“So to those of us who know him, to those of us who’ve heard him speak, to those of us who have studied his career and know how fearless he is and how successful he’s been, showing up in Iowa and giving a gangbuster performance is not a surprise,” the conservative rock star said.

“This is not a new Scott Walker. This is who he’s always been,” Limbaugh said. “But he’s appearing to be a surprise because there hasn’t been a whole lot of reporting on the guy outside of the state of Wisconsin.”

“I can’t tell you how many times I have openly expressed my incredulity here that the Republican Party has not, as a national enterprise, attempted to incorporate Scott Walker’s blueprint,” the he said. “He’s shown how to beat the left. He has shown how to beat the unions. He has shown how to revive a state’s economy. He’s shown how to cut taxes and increase economic output. He has shown how to increase employment in the middle of an Obama economy. He has done all of this in a state like Wisconsin, big blue state.”