Scott Walker's post-announcement honeymoon didn't last very long. The Wisconsin governor declared his entrance into the 2016 race with a promise to be a bold conservative who wins on principle, but on only his third day out he's already waffling on his commitment to targeting the LGBTQ community for discrimination.
On Tuesday, came out in opposition to the Boy Scouts of America's unanimous decision to overturn its ban on gay troop leaders only one day after announcing his candidacy. One day later, the Republican Wisconsin Governor attempted to walk that position back.
Here's what Walker told the conservative IJReview yesterday:
I was an Eagle Scout, my kids have been involved, Tonette (Walker) was a den mother.
I have had a lifelong commitment to the Scouts and support the previous membership policy because it protected children and advanced Scout values.
On Wednesday, after widespread media coverage noted Walker's suggestion that gay adults are child predators, Walker rushed to mitigate the damage, claiming he never meant that the ban protected boy scouts from gay leaders but actually protected the children from the debate Americans who want to discriminate against the LGBTQ community force upon the nation.
A spokesperson for Walker's campaign, said in a statement on Tuesday evening: "The previous policy protected Scouts from the rancorous political debate over policy issues and culture wars. Scouts should not be used as a political football on issues that can often be heated and divisive." And during a press conference in South Carolina today, the New York Times reports that Walker himself attempted to clarify his remarks, saying the ban protected children "from being involved in the very thing you’re talking about right now, the political and media discussion about it, instead of just focusing on what Scouts is about, which is about camping and citizenship and things of that nature.”
Makes perfect sense.
When Walker was specifically asked about his comment supporting the ban, explicitly calling out his claim that "it protected children" on Tuesday, Walker doubled down, citing the fact that his mother was a den mother and calling the ban "perfectly fine":
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