Scott Walker Is King of Kochworld

The Wisconsin governor's strong ties to Koch activists and donors could prove lucrative if he runs for president.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks at his election night party November 4, 2014 in West Allis, Wisconsin.

Photo by Darren Hauck/Getty Images
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On a sunny Saturday in September 2009, with Wisconsin in the throes of Tea Party fervor, conservative starlet Michelle Malkin fired up a crowd of thousands at a lakefront park in Milwaukee with rhetoric about White House czars and union thugs and the “culture of dependency that they have rammed down our throats.”

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, a Republican candidate for governor, casually attired in a red University of Wisconsin Badgers sweatshirt, stepped to the podium to amplify the message. “We're going to take back our government,” he shouted, jabbing the air with a finger. The attendees whooped and clapped. “We've done it here, we can do it in Wisconsin and, by God, we're going to do it all across America.”