Scott Walker presidential campaign, 2016/Federalism
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 Scott Walker |
Governor of Wisconsin (2011-2019) Milwaukee County Executive (2002-2010) Wisconsin State Assembly (1993-2002) |
 Republican candidate: |
2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016 |
This page was current as of the 2016 election.
Judiciary
- In June 2015, Scott Walker called the decision in Obergefell v. Hodges "judicial activism."[2]
- In 2013, Walker said, “I think, in general, that executives — be it a governor, be it a county executive or be it a president — if he or she wants to put people into the administration, my belief is deference should be given to the chief executive in terms of the appointments they make to executive positions. Where I understand there’s a larger concern about judicial appointments is obviously … there does warrant a larger level of scrutiny just because on the federal bench you have lifetime appointments.”[3]
Legislative
- In 2015, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt began asking Republican candidates on his show if they would be willing to use the Senate "nuclear option" in order to get rid of the filibuster and repeal Obamacare. While Scott Walker didn't actually appear on the show, he is one of several candidates who said he would be in favor of invoking the "nuclear option."[4]
Term limits
- Scott Walker called for 12-year term limits for members of Congress and federal judges, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I've self-imposed them myself. I've never been in an elected position more than 10 years," Walker said.[5]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Speaking with The Blaze on September 3, 2015, Scott Walker said the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples for religious reasons should be given “some sort of reasonable accommodation.” He added, “The bottom line in America is we are a nation of laws. But part of those laws — in fact, the most important of those laws — is the Constitution. The Constitution is very clear about protecting freedom of religion, and the freedom to be able to practice religious beliefs in this country. I think it’s incredibly important those rights be protected in today’s society.”[6]
- Walker drew criticism from the Council on American-Islamic Relations on August 21, 2015, for stating there is a “handful of reasonable and moderate followers of Islam.” A spokesman for the Council said, “These types of inaccurate statements reflect a lack of understanding of Islam and Muslims that is, frankly, not presidential. If Mr. Walker believes only a 'handful' of Muslims are moderate or reasonable, then he is ignoring the very clear reality that violent extremists murder more Muslims than they do people of any other faith."[7]
- Following the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States under Obergefell v. Hodges, Walker released a statement saying, in part, "The First Amendment does not simply protect a narrow ‘right to worship,’ but provides broad protection to individuals and institutions to worship and act in accordance with their religious beliefs. In fact, the Wisconsin constitution explicitly protects the rights of conscience of our citizens. I can assure all Wisconsinites concerned about the impact of today’s decision that your conscience rights will be protected, and the government will not coerce you to act against your religious beliefs."[2]
- On April 1, 2015, Scott Walker commented on Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. He explained, "I just think this is people who are chronically looking for ways to be upset about things instead of really looking at what it is. ... I believe protecting religious freedom is inherent in our state constitution." Walker added, "Heck, it's inherent in our U.S. Constitution. And in Wisconsin we've done it and we're stronger for it."[8]
- In October 2013, Walker's administration settled a federal lawsuit brought by a protestor by paying $88,000 in attorneys' fees and eliminating the "hard-and-fast requirement that larger groups protesting in the Capitol receive a permit." The litigation arose from how the administration handled an uptick in the number of protests against Walker for his position on collective bargaining over the course of two years.[9]
- In 1999, Walker sponsored a bill that would prohibit any person who owns, operates or manages a casino or racetrack in any state from contributing to candidates in Wisconsin.[10]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Scott Walker issued an executive order to allow members of the Wisconsin National Guard to carry weapons while on duty following the July 2015 shootings in Chattanooga, Tennessee at two Marine recruitment offices.[11]
- In June 2015, Walker signed "into law two bills that, respectively, get rid of the state’s 48-hour waiting period and let retired or off-duty law enforcement officials carry concealed firearms into public schools."[12]
- According to Politico in April 2015, Walker "[m]ade it harder for local officials to close shooting ranges" and "[o]pposed legislation in 2013 to expand background checks on firearm sales as a way to reduce gun violence, saying he preferred focusing on mental health efforts instead." In 2014, Walker also signed into law a bill "requiring people who are served with temporary restraining orders to be notified that they must surrender their firearms."[13]
- In 2011, Walker signed a concealed carry bill into law, making Wisconsin the 49th state to allow people to carry concealed weapons.[14]
