If you needed any more proof that Scott Walker is a Republican frontrunner for 2016, look no further than this statement from President Obama issued late Monday after Walker signed a Right to Work bill into law.

“It’s no coincidence that the rise of the middle class in America coincided in large part with the rise of unions – workers who organized together for higher wages, better working conditions, and the benefits and protections that most workers take for granted today. So it’s inexcusable that, over the past several years, just when middle-class families and workers need that kind of security the most, there’s been a sustained, coordinated assault on unions, led by powerful interests and their allies in government,” reads the statement the president released tonight from the White House.

“So I’m deeply disappointed that a new anti-worker law in Wisconsin will weaken, rather than strengthen workers in the new economy. Wisconsin is a state built by labor, with a proud pro-worker past. So even as its governor claims victory over working Americans, I’d encourage him to try and score a victory for working Americans – by taking meaningful action to raise their wages and offer them the security of paid leave. That’s how you give hardworking middle-class families a fair shot in the new economy – not by stripping their rights in the workplace, but by offering them all the tools they need to get ahead.”

This statement is extremely puzzling.

Why is President Obama responding to actions taken by the duly elected Wisconsin state legislature and the duly elected governor?

Is this a signal that national Democrats fear Walker and are targeting him? Is it cockiness and part of a ploy to purposefully elevate Walker because they think he is most beatable?

Or, is it just Obama throwing a bone to his allies in big labor who just suffered another major setback? While he will not face re-election again, why would Obama go out of his way to put himself on the wrong side of an issue that earns 71% support in nationwide polling?

Conviction? Political triangulation? Or just plain hubris?

Whatever the motivating purpose, this statement from President Obama can only serve to elevate Scott Walker above the rest of the Republican field. Scott Walker may have led the polls in recent weeks, but Barack Obama just cemented the Wisconsin Governor as the current frontrunner.

Published with permission.