Who Killed Scott Walker's Chance at the Presidency?
A shocking twist! The presidential hopes of Scott Walker lie dead on the floor, slain by some mysterious assailant! His bid was found slain, deprived of oxygen in the Reagan Library. Was it Herald Hard-Money, running out when Walker needed him most? Or was it Baron Boring-Speaking-Style? "Strange . . . the Baron had the opportunity to strike at several candidates, but only chose this one . . . so far!" Or was it Tribune Trump, denying him the air time to have a "moment" necessary to fuel money and momentum? Mickey Kaus offers other suspects -- Damsel Donor Class betraying him! Jon Gabriel, having once seen a bright, Calvin Coolidge–esque future for Walker, points the finger at King Kardashian Culture, a country too hungry for drama and spectacle to appreciate Walker. Reihan Salam casts a suspicious eye at Fellow Foreign-Policy, and how Walker never quite mastered those challenges. Rich and Eliana wrote up a lengthy analysis a few weeks ago concluding Walker wasn't sufficiently prepared for the rapidly-changing environment of a national campaign. Or was Walker's bid slain by a sinister conspiracy of all of these forces? Yesterday's National Review "Meet the Campaign Managers" Event couldn't have been better timed; attendees and viewers got to see the men running most of the other GOP campaigns assess Walker's departure within an hour of the news breaking. Trust me, it's worth a watch, or at least a quick scan. Marco Rubio's campaign manager, Terry Sullivan, said he was glad his candidate wasn't leading right now. His statement generated some laughter, but it wasn't entirely spin or a joke. Unless a polling lead generates its own momentum and influx of funds, what good does it do you? What good did Walker's lead in the spring do him? The big lesson of Monday, both in Wisconsin and at yesterday's event, is, "Keep your overhead down." (If you're self-funding with near-unlimited funds the way Trump is, you don't have to worry about this.) A report about Walker from a week ago: Many backers have directed their ire at campaign manager Rick Wiley, who some Walker supporters believe expanded the staff too quickly and has failed to calibrate spending during the summer fundraising season. A recent count put the number of full-time Walker campaign staff at around 90, and there have been no cutbacks in salaries as there were earlier this summer in former Florida governor Jeb Bush's operation. What does a big staff get you at this point? The first votes that matter are in February in Iowa. If you do well in those early caucuses and primaries, you can hire the free agents who will be available from campaigns that crashed and burned earlier. I'm told the range of salaries for campaign managers and state directors varies widely. The more frugal campaigns cap out at about $10,000 per month, but some ended up paying about $30,000 per month. Some candidates have to be wondering if they're getting their money's worth. Another lesson: If you're a Super PAC, and your candidate is sputtering, spend it if you've got it. Both Perry and Walker had well-funded PACs . . . and obviously, it didn't do them much good. Finally, this time last cycle, we were watching our sixth Republican presidential debate. The debates are the best opportunity to "have a moment," to have some memorable statement, exchange, or occasionally, gaffe that defines the candidacy and either builds support or fumbles it away. The more frequent debates helped fuel the "flavor of the month" phenomenon of last cycle, with candidates like Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain enjoying rapid ascents and then suddenly tumbling back down. Everyone needs a moment, and right now the debates are the only stage for a moment. Having fewer debates has slowed the metabolism of this campaign. That's good news if you're at the head – and an ominous sign if you're stuck at the back of the pack right now. Time to Narrow the Field and Unite Behind a Non-Trump Candidate? Already? Scott Walker's speech yesterday, in its entirety: As a kid, I was drawn to Ronald Reagan because he was a Republican and a conservative. But most of all, I admired him because of his eternal optimism in the American people. That thought came into my head when we were all standing at the Reagan Library last Wednesday. President Reagan was good for America because he was an optimist. Sadly, the debate taking place in the Republican party today is not focused on that optimistic view of America. Instead, it has drifted into personal attacks. In the end, I believe that voters want to be for something and not against someone. Instead of talking about how bad things are, we want to hear about how we can make them better for everyone. We need to get back to the basics of our party: We are the party that believes that people create jobs -- not the government -- and the best way to grow the economy is to get the government out of the way and build it from the ground up. We are the party that believes that the way to measure success in government is by how many people are no longer dependent on the government -- because we ultimately believe in the dignity of work. We are the party that believes that a strong military leads to peace through strength and that will protect our children and future generations -- we believe that good will triumph over evil. We are the party that believes in the American people - and not the federal government. These ideas will help us win the election next fall and -- more importantly -- these ideas will help make our country great again. To refocus the debate will require leadership. While I was sitting in church yesterday, the pastor's words reminded me that the Bible is full of stories about people who were called to be leaders in unusual ways. Today, I believe that I am being called to lead by helping to clear the race so that a positive conservative message can rise to the top of the field. With that in mind, I will suspend my campaign immediately. I encourage other Republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same so the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive conservative alternative to the current frontrunner. This is fundamentally important to the future of the party and -- ultimately -- to the future of our country. This is a difficult decision as so many wonderful people stepped up to support our efforts. Tonette and I are so very thankful for the many outstanding volunteers and the excellent staff who helped us throughout the campaign. You have become like family to us. And speaking of family, I want to personally thank my wife Tonette -- who has been a rock -- as well as our amazing sons Matt and Alex. I thank my parents, my brother David and his family -- and all of our other family and friends for their love and support. Most of all, I want to thank God for His abundant grace. Win or lose, it is more than enough for any of us. The fearless candidate refused to take any questions. Walker throwing his support behind another candidate would count for a lot more if he . . . you know . . . had more actual support to throw. It is September 22. Is it really time for Republicans who don't like Trump to panic and unite behind one alternative? In the CNN poll, Trump dropped from 32 percent to 24 percent -- enough to remain in first place, but he's still ahead by nine. We'll see if other polls confirm this trend. The perception of Trump will change quite a bit if he's got a quarter of the support in a crowded field vs. a third of the support. That CNN poll also gives a sense of what our final five could be. If you cut off the field at say, 9 percent, you have a field of Trump, Carson, Bush, Rubio, and Fiorina. Actually, Carly Was Pretty Conservative Back in 2010 Meanwhile, over on NRO's home page, I take a look at Carly Fiorina's 2010 bid, and the claims that she didn't run as a conservative . . . With no previous elected office, Fiorina has no voting record to evaluate. It's no surprise that fans of [Chuck] DeVore, a state assemblyman from Irvine with sterling credentials as a retired National Guardsman and Reagan-era Pentagon appointee, feel they were beaten out by a Joanie-come-lately who loaned her own campaign $1 million and outspent him nearly three-to-one. But on several of conservatives' biggest issues — gay marriage, abortion, and gun rights — Fiorina took bold, outspoken stances that put her to the right of previous leading California Republicans such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pete Wilson. "I'm proudly pro-life," Fiorina told the California Republican Assembly state convention. "Marriage is between a man and a woman. My husband owns lots of guns. I will defend the rights of the unborn and I will never turn my back on the values we hold so dear." ADDENDA: CommodoreBTC noticed that last night's Monday Night Football game, between the Indianapolis Colts and New York Jets, offered the best matchup of Civil War–appropriate beards in many years, with Andrew Luck taking on Ryan Fitzpatrick: 
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