Scott Walker highlights executive experience to GOP donors
Updated 4:36 p.m. ET, 3/29/2014
(CNN) - Touting his executive experience and Wisconsin's success, it certainly sounded like he was running for national office. But Scott Walker wanted to make one thing clear Saturday: Anyone focused on 2016 has the wrong idea.
"Any Republican who's talking about anything other than 2014 is doing a disservice both to the party and to the country," he said.
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The Wisconsin governor and potential presidential candidate was speaking at the Republican Jewish Coalition's annual spring leadership meeting in Las Vegas, where some of the party's most influential donors and fundraisers meet to talk politics and policy.
The influential crowd draws some big political names, many of whom are considering a run at the White House. Along with Walker, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush addressed the conference.
Casino owner and mega Republican donor Sheldon Adelson is meeting with all of the presidential contenders, a source at the meeting tells CNN. Adelson has spent tens of millions of dollars on political contributions.
Walker focused his speech on solutions the Republican Party can offer to problems facing the country.
"What voters in the middle want more than anything... is leadership. They want people to lead. They're so cynical with politics today," Walker said. "It's a sad commentary where we're at in American society that sometimes I get called courageous just because I kept my word. Everywhere else in life that's expected, but somehow in politics, that's exceptional."
In particular, he praised the 29 Republican governors who, he says, have led the country on the road to recovery. Their success makes them better fit for the Oval Office, he said, adding that the next GOP presidential nominee must be someone "from outside Washington."
"If we want to have a strong America, if we want to have a healthy economy, look to the states - because in the states we're talking about growth and opportunity," he said.
"We're the ones at forefront of getting things done. We're the ones who make things happen," he said later.
Among those things, he cited turning a $3.6 billion budget deficit in Wisconsin into a near billion-dollar surplus, lowering the 9.2% unemployment rate by three points, and convincing people that the state is heading in the right direction: Ninety-five percent of Wisconsin business owners say so, he said.
"When you reform things, you make them more efficient, more effective, more accountable to the public," Walker added, arguing the GOP cannot be the party of austerity or "less," but of "more" - "more freedom, more opportunity, more prosperity."
Walker also used the platform to talk foreign policy, keen to criticize President Barack Obama and express his concern that America was being weakened around the world.
Walker is up for re-election this fall after a bitter recall election in 2012. At the time, significant protests nearly shut down the state Capitol after Walker proposed a controversial bill that scaled back collective bargaining rights for most state workers and cut the education budget.
"Third time in four years running for governor - I'm getting pretty good at it," he said to laughs.
–CNN's Kevin Bohn contributed to this report.
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Executive experience means firing police officers, firemen and teachers?
The only reason you are still around is because the people of Wisconsin were too darn lazy to go and vote you out.
Another loser in the clown car.
USA is not ready for this idiot. Shut-down, and foreign policy? Nonsense. This idiot does not know what he is saying. Pathetic. GOP is gone to dogs, pretty much.
Scott Walker,Koch brothers hand puppet is no friend of working family's.Cut cut cut is all he knows.his policy's only help the one percent.Say no to him and the entire tea-pub party
Kept your word?!?! Maybe... if you consider "divide and conquer" is keeping your word, Scott...
However, "250,000 new jobs..." is NOT keeping your word. You won't get that. How about graduating from college? Your word didn't mean much there, either...
How about you get through that ongoing John Doe investigation, where your staffers are illegally working on YOUR campaign right outside of YOUR door, that YOU know NOTHING about? Or maybe even finally DECIDE on the indian casino proposal that you've told people would be decided upon months ago. Waiting for both side to contribute? Or perhaps you could sign laws that allows more time for donors to contribute while allowing VOTERS less time to VOTE. Yeah Scott.. You're a piece of work. If the country ever votes the likes of you in, heaven help us all...
