Alaska Governor called for Walker!

[RI]

I'm very happy this happened. I don't care much one way or another about Parnell, but Walker should be a great governor for Alaska.

[RI]

Is there a reason why Parnell lost in a Republican tsunami year?
Did he himself do anything wrong, or was it Walker's own strength?

Some of both. Parnell was hit hard by the Alaska National Guard sex scandal, but Walker was uniquely positioned to take advantage of that. Walker is a former Republican (ran against Parnell in 2010 primary) who, while quite conservative on social issues, ran a unity campaign with the Democratic challenger Mallott by running on their common economic policies. They ran a very positive campaign, something quite different from the constant stream of negative stories in October/November about the Parnell administration.

[RI]

He appears to be just as fiscally and socially conservative as Sean Parnell, if not more. For starters, he's clearly pro-life, for spending cuts, and yet, for public works (like Parnell). He also seems to have been sympathetic to some of Parnell's socially conservative moves.

This is clearly not the case. Walker is more fiscally liberal than Parnell on several key issues, including ACA Medicaid expansion, which Parnell is ardently against. He's not a liberal, but he's much more moderate than Parnell. See here.

[RI]

Get ready for four years of gridlock, Alaska.  You tossed out the decent, bipartisan Republican for an extreme, hackish "Independent."  You've made your bed, now lie in it.

What kind of hack do you think Bill Walker is, exactly? Please, elaborate.

Parnell was know for his ability to work with Democrats, something which upset the Tea Partiers.  He was Palin's lieutenant governor, and she still endorsed Walker over him.  Walker is nothing but a hyperpartisan, Tea Party Republican hack.

lol