This is not good. Three people have corroborated to the WSJ that Scott Walker is flip-flopping on a path to citizenship for illegals, denouncing it publicly but supporting it at a private dinner:
WSJ – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker told a private dinner of New Hampshire Republicans this month that he backed the idea of allowing undocumented immigrants to stay in the country and to eventually become eligible for citizenship, a position at odds with his previous public statements on the matter.
Mr. Walker’s remarks, which were confirmed by three people present and haven’t been reported previously, vary from the call he has made in recent weeks for “no amnesty”—a phrase widely employed by people who believe immigrants who broke the law by entering the country without permission shouldn’t be awarded legal status or citizenship.
Mr. Walker’s “no amnesty” position was itself a change from his prior decadelong support for a pathway to citizenship. He has explained in public that his recent shift to a more restrictive view came after consulting with border-state governors and hearing from people opposed to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
But during the March 13 New Hampshire dinner, organized by New Hampshire Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Horn at the Copper Door Restaurant in Bedford, Mr. Walker said undocumented immigrants shouldn’t be deported, and he mocked 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney’s suggestion that they would “self-deport,” according to people who were there.
Instead, they said, Mr. Walker said undocumented immigrants should be allowed to “eventually get their citizenship without being given preferential treatment” ahead of people already in line to obtain citizenship.
“He said no to citizenship now, but later they could get it,” said Bill Greiner, an owner of the Copper Door restaurant. Ken Merrifield, mayor of Franklin, N.H., who also attended, said Mr. Walker proposed that illegal immigrants should “get to the back of the line for citizenship” but not be deported.
I like Scott Walker but this isn’t going to go over very well if it’s true. The WSJ reported that his campaign refused to comment on his remarks at the private dinner, only reiterating his public position.
Dan Riehl, over at Breitbart, said this:
With three sources now (anonymously) on record, he appears to have Walkered himself right into this one. If his name becomes synonymous with waffling on a critical issue like immigration, his next nickname may be toast!
He’s right. If Scott Walker is pandering publicly to us in the ‘no amnesty’ crowd and telling the truth to private donors, then he’ll pretty much guarantee that I won’t be able to support him. And that stinks because he was one of the Republicans I was rooting for to do well.
Ya know, at least Jeb Bush is honest about where he stands on immigration.