To, all democrats, if you hear about Obamacare by these GOP thugs, soot back. Don't care. You win, lot of good things in it, lot of necessities in here. Tell public, till 26 kids stay, no one can deny pre-existing condition, people love Medicare, so only figures of enrollees went to 7 millions closely, people are happy. Tell premiums will ultimately reduced. Be clear. Good luck, god bless!!!
Yea this guy has experience screwing America out of everything, what a used car salesman!!!
"Any Republican who's talking about anything other than 2014 is doing a disservice both to the party and to the country," he said.
-–
Absolutely correct!! Republicans winning the Senate and keeping the House in 2014 is the ONLY thing people need to be driving towards. The future of this country, it's economy and its super power status is at great risk as long as the failed extreme left Democrat Party is calling the shots.
If 5-6 years of a miserable economy wasn't enough for you, if record high unemployment for a record length time is what you seek, if endless record debt and deficits send a tingle down your leg, and more Obamacare type disasters just make you giddy, the Democrat Party is the party for you.
"Any Republican who's talking about anything other than 2014 is doing a disservice both to the party and to the country,"
Don't you mean "Any Republican is doing a disservice to the country."?
Gov Scott Walker will always be known as the man who waged war against state workers and teachers. His type of leadership is not welcomed or needed.
Scott, don't forget to tell everyone you are a Koch lapdog! That will empress American voters. What a dork
He talks about disservice to country??? Oh the irony.
Poor little Scott. For a fetal alcohol syndrome baby, he sure has exceeded expectations!
How did this misanthrope mongoloid get to this level?
correction: impress
The mayor of L.A. has more executive experience than the governor of Wisconsin.
Walker will be defeated in November. The people of WI has had enough of his taking away their rights. Walker is the dictator of the USA.
"more freedom, more opportunity, more prosperity." But Walker has taken them away from the people. He has not offered or provided anything. He has taken from them. Wise up Walker, voters are too smart for U.
Scott Walker should be behind bars .
Isn't this the same man that basically gave a mining giant in his state carte blanche to run roughshod over the native peoples and the environment? Going as far to absolve them of any responsibility for their actions, reducing the amount of payments to the local communities and allowing them to "protect" their "investments" by hiring an out of state paramilitary security firm.
I'll bet that company is there in Las Vegas.
No wonder the business owners in Wisconsin like him, he's made sure that the laws don't apply to them.
After all, all it takes is a fat wallet to make a Republican look the other way and then call it "good for the state"!
PS Scott, 9 out of 10 red states are the poorest per capita which means the business OWNERS are doing well...not the people or the state itself!
All for 15,000,000 pieces of silver.
And yet another reason to never, never vote republican.
..... The future of this country, it's economy and its super power status is at great risk as long as the failed extreme left Democrat Party is calling the shots.
If 5-6 years of a miserable economy wasn't enough for you, if record high unemployment for a record length time is what you seek, if endless record debt and deficits send a tingle down your leg, and more Obamacare type disasters just make you giddy, the Democrat Party is the party for you
----
And the above is the type of drivel you right when all you watch is Faux and fools, listener Rush Limpburger and you can't rub to brain cells together.
Its almost as it these GOP/Tea Pot heads believe the this country was in great shape when the current administration came into office.....geesh what geniuses we're dealing with here;...."record unemployment = losing 700K jobs per month, not gaining on average 200K.
in the first 2 years of the Obama administration and the dem congress, the country left from a almost 9 percent retraction to a 4 percent GDP gain, that is almost 13 percent growth, when have that happened in american history. ever since the obstructionist repubs took over in 2010, the country have been crawling by at 2 percent. yet these repubs keep up their mantra about slow economic growth, yet they refuse to tell the american people that they are the real culprits. how the hell can you leave from a 13 point gdp growth to a snail crawling 2 percent. these repubs will do everything in their power not to allow this country to grow. the establishment wants this so they can regain power, while the tea partiers wants this so they can kick the black man out of their so called white house and take their country back.
Love Scott Walker. He is absolutely what we need after this past four years of Obama's massive incompetence.