Gov. Scott Walker shared a stage with several Republican presidential hopefuls over the weekend at a national conservative convention in Iowa.
Walker, clad in the familiar rolled-up sleeves and solid tie of any campaigning candidate, rallied attendees at the Iowa Freedom Summit, as did former Republican presidential and vice-presidential candidates including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and other blockbuster names in the Republican Party.
Many Wisconsin politicians have publicly speculated that Walker plans to run for president in a 2016 Republican primary, and Democrats have accused him of ignoring Wisconsin’s concerns while he campaigns.
In a speech resembling the intersection of a State of the Union address and a pep rally, Walker began by thanking Iowa Republicans for helping his 2012 and 2014 campaigns by volunteering and donating to his campaign. He said he appreciated their prayers most of all as he had received several death threats while hundreds of thousands of demonstrators protested his collective bargaining restrictions at Wisconsin’s Capitol.
“In a way I have to apologize, because the occupy movement began in Wisconsin four years ago and then went to Wall Street, so my apologies for that,” Walker said.
Walker spent most of his speech giving the audience an overview of his accomplishments as Wisconsin’s governor. Specifically, Walker listed a balanced budget, pro-life legislation, defunding Planned Parenthood and cutting taxes on a long political resume.
“[My campaign] was about showing that common sense conservative reforms can actually work and can work in a blue state like Wisconsin,” Walker said. “If they can work in Wisconsin, they can work anywhere in the country.”
President Barack Obama became a recurring target of Walker’s speech as the governor touted a lawsuit he vowed to file in his recent State of the State address alleging new Environmental Protection Agency regulations are illegal.
Walker ended his speech by vowing to return to Iowa “many more times” and explained his vision for America’s foreign policy.
“We need a president who doesn’t sit in Washington, D.C., when world leaders are standing together against terrorism in Paris,” Walker said to standing applause. “We need leaders who will stand with our allies against radical Islamic terrorists.”
