of being a successful governor is canceled out by this? That is idiotic even for you.

          There is no red flag here. You need to find a better reason to concern troll against Walker. No one is going to buy this.

          1. John Titor   10 years ago

            It's not even concern trolling, it's just empty credentialism. The actions of Walker don't matter, what matters is that he got a piece of paper saying he spent four years reading Gramsci. When I was in university one of my profs liked to point out that university degree credentialism is a lot like the old nobility system, you have to spend a great deal of money to get a title for increased respect and prestige. It's title over skill mentally.

            1. John   10 years ago

              That is exactly what it is. It is nothing but a new form of nobility. If Walker is a bad governor or has bad ideas, then people shouldn't vote for him. Not voting for him over this is nothing but crass credentialism.

              I don't think it will work. Walker is a very dangerous candidate to the Democrats. They seem very desperate to find some way to attack him.

    4. Rasilio   10 years ago

      Oh yeah. One more thing.

      I highly doubt that Walker would be the preferred candidate of more than 2 or 3 of the writers OR commenters combined.

      For the majority of reason readers/writers Walker would be at best someone we could hold our nose and grudgingly accept as at least not totally sucking like every other GOP nominee since Reagan

  37. Mike G   10 years ago

    WALKER FAILS TO BECOME ENTITLED STUFFED SHIRT IN HIS TWENTIES
    "Not ready for the presidency," say Harvard professors

  38. Mike G   10 years ago

    By the way, I read somewhere that the first Soviet leader to have gone to college was Gorbachev. There are many things you can draw from this (it took a college man to wreck the USSR etc.) but it's interesting to me that even by the 80s, they hadn't developed a professional class as part of the party system, but it remained more of a claw-your-way-to-the-top thing much like machine politics in the US in the mid-20th century.

    1. paranoid android   10 years ago

      I believe Lenin was also educated (coming has he did from a fairly well-off family) though a quick glance at Wikipedia informs me he was expelled from his university for his revolutionary activities.

  39. JWW   10 years ago

    Whats the difference between Scott Walker and Barak Obama?

    We get to see three and a half years of Scott Walker's college transcripts!

    1. John   10 years ago

      Yeah. There is that. Walker leaving college and getting a job is highly unusual and suspect. Obama going to a church run by a raving lunatic and referring to that lunatic as a father figure was totally out of bounds for political discussion. Republicans are just being victims here. They have victim complex and can't understand why good concerned people like Bo want this looked into.

    2. PapayaSF   10 years ago

      Zing!

  40. Rasilio   10 years ago

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/jo.....ge-degree/

  41. The Late P Brooks   10 years ago

    He got a job? WITHOUT A COLLEGE DEGREE?

    "Fishy" doesn't begin to cover it.

  42. The Late P Brooks   10 years ago

    I hope Walker quit school to go into sales. That would be icing for the cake.

    "That poor bastard. If only he had stayed in school, he would have learned all about the evil of consumerism and the parasitism of selling things to people in order to separate them from their precious money."

    1. John   10 years ago

      Jay Leno tells a story about meeting Ronald Reagan and Reagan asking him how he did in school. Leno told him he was a lousy student. Reagan responded that he had been to and that he always wondered what he might accomplished had he just applied himself in school a little more.

      1. Egypt Steve   10 years ago

        Luckily they each had enough school to become accomplished comedians.

  43. Richard Fitzwell   10 years ago

    Washington Post Preparing to Release Obama College Transcripts? http://wp.me/p31sf8-1Bt

  44. Egypt Steve   10 years ago

    He's perfect for the Republican Party, unless they can find a high-school drop-out.

  45. Mickey Rat   10 years ago

    Someone who does not have creditionsls from Harvard or Yale or any university whatsoever dares to think he is wualified to be President?

    The mind reels at the presumption!

  46. Winghunter   10 years ago

    When will the propaganda arm for the Commie party (AKA: Democrats) get around to investigating Obama's college years??
    The Founding Fathers expected we would keep the press honest. I suggest we start doing our jobs.

  47. barkway   10 years ago

    The bigger question than how well educated he may or may not be is how he got so far ahead so young when we tell kids every day that without a college degree (or a kick-azz infotech startup), they will never go beyond working class in life. Apparently this is not true? Or was Walker selected, groomed, and well-funded for the role he serves now?

  48. Ann in L.A.   10 years ago

    I had liberal friends crowing that *finally* the media were getting into the dirt about Walker. Apparently, they didn't really read the article, since the article was shooting blanks--they came up with nothing.

  49. REMant   10 years ago

    Wonder what they'd have to say about Gates and Zuckerberg. Not that I think any of the three is qualified for the office, not to mention anyone at The Post.

  50. robc   10 years ago

    Im glad to be moving past the Boomers.

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