TIME Scott Walker

Walker Hones Attacks on GOP Rivals at Iowa State Fair

Scott Walker - Iowa
Charlie Neibergall—AP Republican presidential candidate, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, speaks during a visit to the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 17, 2015, in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Wisconsin Governor has seen his standing fall in Iowa. Now, he's fighting back

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is sharpening his criticism of his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, telling an audience at the Iowa State Fair on Monday that his fellow hopefuls might be scrappy fighters but they lack any victories.

It’s a necessary shift for Walker, who began the year atop the field of candidates competing in Iowa but has seen his standing sink as real estate mogul Donald Trump claimed the top spot in Iowa and national polls alike. Trying to steady his standing, Walker said Washington-based Republicans are not to be trusted and that political newcomers lack his record.

For Walker, this is becoming a make-or-break moment in his bid for the nomination. Politically shrewd, Walker realizes he peaked too early and he jumped into the race without adequate preparations to fend off criticism from rivals. The anti-union, anti-spending Republican captured the imagination of the conservative base of the party early on, but had little to keep them in his corner.

Now, Walker’s task is to remind conservatives why they like this son of a pastor in the first place. The mission is especially important in Iowa, where Walker was seen as a favorite but could see his campaign sputter if he cannot offer a decent finish when the caucuses are held in February of next year.

See Scott Walker’s Life in Photos

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Scott Walker at age 2. Scott Walker appears with his younger brother David and his parents Llew and Pat in this undated photo. Scott Walker an in Eagle Scout in 1986. Scott Walker Senior Year 1986Delavan Darien High School, Delavan, WISwing Choir; he is upper right Scott Walker's senior portrait from Delavan Darien High School in Delavan, Wisc., 1986 Wisconsin Governor candidates Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, left, and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker greet each other before their final debate in Madison, Wis., on Oct. 29, 2010. Supporters cheer as Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker enters his victory party, in Pewaukee, Wisc., on Nov, 2, 2010. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks at an inauguration ceremony in the rotunda of the state Capitol Monday in Madison, Wis., on Jan. 3, 2011. Scott Walker dances with his wife, Tonette, at the Inaugural Ball at Monona Terrace in Madison, Wis., on Jan. 3, 2011. Wisconsin State Governor Scott Walker signs the ceremonial bill, after the Republican-controlled House and Senate eliminated almost all collective bargaining for most public workers at the state Capitol in Madison Wis., March 11, 2011. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker presents U.S. President Barack Obama with a Milwaukee Brewers jersey upon his arrival in Milwaukee, Wis., on Feb. 15, 2012. U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney (2nd R) waves next to Governor Scott Walker (R), Representative Paul Ryan (2nd L), and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus (L) before speaking to a crowd at Monterey Mills in Janesville, Wis., June 18, 2012. Gov. Scott Walker, right, talks with farmer Jeff Ehrhart about drought damage to his corn crop in the background in Burlington, Wis., on July 20, 2012. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker attends a prayer service at the Sikh Temple in Brookfield, Wis., on August 6, 2012. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks at his election night party in West Allis, Wis., on Nov. 4, 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, MD, February 26-28, 2015

“They told us during the last election that if we just elected a Republican Senate, the leadership out there would put a bill to repeal Obamacare on the desk of the President. It’s August. We’re still waiting for that measure,” a feisty Walker told an audience who gathered to hear him speak in Des Moines.

Republicans did claim a majority during the 2014 midterm elections but failed to win enough seats to overcome procedural roadblocks that Democrats can still mount. Republicans are also still far short of the necessary votes they would need to override a veto from President Obama.

“We need leaders in Washington who will stand up against the President and say, ‘No, enough is enough, America wants you to stand up for your promises,’” Walker added.

The criticism was aimed not just at Establishment-minded leaders like Mitch McConnell of Kentucky—a pragmatist but hardly loved among the party’s base—but also at the quartet of GOP incumbents who are seeking the GOP nomination while holding day jobs in the Senate: Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida. “Americans want you to stand up for your promises,” Walker said.

