It's been a wonderful week in Walker world, and it's cost him very little to make it happen.
TheGovernor has signed into law the bill to eliminate gas tax indexing, the automatic increase in the gas tax each year which has been an irritant to the Republican base.
State Senator Tom Reynolds seized upon the issue, and in pushing it secured his base. As a result it's unlikely he'll see a primary challenger next year, and he should be secure enough in the district to withstand any targeted assaults by the Democrats.
Talk radio and the bloggers, too, kept the issue alive even when it seemed like the effort to repeal the indexing was doomed to failure. At every road block, talk radio and the bloggers generated enough heat on the legislature to push it through.
But much of the credit should go to Milwaukee County Executive and candidate for governor Scott Walker, who crafted a proposal that made it impossible to say no to the repeal. Almost immediately candidates in the 33rd Assembly District special primary election began to talk of supporting the "Walker proposal." The attention turned to Walker's September primary opponent Congressman Mark Green who briefly waffled on the issue before embracing the repeal. That Walker was able to drive the issue and force his opponent to take Walker's position, all the while keeping the conservatives with him, bodes well for next year's primary campaign.
Walker received another boost on his home court where he's been getting nicked lately. Walker took a big step in bringing the troublesome Milwaukee County Board back under control in vetoing the proposed $6.8 million parking garage, and then the Board failing to override his veto. The Board then voted to adopt Walker's proposal, a $1.75 million proposal. Walker saved himself the agony of an emboldened County Board unleashing every spending proposal known to liberal mankind and eventually dismantling any reputation Walker for holding the line on spending.
Green's supporters and others are touting a survey showing Green ahead of Walker and almost even with Governor Doyle. The Green supporters have every right to be pleased, but they shouldn't get cocky. It's a long time between now and next September's primary, and a poll released right before Christmas is going to be of dubious value.
If Walker can keep the recent momentum in driving the agenda of the campaign while keeping the troublesome elements of his Board in check, the natural advantage of being based in the largest media market in the state may be enough to put Walker over the top. But for now, it looks like Christmas at the Walker home came a few days early.
