Does Joe Walsh plan to spend much time campaigning in Illinois this year?
Walsh on Monday told The Hill that his number-one goal this election season is defeating President Obama.
“Our objective has to be respectfully to remove [Obama] from the White House,” Walsh said. “I don’t care if it’s Romney, Santorum, Gingrich, Paul … whoever our nominee is, every independent and Republican has to get together and run through a wall for that nominee, and I think that’s going to happen.”
Walsh could run through every wall in Schaumburg, Addison and Elk Grove, and it wouldn’t make any difference in whether President Obama gets elected. The president is going to win the 8th Congressional District, and he’s going to win the state of Illinois. So I’m not sure what Walsh can do to help his party’s nominee, other than traveling the country whipping up enthusiasm among Tea Partiers in swing states.
Walsh’s message to his fellow Tea Partiers: beating Obama is more important than any differences we may have with our fellow Republicans. It’s party’s unifying purpose for 2012.
I am a Tea Party conservative first and I tell all the Tea Party crowds I’m in front of, ‘Look, Mitt Romney may not be your cup of tea, he may not be conservative enough but if he’s the guy, you’re going to hold my hand and we’re going to get him elected’ and generally the movement understands that. [The Tea Party is] the quiet, silent majority and if Romney isn’t Joe Walsh when it comes to being the Tea Party conservative, the influence of the Tea Party is seen in what Mitt Romney says. He’s going to repeal ObamaCare, he’s going to cut and simplify taxes, he’s going to cut government spending and regulations, he’s going to do everything the Tea Party movement is saying has to be done. So whether he’s our picture-perfect candidate, the influence of the movement is in what he will do, and the movement will continue to get conservatives elected to the House and Senate.
Walsh’s new district, plus his likely race against a popular war veteran who worked in the Obama Administration, have probably made his re-election in the impossible. Now, he needs to be a good GOP soldier to build support for a political future as a candidate for Senate, or governor, or whatever else he decides to do after leaving Congress. His future is not in the 8th District, so it’s not surprising his focus isn’t there, either.
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