WINNING IN A WALKER

The battle for the Republican nomination for president effectively began at the Iowa Freedom Summit in Des Moines Jan. 26-27.

Twelve prospective candidates spoke at the Freedom Summit, a testament to the power Iowa wields by being the first to select delegates.

The winner in Iowa has won the nomination in 6 of 10 contested races for Democrats, just 3 of 7 for Republicans. Iowa’s role is to winnow the field.

I’m appalled by the wildly disproportionate influence the Iowa caucuses have, since only about 20 percent of those eligible attend them. But I don’t mind so much this cycle, because Iowa figures to boost the guy I think is best able to unite the GOP; appeal to swing voters, do the best job as president.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was the most impressive at the Freedom Summit, said pundits left and right. Iowans evidently agree. At 15 percent, he was the top first choice of respondents in a Des Moines Register poll last week, tied with neurosurgeon Ben Carson for top 2nd choice (10 percent). He was a runaway winner in an online poll conducted for the Drudge Report this week.

Most prospective GOP candidates really are running 1) for vice president; 2) to send a message; 3) to boost their lecture fees and/or massage their egos.

Among those running for vice president (whether they know it or not) are Dr. Carson, Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina.

That Dr. Carson has never held public office is not an impediment for me. He’s plenty smart enough. Politics isn’t brain surgery. (Can you imagine Slow Joe Biden in medical school – much less operating on your brain?) But for most Americans, it’s a stumbling block.

The confrontational style that has endeared Sen. Cruz to hardcore conservatives may doom him in a general election.

Sen. Rubio is the best orator in the GOP, but some conservatives will never forgive him for backing the "Gang of 8" immigration bill.

With the possible exception of Sen. Cruz, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is objectively the smartest Republican. His record warrants serious consideration for the top slot. So do former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, but their current lack of popular support (Christie was at 4 percent in the Iowa poll, Perry 3 percent, Jindal 2 percent) makes it seem unlikely they’ll get it.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, was 2nd in the Iowa poll (14 percent), but runs to spread his libertarian message. (He knows his squirrelly father has doomed a place for him on the GOP ticket.)

 Other message candidates are former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (the importance of work and blue collar workers), and former UN Ambassador John Bolton (foreign policy).

In it for lecture fees and ego strokes are former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and businessman Donald Trump.

The race seems likely to settle into a contest between Gov. Walker, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush whom the Beltway cognoscenti have declared the frontrunner. Which indicates they don’t know many Republicans. Mr. Bush was 4th in the Iowa poll (8 percent), 7th in the Drudge poll (4 percent).

Only a moderate Republican can be elected president, most pundits say. That isn’t true. But the GOP candidate must sound moderate.

Mostly, Gov. Walker lets his record of solid conservative governance and electoral success in a blue state speak for him.

"If you want to beat the left in 2016, follow Scott Walker’s blueprint," says radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

Gov. Walker responded to attacks of unprecedented viciousness with gentle words and a smile. But he "sits on a throne made of the skulls of his enemies," notes Rich Cromwell in the Federalist.

The fire and focus of his remarks at the Freedom Summit impressed many. Gov. Walker doesn’t let Democrats or liberal journalists set the terms of debate, noted Seth Mandel of Commentary magazine and screenwriter Michael Walsh.

 "Walker concedes nothing to the conventional wisdom about what the GOP must do to compete in a more culturally tolerant, ethnically diverse and economically insecure America," writes a worried Peter Beinart in the Atlantic. "And the GOP faithful love it."

There are many miles to go before the primaries begin a year from now.  But at this early point in the race, Scott Walker is lapping the pack for good reason.

Jack Kelly is a former Marine and Green Beret and a former deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force in the Reagan administration. He is national security writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

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