A: Wisconsin has a law that prohibits discrimination in the workplace. I have enforced that, I'll push for enforcing laws like that all across the country. And when it comes to women's health care. We took money out of the hands of Planned Parenthood, and put it into noncontroversial areas to provide for women's health.
A: I'm going to have the backs of the men and women who carry the badge in this country. I know the overwhelming majority of them are doing the right thing every day under extremely difficult circumstances. In the rare instances if they're not, we're going to speak out about that. I'm proud to say I'm the only governor in America who signed a law that says there needs to be an independent investigation any time there's a death of someone in police custody.
A: America has permanently settled some 70,000 refugees, many of which are from Syria. Throughout the last several years, we put some $4 billion into humanitarian relief to help with the Syrian crisis. America is leading but at some point, you can't just look at the symptoms. You've got to address the problem and the problem is squarely with ISIS and it's with Assad.[President Obama] is not allowing our military personnel to do what they're trained to do, if we would just lift the political restrictions, empower the over 3,000 troops that are there to do what they're trained to do to help the Kurd and the Sunni allies reclaim the territory taken by ISIS.
These projects don't work and are in fact bad deals for taxpayers. There is no statistically positive correlation between sports facility construction and economic development. And there are hundreds of such deals across the country.
Merits aside, the Walker initiative presents a test for the right, especially the Tea Party. They've been somewhat consistent in opposing sports subsidies. But Gov. Walker has been perhaps the most outspoken Republican about the need for clear principled actions, on social policy and economic policy. When you hold yourself to a higher standard, small inconsistencies are magnified. If Gov. Walker is to be the candidate of the true believers, the free market, Ayn Rand, and austerity bugs, he's got some explaining to do.
Scott Walker seized the opportunity to attack Obama. He emphasized that American troops should play a larger role in the fight against the Islamic State terror group and that the president should reach out more to Kurds and Sunnis for cooperation. "For political reasons, President Obama isn't willing to expand the role of American troops," said the Wisconsin governor in a statement posted on the website of his Our American Revival PAC. "Politics should never dictate what needs to be done to ensure our safety and ensure victory when we deploy military power."
The passage of right to work marked a shift in Walker's position. The governor said repeatedly during the intense battle over Act 10--his 2011 law that repealed most collective bargaining for public workers--that he would not let legislation affecting private-sector unions reach his desk.
Walker signed the bill at a Milwaukee area factory, saying it represented "one more big tool" for attracting businesses and investment to the state. "This sends a powerful message across the country and across the world," Walker said. "'Wisconsin is Open For Business' now is more than just a slogan. It's a way of doing business."
Walker said in last year's campaign he opposed abortion, but refused to say whether he supported banning the procedure after 20 weeks. In a Tuesday letter, he addressed specific legislation head on: "As the Wisconsin legislature moves forward in the coming session, further protections for mother and child are likely to come to my desk in the form of a bill to prohibit abortions after 20 weeks," his letter said. "I will sign that bill when it gets to my desk and support similar legislation on the federal level. I was raised to believe in the sanctity of life and I will always fight to protect it."
WALKER: What I'm doing with the University of Wisconsin system, is I'm giving them the same sorts of tools I gave to public education four years ago: the same critics said that was going to devastate public education. I took away seniority in tenure and now, we can hire and fire based on merit. We can pay based on performance. We can put the best and the brightest in our classrooms
Q: But U.W. says they're going to have to raise tuition on students.
WALKER: But they're not. We have a two-year tuition freeze.
Q: But after that?
WALKER: Going forward, we have a cap on it tied to inflation. And so, we will be much more affordable than just about any other campus in America. We believe it's not about austerity, it's about reform. The reforms that worked before will work here.
WALKER: No, I'm not talking about amnesty.
Q: But you said you supported it.
WALKER: And my view has changed. I'm flat out saying it. Candidates can say that. Sometimes they don't.
Q: So, you've changed from 2013?
WALKER: Absolutely. I look at the problems we've experienced for the last few years. I've talked to governors on the border and others out there. I've talked to people all across America. And the concerns I have is that we need to secure the border. We ultimately need to put in place a system that works. A legal immigration system that works. And part of doing this is put the onus on employers, getting them E-Verify and tools to do that. But I don't think you do it through amnesty.
WALKER: Abraham Lincoln I think had it right. He said, "God doesn't pick winners in politics. He just calls us to be on his side." And in this case, I think there are people of faith who can have a variety of political views out there. But for us personally, you know, we make important decisions like we did years ago to run for governor. And a lot of it was about Tonette and I and our sons praying about it and asking if it was God's will for us to run. When I got married, when we had children, we made other important decisions. And the same thing would be true in making a decision here. We're trying to discern whether or not it's God's will for us to run and then ultimately figure out the next step in terms of who's winning, that's going to be up to the voters.
