Walker pairs common-man pitch with GOP checklist

[applegrove]

Walker pairs common-man pitch with GOP checklist

By BILL BARROW
Associated Press

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GOP_2016_WALKER?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-03-20-18-42-21

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Democrats certainly dispute the notion that Walker, 47, is a man of the working people, given his successful push to weaken Wisconsin unions for public and private-sector workers and the financial backing he's received from anti-union business interests. But a "regular guy" reputation with Republicans can go far in a crowded field of contenders.

Bush, 62, spends considerable time justifying his conservative credentials as part of his outreach to skeptical party factions. And when he does tell his personal story, it's in the context of carving out his own place in the Republican Party's pre-eminent family. "I'm my own man," he has said often, trying to separate himself from the presidencies of his father and brother.

Walker doesn't mention Bush in his speeches; he simply wraps nearly every point with some common-man reference or imagery.

When introducing him, his hosts typically note that Walker grew up in a small town, where he became an Eagle Scout, as well as delegate to the American Legion's Boys State and Boys Nation education programs. He likes to talk about how he proposed to his wife, Tonette, in a barbecue joint.



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