CNBC's Larry Kudlow Praises Scott Walker: 'You Were A Truth-Teller'

CNBC anchor Larry Kudlow wants you to know that he believes in Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R). And he wants Walker to know it, too.

"You were a truth-teller of the difficulties of the budget in Wisconsin and the over-pensions and the overpayments and health care and salaries, and so forth, and too many union rights. And it worked. People like a truth-teller," Kudlow told Walker while interviewing the Wisconsin governor at the Republican National Convention on Monday.

"I believe you singlehandedly turned that state around," Kudlow said of Walker's governorship in Wisconsin. "You are yourself a fiscal expert of some renown. You are also regarded as a political genius by a lot of people."

Hard-hitting.

Walker has famously used tough tactics to eliminate the collective bargaining rights of Wisconsin's public employees and lower teachers' pay, all in the name of balancing the state's budget. Democrats launched a recall effort against Walker last year, but the governor prevailed in June.

He has been less of a truth-teller on unemployment. Although government statistics show that Wisconsin is losing jobs more quickly than any other state, according to Bloomberg News, Walker has been releasing his own rosier unemployment numbers that claim Wisconsin gained jobs instead of losing them last year.

After fawning over Walker, who gamely accepted the praise, Kudlow focused the rest of his questions on how Republicans could shape their campaign message in order to win the presidential election.

"Can it work nationwide?" Kudlow asked of Walker's Wisconsin strategy. "If you tell the folks just how bad the Medicare situation is, if you tell them how difficult the Social Security situation is, if you level with them about the unemployment and the lack of employment opportunities, does truth-telling work in a national election?"

With roughly three unemployed Americans per job opening, surely Americans need politicians to explain to them that it's hard to get a job these days -- about as much as they need politicians to scare them about Social Security when it can be fixed just by raising taxes on the rich.