The Milwaukee Post

8 • Milwaukee County Post • June 26, 2015 The state budget Gov. Scott Walker signs into law — whenever that happens — is likely to be his last. Win or lose the presidency, Walker is probably on his last legs as governor of our state. His aides obviously deny this, but a growing consensus among those close to Walker and state government believes that if Walker doesn't win the Republican nom- ination for president, he will resign as governor. If Walker isn't the nominee, or if he gets the nomination and loses the gener- al election, it's hard to see why he would want to come back to Wisconsin. Whatever happens in the presidential campaign, Walker is now a hot commodi- ty. He could go on the conservative lec- ture circuit, attach himself to a think tank, become a pundit on Fox News and associate himself with an important conservative political action committee. All of this would not only keep Walker's national profile sky-high, it would allow him for the first time in his life to earn big money. Walker and wife Tonette raised their kids in a middle-class home off Bluemound in Wauwatosa. The highest salary Walker has ever made in his life is his current pay as governor. He could match that in five speeches. What would you do? Walker's choice will be to become a rich man and set up his family for life, or come back to a governorship that carries a lot fewer financial rewards and a lot more headaches. If Walker doesn't win the GOP nomi- nation next year, he'd still be a leading contender in 2020 or 2024. Going the Fox News route, and keeping his profile on the national stage, sets him up very well for the future. He gets to make a lot of money in the process. And, he doesn't have to mess around with transportation shortfalls, constant Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation messes, the Madison press corps and all the other annoyances of being a conservative gov- ernor in a state with a liberal political infrastructure. He also doesn't have to campaign for a third time in 2018. All of this points to one conclusion: Scott Walker will not be the governor of Wisconsin in 18 months. Some Republican legislative leaders already sense this and their frustration with Walker is palpable. Walker wants to borrow a fortune for the state trans- portation budget but doesn't want to raise gas taxes or registration fees to pay for it because hiking taxes is the last thing anybody running for president wants to do. This would set the state up for a huge transportation shortfall in a couple of years. The Republican legisla- tive bosses suspect Walker knows he won't be here to deal with that mess, but they will be. They feel Walker is creating a problem that they will be left to solve while he is off either running the coun- try or pontificating on Fox News. The torch has really already been passed. The current state budget battle is going on without Walker. Assembly and Senate Republicans are fighting over what's in and what's out. Walker isn't adding any input. He seems irrele- vant to this fight. The passage of an abortion bill and right-to-work legislation all occurred without Walker's input. The Legislature did these things on its own. Likewise, the current rift over repealing or scaling back the state's prevailing wage law is going on without any involvement from Walker. While he's stumping in South Carolina and Iowa, Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald are hashing out the future of Wisconsin. The Bucks stadium debate is going on with almost no involvement from the governor. This is a total contrast to Walker's firestorm. From Act 10 to business reforms, he drove Wisconsin's agenda and the Republican Legislature did little more than vote for it. Walker's agenda right now seems sparse. The Legislature is running the show. Walker is actually doing a pretty good job juggling his current roles as gover- nor and presidential candidate. The fact that the Republicans control the Legislature means that he's able to leave the heavy lifting to them. While his involvement in the arena debate has been minimal, it has also been effective. But it's also clear that Walker is already partly gone. He has accom- plished the most important pieces of his Wisconsin revolution. Act 10 is an achievement for the ages and the expan- sion of statewide school choice will like- wise permanently alter the state for the better. What more is there to do? Not much, especially when the national stage is calling. What all this means is that it is very likely we will soon be focused on Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch. It is impossible to tell how she'll do as governor because her profile has been kept so low as lieu- tenant governor. Walker has kept her pretty much on the sidelines and she's apparently OK with that. In fact, there's already a Republican primary for governor shaping up in 2018. Assembly Speaker Vos intends to run against Kleefisch in a GOP primary. Already, top Republicans are deciding if they are on Team Becky or Team Vos. The bottom line is that the governor- ship of Scott Walker seems to be wind- ing down. In two years he might be ana- lyzing on Fox or speaking to the Heritage Foundation. He might also be president of the United States. But he almost certainly won't be our governor. (Mark Belling is the host of a daily WISN radio talk show. His column appears weekly in the Milwaukee Post. Send your personal correspondences to Mark Belling at Clear Channel Communications, c/o WISN, 12100 W. Howard Ave., Greenfield, WI 53228). MARK BELLING STANDING UP for MILWAUKEE Walker's future looks busy, but not as governor OPINION Last week's question With the world's largest music festival starting next week, what is your favorite Summerfest memory? It was in the early '70s, I can't remember the year, but it was to be the first big lakefront Summerfest in Milwaukee, a pet project of then- Mayor Henry Maier. I worked down- town on the 39th floor of what is now the US Bank building. My coworkers and I had a bird's-eye view of the development going on to our southeast and we watched its progress carefully — anticipating the day when this new venue would open. One morning our boss strolled over to our clustered observation group. We were sure we were all "going to be written up." To our sur- prise he handed out admission pass- es to the grounds! Our excitement grew by leaps and bounds until the big day finally arrived. On that day a group of us changed from our busi- ness work clothes and headed to the grounds right after work unsure of what we would find. It wasn't the polished Summerfest of today. The grounds were basically an unpaved field being dusty or muddy according to the weather — and bathrooms were basically porta- potties, if you could find one. But we were in our 20s. We noticed only the music and the magic of the place. We returned every night after work, never knowing we were dancing in Milwaukee history. — Sandy Sue Szanderek Bay View This week's question What is the reason you went to Summerfest? Editor's note: When responding to the Question of the Week, please include your full name with spelling, phone number and city where you live. Phone numbers will not be published. Anonymous respons- es are no longer accepted by the publication. Call 744-6370, Ext. 15 and leave a brief answer. Readers may also send an email with a brief answer to: dmuck@con- leynet.com. Question of the week Send your letters to: The Milwaukee Post, c/o Dan Muckelbauer, 3397 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207, or by email to: dmuck@conleynet.com. We reserve the right to edit letters for style, length and clarity. Letters should be typewritten or printed and include full name, phone number and address. Please keep your letters to no more than 400 words. Letters policy

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