Turning to political newcomers, Walker said his electoral record in Wisconsin should inspire confidence. Walker was the first incumbent Governor to survive a recall election, and won three times in four years at the ballot box. His record drew praise from conservatives who saw him as an anti-union crusader who could go head-to-head with likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

But, for the moment, his outsider status has been overshadowed by the never-before-elected trio of Trump, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former tech executive Carly Fiorina.

“There’s only one candidate in this race who has fought and won and gotten results—even results in a blue state in Wisconsin—and did it without compromising our common sense conservative principles,” Walker said. “If you want someone who can win and get results and not compromise, I’m the candidate to send to the White House.”

Walker was a bit more circumspect when addressing Trump, who roared into the race with pledges to build a “great, great wall” along the U.S.-Mexican border. Trump’s anti-Establishment, anti-illegal immigration pitch helped him climb from punch line to political powerhouse, even as some in the party still expect voters to take a more sober approach to what a Trump White House would look like.

Trying to one-up Trump on the border issues, Walker said the U.S. should look to Israel for a model when it comes to security: “I was in Israel earlier this year. They built a 500-mile fence and they have it staffed and it has lowered terrorist attacks in that region by about 90-plus percent. We need to do the same on our border.”

Walker also took his shot at former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has made education reform part of his public pitch. Bush and Walker—and four other rivals—were set to discuss education in detail during a forum on Wednesday in New Hampshire. Previewing his line of criticism against Bush, who backs education standards known as Common Core, Walker suggested his rival was a big-government advocate.

“No Common Core,” Walker said. “No nationwide school board.”

LIFE’s Best Convention Photos: The GOP

Scene at the 1968 Republican National Convention, Miami Beach, Florida. Scene at the 1968 Republican National Convention, Miami Beach, Florida. Go-go girl and delegates during the 1968 Republican National Convention, Miami Beach, Florida. Arizona politician and future U.S. Attorney General Richard Kleindienst (left) confers with Nebraska's Richard Herman during the 1964 GOP National Convention in San Francisco. Ronald Reagan at the 1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco. Scene during the 1960 Republican National Convention in Chicago. Not originally published in LIFE. During the 1960 Republican National Convention in Chicago, Martin Luther King Jr. leads a demonstration calling for a strong Civil Rights plank in the GOP campaign platform. Scene during the 1960 Republican National Convention in Chicago. Scene during the 1960 Republican National Convention in Chicago. Scene at the 1956 Republican National Convention, San Francisco, California. Left to right: President Dwight D. Eisenhower, his wife Mamie, Richard M. Nixon and his wife, Pat, at the 1956 GOP National Convention, San Francisco, California. Scene at the 1956 Republican National Convention, San Francisco. Chairman of the Republican National Committee Arthur E. Summerfield on the telephone during the 1952 GOP National Convention in Chicago. Control booth, 1952 GOP National Convention in Chicago. Bertha Baur, a prominent figure at conventions for decades and a long-time member of the Republican National Committee, in an elephant hat at the 1952 GOP National Convention in Chicago. Pennsylvania Governor John Fine (left) and Arthur Summerfield chat in private during the 1952 Republican National Convention in Chicago. Republicans hold an informal conference in a kitchen during the 1952 GOP National Convention in Chicago. Vice-presidential nominee Richard Nixon and his wife Pat talk with photographers during the 1952 GOP National Convention in Chicago. Scene at the 1952 GOP National Convention in Chicago. Scene at the 1948 GOP National Convention in Philadelphia. Scene at the 1948 GOP National Convention in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania delegates to the 1944 Republican National Convention in Chicago pull cold beers from a tub of ice after a caucus meeting. Delegates listen to Herbert Hoover during the 1944 Republican National Convention in Chicago. A model wears a bathing suit in a fashion show at Ohio senator Robert Taft's headquarters during the 1940 GOP National Convention in Philadelphia.
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