Why a Walker Shouldn't Run

While it's pretty well-accepted that today's Republican Party has a self-admitted problem with attracting minorities, Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) -- who's presumed to be a candidate for the GOP nomination for president (and is actually leading in some opinion polls) -- apparently has decided to throw off all pretense and went all-in the other day.

Talking with Glenn Beck, Gov. Walker spoke out forcefully against immigration.  Wait, to be clear, this wasn't  "illegal immigration, but immigration, period -- regular, ordinary, legal immigration.  And no, this isn't something where a Walker spokesman can come back the next day and say that the governor was misquoted or taken out of context, or explain what he "actually meant," or that he had a brain cloud  No, Scott Walker was very clear and specifically said "legal immigration."  You know, the whole "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" thing that's on the Statue of Liberty.

"In terms of legal immigration," he explained, "how we need to approach that going forward is saying -- the next president and the next Congress need to make decisions about a legal immigration system that’s based on, first and foremost, on protecting American workers and American wages.".

Give me your tired, your poor, indeed.

Just to be clear, when someone is a "legal immigrant," they are here legally.  In fact, they are on the legal path to become actual American workers themselves.  And to be even more clear, when they are "legal immigrants," the wages they earn are real American wages.  It counts.  And it's all legal.  You can look it up.

Also, if this is such a critical problem, why wait until the "next Congress"?  The GOP controls both the House and Senate.  Why not press them to take it up?  Unless, perhaps, it's not really that pressing?  Or a problem at all, but just far right pandering to get the conservative base riled up about something that sounds like it's bad, even if it isn't remotely a problem.  Or an issue.  Like "death panels."  Or a Nigerian president.

I particularly liked, though, when Mr. Walker continued and said, "Because the more I’ve talked to folks, I’ve talked to [Sen. Jeff] Sessions and others out there -- but it is a fundamentally lost issue by many in elected positions today -- is what is this doing for American workers looking for jobs, what is this doing to wages. And we need to have that be at the forefront of our discussion going forward."

What I like is that when it comes to sources on immigration -- other than the ubiquitous "folks," whoever they are, whatever their concerns are -- Jeff Sessions (R-AL) is not generally your go-to guy, unless you're looking for an outspoken "NOOOOO!"  But mainly I like that Scott Walker refers to this as a "fundamentally lost issue."  Gee, so, why in the world do you think that is??  Maybe because most people who aren't small-minded or petty or xenophobic or racist or hate-filed understand that legal immigration isn't an issue worth getting concerned about and addressing.

Personally, I think calling this a "losing issue." rather than "lost" might be more accurate, and perhaps someone on the governor's staff might tell him that.  ("Er, sir, do we really want to come out against legal immigration?  Don't you think it might come back to make us look small and parochially narrow-minded?  And sort of silly?  And perhaps allow people to recognize that your own Wisconsin is made up of an inordinate amount of legal Swedish immigrants and generations of their families, who themselves might take offense in your backyard?")

On the other hand, it's comforting to know that there's at least consistency in the GOP.  When Mitt Romney was the party's presidential nominee, he infamously said how he didn't care about getting the votes of 47 percent of the country.  But then, given how America is a nation of immigrants -- sorry, legal immigrants -- that number of voters who Scott Walker doesn't care about getting the votes of might be a bit higher.

By way of reminder, Scott Walker is the same guy who on his recent trip to England, in an effort to make him seem like he had some foreign policy experience by virtue of vacationing in London, was asked about where he stood on vaccine inoculations, and said he would "punt" on the question.  So, his bona fides as a presidential candidate seem a bit more thin than ideal.  But then, too, as his vacation in London demonstrated his total lack of international experience, and his thoughts on legal immigrants confirm, Scott Walk might seem to have to have a problem with the world outside U.S. borders -- or even Wisconsin borders.  Something that's never a good sign in in someone who wants to be the President of the United States, the most powerful man in the world.

Perhaps the Cheesehead King might be a better title to go for at this year's annual Cheddar Fest in Racine.