Scott Walker
knows he's outmatched in the early stages
of the Republican primary. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush also has the
executive experience that often plays well in presidential races. He's
raising a lot more money than Walker. And he knows a lot more about
policy than Walker. So Walker's campaign is laying the groundwork for
less-than-impressive fundraising numbers by talking about his long game.
Walker, they say, is content to go slow and steady and peak when it
counts:
Advisers said that Mr. Walker, conceding that he has no hope
of raising more than Mr. Bush this spring and summer, is devoting
considerable time instead to addressing a weakness that could derail him
with a single gaffe no matter how much some donors love him: his lack
of depth on issues facing a president, especially national security. He
is attending near daily policy briefings and crafting Wisconsin’s next
state budget, while his team is quietly recruiting volunteer
fund-raisers, known as bundlers. They now number about 50 in 30 states —
a shadow corps ready to compete with Mr. Bush as soon as Mr. Walker
officially announces his candidacy, which will likely be in June.
At the same time, Mr. Walker — who enthusiastically enjoys
fund-raising, his advisers say — is personally courting megadonors like
Todd Ricketts, who will back Mr. Walker if he runs, and David H. and
Charles G. Koch, the conservative billionaires, according to the
advisers and donors, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to maintain
their access to confidential campaign planning. Several top-tier
Republican donors joined Mr. Walker for a dinner last week at the
Ricketts apartment in Time Warner Center in Manhattan, including David
Koch; Mr. Ricketts and his father, Joe; the investor Roger Hertog; and
the supermarket magnate John Catsimatidis.
So ... the plan is to cram like it's the night before the final of a
class he skipped all semester, hoping in the mean time to avoid saying
anything too stupid publicly, and try to lock down a couple really rich
people to bankroll a super PAC. Got it.
But it makes you wonder: Does this make a sadder statement about
Scott Walker, about the Republican field, or about the state of American
electoral politics? Because it could work! "Suck up to a billionaire
and study up on your CliffsNotes" is a strategy that could propel
someone to a major party presidential nomination.
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