- In 2001, Walker supported legislation that allowed the Department of Natural Resources to request background checks from the Department of Justice for anyone issued a hunting license that authorizes the use of a firearm.[15]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- After stating his support for the full reauthorization of the Patriot Act in June 2015, Scott Walker suggested he did not believe it invoked privacy concerns. Walker said, "It's not about eavesdropping. . . . It's a matter of collecting the data and accessing it under a very legal, constitutional process only when we’ve got clear evidence that someone is connected with an enemy combatant."[16]
Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In June 2015, in response to the decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, Scott Walker said marriage equality was a question for the states and not the courts. Walker wrote in a statement, "In 2006 I, like millions of Americans, voted to amend our state constitution to protect the institution of marriage from exactly this type of judicial activism. The states are the proper place for these decisions to be made, and as we have seen repeatedly over the last few days, we will need a conservative president who will appoint men and women to the Court who will faithfully interpret the Constitution and laws of our land without injecting their own political agendas. As a result of this decision, the only alternative left for the American people is to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to reaffirm the ability of the states to continue to define marriage."[2]
- In an interview with Rare in 2014, Walker said that the No Child Left Behind Act was an infringement on state's rights. He also said, the founders, "understood that government closest to the people, in many ways, is the most effective. And again, as I point out in the book, it’s one thing if you don’t like the city that you live in. You can move if you don’t like the people who are elected to run the state or the commonwealth. You can move. It’s awfully hard to move out of the country that you love, and we shouldn’t have to! Because we should be on limited focus. Federalism should be alive today. It should be something that isn’t necessarily pushed by one party or another. It’s a set of principles that were the founding base of this country, and we’d be a lot better off if more of the decisions whether it’s – one, I don’t think healthcare should be mandated by the federal or the state government – but even things like education and other things of that nature really are not appropriately addressed at the federal level, they should be pushed onto the states."[17]
Crime and justice
- In 2014, Scott Walker signed a bill expanding when strip searches may be conducted by county jailers.[18]
- According to Laurel Patrick, a Walker spokesperson, in 2014, "Governor Walker believes that the public — and most importantly victims — deserve to know at the time of sentencing how long a felon will serve in prison. Governor Walker was the author of truth-in-sentencing that eliminated parole because of that belief. He mentioned that when he ran in 2010, and he is keeping his promise to the people of Wisconsin."[19]
- When asked in 2010 if he supported changing Wisconsin law on the death penalty, Walker responded, "Years ago, I worked on legislation to end the statute of limitations for sexual assault crimes when the case involved DNA evidence. I spent a great deal of time working with prosecutors and experts. The accuracy of DNA convinced me to support the death penalty referendum in 2006 – and I support it today."[20]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Scott + Walker + Government
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ New York Times, "Scott Walker Said to Be Quitting Run for President," September 21, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Talking Points Memo, "Walker To Wisconsin: I Won't 'Coerce You To Act Against Your Religious Beliefs'," June 26, 2015
- ↑ Politico, “Scott Walker: President Obama and I had vision for offices," November 22, 2013
- ↑ Politico, "Filibuster divides GOP 2016 contenders," July 6, 2015
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Scott Walker pushes term limits but broke pledge as county executive," August 26, 2015
- ↑ The Blaze, "Scott Walker Calls for ‘Reasonable Accommodation’ in Kentucky Clerk Case," September 3, 2015
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Scott Walker: There's a 'handful of reasonable, moderate followers of Islam'," August 22, 2015
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Walker: There is an overreaction to Indiana's religious freedom law," accessed April 16, 2015
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Scott Walker administration to accept just notice for Capitol protests," October 8, 2013
- ↑ Wisconsin.gov, “Walker, Rep. Scott K.," accessed December 11, 2014
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Scott Walker issues executive order to arm National Guard members," July 21, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "Scott Walker signs two pro-gun bills," June 24, 2015
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Scott Walker sells loaded Second Amendment record to NRA," April 10, 2015
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Walker signs concealed-carry measure into law," accessed January 5, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin.gov, “Walker, Rep. Scott K.," accessed December 11, 2014
- ↑ YouTube, "Scott Walker Discusses American Safety on Fox & Friends," June 3, 2015
- ↑ Rare.us, “Scott Walker: States should resist federal dictates — 'Federalism should be alive today'," January 13, 2014
- ↑ NBC 15, "Governor signs bill expanding strip searches," April 16, 2014
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Ministers, others press Scott Walker for parole reforms," July 9, 2014
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "On the issues: Death penalty," September 14, 2010