WALKER: I believe we should not take any action off the table. I don't want to run into the war. But I don't want any of [our soldiers] to have died in vain. I think when we look at that and say there's radical Islamic terrorism, it's like a virus, we needed to be prepared to do what it takes to make sure it doesn't spread.
Q: You say you wouldn't take anything off the table, but that doesn't quite answer my question. Would you commit US ground forces?
WALKER: For me to do something like that would require a number of things. Listening to the chain of command, particularly the Joint Chiefs, your national security advisers and others, as to what's necessary and listening to the people who are actually out in the field is the best way to do that. But then also bring together a coalition. Certainly, reaffirming our major asset, our major ally in the region, that being Israel, but also our other allies around the world.
Walker responded by ticking through his recent itinerary of face time with foreign policy luminaries: a breakfast with Henry Kissinger, a huddle with George Shultz and tutorials at the American Enterprise Institute and the Hoover Institute. But then Walker suggested that didn't much matter: "I think foreign policy is something that's not just about having a PhD or talking to PhD's," he said. "It's about leadership."
Walker contended that "the most significant foreign policy decision of my lifetime" was then-President Ronald Reagan's move to bust a 1981 strike of air traffic controllers, firing some 11,000 of them. "It sent a message not only across America, it sent a message around the world," Walker said. America's allies and foes alike became convinced that Reagan was serious enough to take action and that "we weren't to be messed with," he said.
Walker sought to convince [his audience] that if he were elected president, "I would listen to the chain of command. I would listen to the generals in the field, not just those in the joint chiefs. I would listen to the secretary of state, to the secretary of defense and to the national security adviser."
In a statement later, Walker said "Both science and my faith dictate my belief that we are created by God" and that "I believe faith and science are compatible, and go hand in hand."
WALKER: They did. Yes, wide receivers.
Q: You love football. But when you look at the concussions, when you look at what's happened, can you imagine saying to your grandchildren, 'yes, go do that'?
WALKER: I think in a state like Wisconsin, we actually have pretty good standards. My kids, even a few years ago, one of them had an early concussion, and was out for 10 days. They wouldn't let him back in until he had a full checkup. That actually should have happened a long time ago, and I'm hopeful other states around the country will do that. Because I think a lot of us enjoy football.
Q: If you were out there in Arizona?
WALKER: I'd be in Phoenix watching the Packers take on the Patriots, but I still think, like anything in life, there's ways of doing it that are responsible, and I still think football can be responsible in America.
WALKER: I think for sure, we need to secure the border. I think we need to enforce the legal system. I'm not for amnesty, I'm not an advocate of the plans that have been pushed here in Washington. We've got to have a healthy balance. We're a country both of immigrants and of laws. We can't ignore the laws in this country, can't ignore the people who come in, whether it's from Mexico or Central America.
Q: But is deporting them possible?
WALKER: That's not what I'm advocating. I am saying in the end, we need to enforce the laws in the United States, and we need to find a way for people to have a legitimate legal immigration system in this country, and that does not mean amnesty.
WALKER: You can give speeches all you want, but I think what we have is not only amongst Republican voters, but even with independents, people want people to lead. They don't need to agree with you 100 percent of the time on every issue, but they are so sick and tired of politicians in both parties, particularly in Washington, who say one thing on the campaign trail and do something else. I think those 100,000 protesters four years ago who came in and around our capitol showed, if we think we're doing the right thing for the people, it doesn't matter what the intimidation factor is. We'll stand up and stand up for them.
WALKER: Well, I'd go back to the red line [that Obama defined against use of chemical weapons].
Q: Let's not go back. Let's go forward. What is your big, bold idea in Syria?
WALKER: I think aggressively, we need to take the fight to ISIS and any other radical Islamic terrorist in and around the world, because it's not a matter of IF they attempt an attack on American soil, but it's WHEN. We need leadership that says clearly, not only amongst the United States but amongst our allies, that we're willing to take appropriate action. I think it should be surgical.
Q: You don't think 2,000 air strikes is taking it to ISIS in Syria and Iraq?
WALKER: I think we need to have an aggressive strategy anywhere around the world.
WALKER: I think we need to have an aggressive strategy anywhere around the world.
Q: I don't know what "aggressive" strategy means.
WALKER: I think anywhere and everywhere, we have to go beyond just aggressive air strikes. We have to look at other surgical methods. And ultimately, we have to be prepared to put boots on the ground if that's what it takes, because I think--
Q: Boots on the ground in Syria? U.S. boots on the ground in Syria?
WALKER: I don't think that is an immediate plan, but I think anywhere in the world--
Q: But you would not rule that out?
WALKER: I wouldn't rule anything out. I think when you have the lives of Americans at stake and our freedom loving allies anywhere in the world, we have to be prepared to do things that don't allow those measures, those attacks, those abuses to come to our shores.
