Walker's rapid rise has left behind a fresh and plentiful record on a variety of issues that are now getting a closer look.
Since he came into the
national spotlight, some of Walker's positions have shifted to the right
as he seems to be situating himself to the more conservative end of the
Republican spectrum in an effort to gain the Republican nomination.
He has changed his
position on immigration and has shifted on half a dozen other issues. As
a result, Walker is getting some pointed questions from some on the
right. A "member diary" on the conservative website Red State wrote, "Spoiler alert: you may conclude that Walker is a flip flopper."
But shifting and
evolving in positions is also part of the process of transitioning from a
state-level candidate to a federal one, Mark Graul, Wisconsin-based
Republican strategist, said. "Let's give this guy some time to develop
his intricacies on federal policy," said Graul.
Here are some issues where Walker has moved recently:
Immigration
Scott Walker has
recently declared his opposition to "amnesty." While amnesty can be
defined in a number of different ways, it is mostly defined as giving an
undocumented immigrant living in the U.S. citizenship or legal
residency. Walker has completely changed his position.
In 2002, as county executive, Walker, according to Politico,
approved a resolution that expressed "support of the Milwaukee County
Board of Supervisors for a new program similar to the Federal amnesty
program enacted by Congress in 1986 to allow undocumented working
immigrants to obtain legal residency in the United States…."
In the same position but
four years later, Walker signed a resolution in support of
comprehensive immigration reform that passed the Senate, according to the National Review.
As recently as 2013,
Walker told a local paper called Wasusau Daily Herald that "it makes
sense" for undocumented immigrants to obtain citizenship after penalties
and a waiting period.
Since then, Walker has
admitted to changing his position. After being pressed on Fox News
Sunday, Walker said, "My view has changed. I'm flat out saying it. I'm -
candidates can say that. Sometimes they don't."
At the Iowa Ag Summit in
early March, Walker said he's "not a supporter of amnesty. I know
there's some out there and I respect their views on that but I'm not a
supporter of amnesty."
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel gave Walker a "full flip" for his shift.
Renewable Fuel Standard -- Ethanol
Walker's most recent
shift in position is the renewable fuel standard, which is a federal
policy that mandates a certain percentage of ethanol be added to
gasoline. At the agriculture summit in Iowa over the weekend, Walker
said "it's something he's willing to move forward on." He previously
broadly said he didn't support government mandates.
Ethanol is an important
issue to Iowans, who are also influential in the presidential nominating
process as the first state to chime in on the nominee. And the issue is
especially important to Bruce Rastetter and his business interests. The
wealthy agriculture entrepreneur gives hundreds of thousands of dollars
to Republican candidates each election cycle and who hosted the summit.
While Walker has now
specifically weighed in with support for the standard, during his first
campaign for governor in 2006, which he lost, Walker was against
mandates, saying "mandates hurt Wisconsin's working families, and
whether they are from Washington or Madison, we as fiscal conservatives
should oppose them."
Wind Energy
Also at the Iowa summit,
Walker said he wants "as many different energy…options as possible out
there." He added that the wind energy tax credit "served a purpose."
But Walker's record as
governor paints a different picture. During his first term, he proposed a
bill that wind energy advocates said would be "the biggest regulatory
barrier" to wind energy in the country, according to a quote in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The measure required an 1800 foot barrier between any wind turbine and property line.
More recently, in his
latest budget released in February, Walker proposed $250,000 to study
the health impacts of wind energy on residents who live close to
turbines. Critics say it's a way to stall further production of wind
energy.
Right to Work Legislation
On Monday, Walker signed
into law so-called right to work legislation that would ban union
workers from the requirement of paying union dues. But last October, in
the midst of his reelection campaign, he told the Journal Sentinel,
"I'm making it clear in this campaign, as I'll make it clear in the
next (legislative) session, that that's not something that's part of my
agenda."
While his spokesperson
points out that Walker was a co-sponsor of similar legislation when he
was a member of the legislature, that was in 1993. On Fox News Sunday, Walker defended himself, saying "It's not a flip…. I never said I'd veto it." Walker signed it into law.
Common Core
Walker came into office
in 2011 after Wisconsin had already adopted the Common Core standards.
In his first budget, he supported its implementation. But since then his
position, like many Republican governors who are potentially running
for president, changed.
Walker started to move away from Common Core when he said in 2013 that Wisconsin should "have its own unique standards," and then in July of 2014,
a couple months before his reelection, he said he supports the "repeal
of Common Core and replace it with standards set by the people in
Wisconsin." In January
he threw his weight behind a proposal that would set up a commission to
review Common Core, which Common Core opponents say gives mixed
signals. It's not a repeal and they say his review commission doesn't go
far enough.
Abortion
Walker announced last
week that he would sign a bill that bans abortion after 20 weeks. "I was
raised to believe in the sanctity of life and I will always fight to
protect it," he said in a statement. In the statement, he also noted
that he defunded Planned Parenthood and prohibited abortion from being
covered in the health insurance exchanges.
While Walker has always
been anti-abortion, during what was expected to be a close reelection
against Democratic challenger Mary Burke in 2014, Walker released an ad
where he chose his words carefully and made it seem like he would not
support abortion bans. In the ad, he said he "support(s) legislation to
increase safety and provide more information for a woman considering her
options. The bill leaves the final decision to a woman and her doctor."
Obamacare
Walker has said he's
opposed to the Affordable Care Act, but Walker has used the program. He
transferred tens of thousands of Wisconsin Medicaid recipients to the
exchange program where they are eligible for federal subsidies.
Wisconsin's generous Medicaid program included people who made enough
money to qualify for federal support.
Walker also rejected the
financial support the federal government offered to the states to
expand its Medicaid program, but Walker expanded Medicaid to another
tens of thousands of people below the poverty line anyway, with the
state picking up the entire bill.
