Scott Walker in The New York Times
On Immigration:
We have too many legal immigrants
Ahead of the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition event, Walker hardened his positions on issues considered litmus tests for social conservatives, including abortion and immigration. He suggested in an interview with
Glenn Beck that there are too many legal immigrants, a position to the right of other 2016 hopefuls.
Source: N.Y. Times on 2015 Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition summit
Apr 25, 2015
On Principles & Values:
My relationship with God drives every major decision
It is Walker's biography that could make him especially attractive to Christian conservatives. A life story that began in the Baptist churches his father led in Colorado, Iowa and Wisconsin continues today at the nondenominational evangelical church he
attends in his hometown. "My relationship with God drives every major decision in my life," Walker said in an emailed statement. While that relationship does not direct his daily decisions, he said, "our walk of faith helps us prepare for those
decisions and provides us comfort as we seek to do God's will."During his political rise in Wisconsin, Walker did not often emphasize his faith.
But evangelicals make up nearly 60% of Republican caucusgoers in Iowa. They are an important factor in Southern primaries. And they continue to have an outsize influence on the Republican nominating process.
Source: N.Y. Times on 2015 Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition summit
Apr 1, 2015
On Principles & Values:
Raised as a "P.K.", Pastor's Kid, by his father Pastor Llew
Walker was raised a dutiful "P.K.," or pastor's kid. Walker's father, the Rev. Llewellyn S. Walker, was a minister in the American Baptist Churches USA, a more pluralistic denomination than the conservative and better-known Southern Baptist Convention.
Pastor Llew, as he was known, is a Republican, but politics and the social causes of the day did not animate his First Baptist Church in Delavan, Wis., where Walker lived from age 10 until he left for college. His father was foremost "a caregiver to the
congregation," said the church's current pastor. He would spend half a day sitting in the hospital room of an ailing church member, praying and shooting the breeze.Before the elder Walker retired in 1995, at the age of 56, he struggled with
depression. His wife, Pat, and the teenage Scott Walker shouldered some of his pastoral duties. "There were Sundays when Scott would preach the sermon," the current pastor said.
Source: N.Y. Times on 2015 Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition summit
Apr 1, 2015
On Abortion:
Supports Personhood Amendment prohibiting all abortions
It was a memorable political ad: Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin spoke directly into the camera in a 30-second spot last fall and called abortion an "agonizing" decision. He described himself as pro-life but, borrowing the language of the abortion rights
movement, pointed to legislation he signed that leaves "the final decision to a woman and her doctor."That language was gone when Walker met privately with Iowa Republicans in a hotel conference room last month, according to a person who attended
the meeting. There, he highlighted his early support for a "personhood amendment," which defines life as beginning at conception and would effectively prohibit all abortions and some methods of birth control.
But the governor is also making an aggressive effort to win the hearts of the party's Christian conservatives. In doing so, he is stressing a much harder line on social issues than he did just a few months ago.
Source: N.Y. Times, "Woo Christian conservatives," by J. Martin
Feb 23, 2015
On Civil Rights:
2013: same-sex marriage issue over; 2015: issue not settled
The governor is stressing a much harder line on social issues than he did just a few months ago, when he faced a robust challenge from a well-funded Democratic woman in his run for re-election as governor. The shift in emphasis and tone is noticeable on
same-sex marriage, an issue of intense interest to social conservatives. In 2013, Walker argued that Republicans, to win back the White House, must not become distracted from a focus on fiscal issues.
Asked about same-sex marriage, he said, "I don't talk about it at all."
Last fall, after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal to preserve Wisconsin's ban on same-sex marriage, Walker conceded, "For us, it's over in Wisconsin."
During the meeting with Iowa Christian conservative leaders last month, when the same issue arose, he struck a different posture. One attendee reported that Walker said the issue is not settled.
Source: N.Y. Times, "Woo Christian conservatives," by J. Martin
Feb 23, 2015
Page last updated: May 20, 2019