WALKER: In the last year, from September to September, we saw the best private-sector job growth we've seen in more than a decade. Our unemployment rate's down from 9.2% in 2010 down to 5.5%. And I think if you lower taxes, ease regulations, and put the power back in the hands of the people to create jobs, you can do just that. And you can do it all across the country.
Q: Compared to the national average, when it comes to wage growth, Wisconsin is below the national average. Is it possible that the idea of cutting taxes as a way to create jobs and stimulate the economy just isn't working in Wisconsin?
WALKER: No, that's just the opposite. The reason revenues are down is because we cut withholding. "Withholding" is where the government takes more of your money than you actually owe them and holds onto them without getting you interest. We cut that in April.
WALKER: No. From our standpoint, we did something unique, unlike just about any other state in the country. For the first time ever, not a person in our state is on a waiting list for people living in poverty. They all have access to healthcare through Medicaid, but those living above it are transitioned into the marketplace and we don't put our taxpayers at risk. States that have taken the Medicaid expansion are betting on the fact that the Congress and the president are going to magically somehow come up with new money. They haven't paid that money for Medicaid even to the states as we speak.
WALKER: Well, in our case, we had double digits with independent. Our state's a blue state historically. We can't win without independents. We won with double digit votes from independent voters. And probably one of the most exciting things for me was 18 to 24 year olds was statistically essentially a tie. So we reached out to young voters, not just traditional voters, who were voting our way.
Q: You said that you thought that the reason why you had success in Wisconsin and that President Obama had success in Wisconsin is that you were both principled in your beliefs. Do you think that centrism doesn't work in Wisconsin?
WALKER: I think in Wisconsin, we're very much like the rest of America. Independent voters, which decide elections in swing states like ours want people to lead. They want people to have big, bold ideas, and then act on them
Many conservative GOP candidates slammed the Supreme Court's rulings--Cruz vowed to introduce a constitutional amendment that would prevent federal courts or government from voiding state laws on marriage--but others considered the more strategic implications.
Walker, who is in a tough re-election battle, declared after the court's ruling that the fight to prevent same-sex marriage was "over in Wisconsin."
WALKER: Any discussion about this should be focused on what sort of reforms are we going to put in place [for] people looking for work. Well, the federal government doesn't require a lot. We just made a change last year so that people had to look five times or more a week for work without our requirement change. They could go as little as two times a week. If I was out of work, I'd be looking more than twice a week for a job. I'd be looking for every day except maybe today. I take Sunday off to go to church and pray that I could find a job on Monday, but I think there need to be reforms in that system.
WALKER: You know, again, I look at that. Years ago, I worked at McDonald's when I was a kid. Actually, Paul Ryan worked down the road from me in Janesville. I worked in a small town called Delavan. Those were great jobs to start out with. My great fear is for young people like Paul and I were back then and my kids a few years ago when they worked those sorts of jobs, they'd be without work. We have a high unemployment rate amongst young people. If we are to raise that artificially, we'd take that away. Instead, what we need to focus on is helping people find the skills they need to fill much better paying jobs, those family-supporting career-type jobs. Artificially raising the minimum wage whether it's at the state or the federal level is not going to do that. Creating an environment where employers create jobs will do just that.
WALKER: I'm not backing away from my positions. I'm proudly pro-life, but for me the reason I was elected in 2010, the reason I was elected again in 2012, the reason I hope I'll be eventually elected yet again in 2014 like other governors across the country, is because we focused obsessively on helping fix the economy and the private sector and helping put in place a balanced budget that can sustain us at both the state and local level. I think people want us to do that. It's not just politically popular, it's what people elect us to do. I got to the point in the 2010 election where I was so focused on fixing our economic and fiscal crisis [because regular voters] care about my plan to get the economy going again and to keep our balanced budget.
WALKER: I think long-term a much better option for us here in Wisconsin and across the country is to replace it with something market-driven. But for us, we didn't take the Medicaid expansion. We didn't do a state exchange. But long-term we can't go back to the status quo. What we need to do is go to a market-driven position.
A: In our state, it was in the constitution years ago [protecting homosexual civil rights, but not gay marriage]. It rarely is an issue.
Q: But you've said it's generational.
A: I think it is.
Q: Are younger conservatives more apt to see marriage equality as something that is what they believe, rather than as a disqualifying issue?
A: No doubt about that. But that's all the more reason, to talk about the economic crisis. People don't want to get focused on [gay marriage] issues.
Q: Do gays have the right to follow their love?
A: On the generational standpoint, I've had young people ask me about [not just] expanding it to include folks who are not one man and one woman, but rather questioning why the government's sanctioning it in the first place? And that would be the alternative, say not have the government sanction marriage, period. And leave that up to the churches and the synagogues and others to define that
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The above quotations are from Sunday Political Talk Show interviews during 2013-2015, interviewing presidential hopefuls for 2016.
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