Mark Steyn Gets One Wrong

I don’t think there’s any doubt I’m a big fan of Mark Steyn.  I would never mock Mark (though I would love to be a mock Mark).  Given his T-shirt design, you might even call me a Mark St’ist.

But I have to disagree with him today.  I think Steyn’s piece about Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders makes good points, but he almost says that Trump is the only one who has raised actual policy issues in the campaigns so far:

Walker Wins, 53-46

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker beat the recall yesterday.

Rumor that Governor Walker Sired a ‘Love Child’ or Pressured Anyone to Have an Abortion Is False

Robert Costa and Christian Schneider at National Review Online have the story and the links:  Scott Walker did not father a child out of wedlock.  The opposition came up with a last-minute election surprise this past weekend (the recall election is today), but there’s nothing to it:

(from Costa)

Over the weekend, Gillick, in collaboration with the Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative, alleged that Walker, who is pro-life, pressured “Ruth,” her roommate, to pursue an abortion.

The Rise and Fall of Public-sector Unions?

National Review Online’s Robert Costa reckons,

Regardless of whether Governor Scott Walker survives Tuesday’s recall election, Wisconsin’s public-employee unions are likely to see their power continue to decline.

The numbers are dramatic:

Indeed, according to the Journal, the American Federation of Teachers–Wisconsin, a labor organization representing 17,000 public-school teachers, has seen 6,000 members leave its ranks.

Barrett Toast, Walker Will Coast to Victory

I think I heard Sean Hannity say last week that the Democratic National Committee had written off the Wisconsin recall election as unwinnable, that they thought Walker already had a “lock” on it.  In any case, the word is that the DNC practically refused to spend any money on the race.  Then, as one blogger headlined it, “DNC Shamed Into Helping Wisconsin Recall, Still Not Committing Funds”.

Now a new poll from We Ask America suggests that their fears were well-founded:  It has Governor Walker beating Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett by a twelve-point margin, 54 to 42%.

Priebus Says Walker Wins

For whatever it’s worth, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus argues that Governor Walker will probably beat the recall, and that the recall effort will hurt President Obama’s chances in Wisconsin in November:

I think the Democrats in Wisconsin have been unbelievably foolish, and I can’t imagine that the Obama administration is too thrilled with what they’re doing up there. What they’re doing is gambling with the presidency in a major way, and here’s why.

First, Democrats didn’t get their [preferred] candidate to run. They’re stuck with two people who have perfected the art of losing statewide elections. Between Tom Barrett and Kathy Falk, they may have lost more statewide elections than any pair in the entire country.

Save Scott Walker

In 2011, Wisconsin and Ohio both passed laws repealing, to a significant extent, the mistake of public-sector unions.  (Public-sector unions are a relatively recent innovation; they necessarily create conflicts of interest and represent a structural problem for democracy.)  The Ohio reform was then itself repealed by ballot initiative, in a campaign funded largely by out-of-state union money.

Getting Serious

Charles Krauthammer has a good column today about America’s debt crisis, and hope for the future.

We have heard everyone — from Obama’s own debt commission to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — call the looming debt a mortal threat to the nation. . . . We can see the future. The only question has been: When will the country finally rouse itself?

Amazingly, the answer is now.

I know, I’m amazed, too!