fbpx
Politics Foreign Affairs Culture Fellows Program

Walker and National Security

Matt Purple joins in the speculation about Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker as a possible presidential candidate: Walker will eventually have to come out of the shadows, most notably on foreign policy, which has become the topic du jour in the Republican public sphere, and with which Walker, as a governor, has very little experience. I’ll […]

Matt Purple joins in the speculation about Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker as a possible presidential candidate:

Walker will eventually have to come out of the shadows, most notably on foreign policy, which has become the topic du jour in the Republican public sphere, and with which Walker, as a governor, has very little experience. I’ll leave you with Walker’s thoughts on the NSA’s expansive surveillance programs. Is he bringing some needed moderation to the debate? Or copping out?

Walker’s answer is very carefully balanced so as to avoid committing himself entirely to either camp. He isn’t going to gain anything by drawing the ire of Paul or Christie backers at this early stage, and so he diplomatically avoids the substance of the dispute and congratulates both sides for their respective concerns. It’s true that Walker has no foreign policy experience, and like almost all governors so far he has said virtually nothing on the subject.

Walker is reportedly putting together a campaign book and he’s having Marc Thiessen write it. I suppose it’s possible that Walker could choose to work with Thiessen without knowing about or agreeing with the latter’s extremely hawkish views on national security, but it seems unlikely. Put another way, if you were a politician interested positioning yourself “somewhere in between” Paul and Christie on national security issues, would you select an ardent defender of Bush-era torture methods as your ghostwriter? No, you wouldn’t.

Advertisement

Comments

The American Conservative Memberships
Become a Member today for a growing stake in the conservative movement.
Join here!
Join here