Walker's Image Problem Within An Image Problem

A lot of people call Scott Walker a savvy politician. It is closer to the truth to say that he is a bumbling fool who is fortunate enough to have been found to be a useful tool to the likes of  Koch Brothers.  If you don't think so, think back to how he was a groveling supplicant to a caller he thought was David Koch.

But his current self-imposed image problems, both big and small, are all his own doing.

His much larger image problem, and the one that could very well be his undoing, is, of course, Walkergate.  The apparent depth and width of the ever-growing scandal is absolutely breathtaking and it's hard to imagine how he is going to politically survive even if a fraction of the investigations pan out.

But Walker has another, albeit smaller, image problem which he has imposed on himself.

As Zach Wisnewski already noted, Walker is making an unbelievable claim that he did not know that his spokesman, Cullen Werwie, had been granted immunity in the ongoing John Doe probe.

In fact, Walker had this to say just the other day, which has obviously become his talking point since the squawkers and a few right wing bloggers have been faithfully parroting it unquestionably:

Talking to reporters after holding his second Job Creation Forum on Tuesday, the first-term Republican governor said he had no idea that his spokesman, Cullen Werwie, had been given an immunity deal until it became public late last week.

Walker said he doesn't believe Werwie should have told him about the deal sooner.

"He'd be violating the law, if that was part of the condition," Walker said. "For me, I just learned about it the other day, just like everything else we've talked about or things people in the media have talked about."

And thus an image problem is born.

You see, the thing is, while John Doe's are typically secretive affairs and the facts aren't supposed to be made public until indictments are handed out. The one exception to this is when immunity is granted. That, per the law, has to be done in an open court venue.

Walker had paid $60,000 to a high priced law firm in order to get the services of former US Attorney Steven Biskupic to represent his campaign in the investigation.

While Biskupic's integrity has been called into question during the Georgia Thompson affair, I don't recall anyone inferring that Biskupic to be incompetent.  That wipes out Walker being able to say that he had poor representation in this.

That only leaves that he is lying through his teeth when he denies knowing anything that has been going on in the probe, especially if it was a matter that was done in an open court.

Whether you believe Walker to be a liar, or just a rube that is getting taken by a fancy lawyer, it shows that Walker isn't fit to run a lemonade stand, much less the State of Wisconsin.  Which also explains why he is so hot and heavy to get his hands on the rules regarding recalls.

But I have news for Walker.  Short of trying to wipe out the ability to have recalls at all, you still don't have a chance.