Meet Rob McKenna, the presumptive Republican nominee for governor in Washington State. He has the most interesting campaign strategy:
Rob McKenna, the two-term attorney general who is aiming to become the Evergreen State’s first Republican governor in more than 30 years, told a gathering of Puget Sound Carpenters last week that he’ll strive for a “positive relationship between labor and management,” even lamenting the agenda pursued by Walker.Oddly enough, that would probably sell in Wisconsin too.
“We need to have a good strong relationship between labor and management in this state,” McKenna said at the April 11 meeting, according to the audio that was secretly recorded. "Now unfortunately because of a couple of governors — particularly Scott Walker — everyone thinks that someone who’s going to be a Republican governor, they’re going to be Scott Walker. I’m not Scott Walker. This is not Wisconsin. This is Washington state.”
The comments represent the private political discomfort some Republicans campaigning in blue states harbor over Walker’s strident anti-labor policies, particularly his aggressive rollback of collective bargaining for public-sector unions.
While McKenna is in a somewhat unique position running in a deep blue state, his decision to distance himself from Walker is notable, especially as national Republicans rally to Walker’s aid ahead of the June 8 recall.
McKenna has previously stressed his desire to work with unions in public, but this speech represents the most direct and stark break with the embattled first-term Walker.
But at least Walker can have a new talking point - how he's setting an example for the rest of the nation.
Unfortunately, it's a bad example.
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