--- title: CPAC: Scott Walker Argues Congress Should Ignore Protests description: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker advised members of Congress to stay focused on their agenda despite protests. canonical: https://time.com/4680161/cpac-scott-walker-protests/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-23T15:51:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T03:28:57.122Z article:section: Politics og:title: Scott Walker's Advice to Republicans: Ignore Protests og:description: "Do what you said you were going to do." og:url: https://time.com/4680161/cpac-scott-walker-protests/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a439dfd8ce26e85/6988bb83fb4eac0763890df0/gettyimages-462080036.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Iowa Freedom Summit Features GOP Presidential Hopefuls og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Scott Walker's Advice to Republicans: Ignore Protests twitter:description: "Do what you said you were going to do." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a439dfd8ce26e85/6988bb83fb4eac0763890df0/gettyimages-462080036.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Scott Walker's Advice to Republicans in Congress: Ignore Protesters > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 23, 2017 3:51 PM UTC  Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks to guests at the Iowa Freedom Summit on January 24, 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa. The summit is hosting a group of potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates to discuss core conservative principles ahead of the January 2016 Iowa Caucuses. Scott Olson—Getty Images Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks to guests at the Iowa Freedom Summit on January 24, 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa. The summit is hosting a group of potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates to discuss core conservative principles ahead of the January 2016 Iowa Caucuses. Scott Olson—Getty Images Scott Olson—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 23, 2017 3:51 PM UTC Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker advised members of Congress to stay focused on their agenda despite [protests they’re facing at town-hall meetings](http://time.com/4678389/republican-congress-donald-trump-town-hall-protests/) in their home districts. Citing his own experiences as governor, which included a failed protester-driven recall effort, the two-term governor argued that lawmakers will succeed if they keep their promises while saying that protesters will eventually discredit themselves. “That is to do what you said you were going to do. It’s to go big, go bold,” he said in a speech at the [Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday.](http://time.com/4679396/cpac-donald-trump-conservatives/?xid=homepage) **Read More:** [_Transcript of Scott Walker’s Speech at CPAC_](http://time.com/4681005/scott-walker-cpac-transcript/) Walker told the crowd of grassroots conservative activists at the annual convention that the mobs of angry constituents and protestors meeting Republican lawmakers in their home states reminded him of protests he’s faced in the past. Walker said when he saw [protesters briefly block](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/protesters-rally-at-dc-school-ahead-of-visit-by-education-secretary-betsy-devos/2017/02/10/faad4962-ef06-11e6-b4ff-ac2cf509efe5%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.53df7ec6b496) Education Secretary Betsy DeVos from entering a public school in Washington he thought, “been there, seen that.” Walker faced massive protests in 2011 when he was [pushing for a law to weaken public unions](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/us/17wisconsin.html) in Wisconsin. But he argued that protesters hurt their own cause when they showed up at the opening of a visitor center and disrupted a law enforcement run to benefit Special Olympic athletes. “This was the moment when normal people could see that the protestors were not like them,” he said. “I mean, who messes up an event for Special Olympics athletes?” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4680161/cpac-scott-walker-protests/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4680161/cpac-scott-walker-protests/"},"headline":"Scott Walker's Advice to Republicans in Congress: Ignore Protesters","datePublished":"2017-02-23T15:51:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:28:57.122Z","description":"Wisconsin Gov. 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