Unintimidated, by Scott Walker: on Principles & Values


Scott Walker: Book "Unintimidated" isn't my biography, but about reforms

Q: Your new book, "Unintimidated: A Governor's Story and A Nation's Challenge": a book is almost mandatory for a presidential run. You got to lay out where you are and set out some beliefs--is that why you wrote it?

WALKER: In our case, it's pretty unique. People who want to know about my biography--how I became an eagle scout or what sports I did as a kid--they're going to be disappointed because this is really a book about the reforms that we did in Wisconsin, what we did, how we did it, most importantly, why we did it. And then at the end, a little bit of a reaction is to how it can apply to other states and ultimately to our nation's capital. We went through some pretty big attention early in 2011. The recall election was the first ever where a governor was successful and I think people wanted to know what, where and why. I hope actually more than just conservatives across the country read it, because I think they'll be surprised to see what they weren't seeing throughout the debate.

Source: CNN SOTU 2014 interview on "Unintimidated" by Scott Walker Jan 5, 2014

Mitt Romney: OpEd: "R" seemed to stand for "Rich", not "Reformer"

Unfortunately, Mitt Romney never made the case for HIMSELF as a bold reformer. To the contrary, he distanced himself from reforms. Instead of showing Americans that the "R" next to his name stood for "reformer", Romney let the Obama campaign convince Americans it stood for "rich" and out of touch.

Romney is a decent and compassionate man, which is why it is so frustrating that Romney allowed himself to be portrayed as a defender of the rich & powerful instead of a champion of the poor & vulnerable.

Source: Unintimidated, by Scott Walker, p.196 Nov 18, 2013

Saul Alinsky: Tactics must begin with the experience of the middle class

In the Wisconsin budget battle of 2011, the protesters' antics turned off WI voters. The unions and their allies violated one of the key tenets of Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals": "Tactics must begin with the experience of the middle class accepting their aversion to rudeness, vulgarity and conflict. Start them easy, don't scare them off."

The Wisconsin protesters did the exact opposite of what Alinsky advises. They epitomized "rudeness, vulgarity and conflict," and in so doing they lost the sympathy and support of many Wisconsites.

In the end, the protests did more to help us achieve our aims than anything we could possibly have come up with in the governor's office.

It just goes to show that the extremism of your opponents is often your greatest weapon in the fight for what is right.

Source: Unintimidated, by Scott Walker, p.208-13 Nov 18, 2013

  • The above quotations are from Unintimidated:
    A Governor's Story and a Nation's Challenge

    by Scott Walker and Marc Thiessen.
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Page last updated: Feb 26, 2019