Opinion

Scott Walker goes wobbly

We have reported over the past few months Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s stumbling campaign. The flip-flops (on immigration, ethanol, gay marriage), the lackluster debate performance and a lack of both policy and presence have plagued him. And that is what the Walker team itself now admits.

The Post reports:

In a conference call, one-on-one conversations and at a Tuesday lunch, the Wisconsin governor and favorite of anti-union conservatives told backers that his campaign is shifting to a more aggressive posture and will seek to tap into the anti-establishment fervor fueling the rise of Donald Trump and other outsider candidates.

During a conference call with top fundraisers Monday afternoon, Walker and his campaign manager were relatively candid in their assessment of the campaign’s shortcomings, according to notes of the conversation taken by a participant. Walker said the campaign will strive to do better in three areas: protest, passion and policy.

Unfortunately for Walker, his campaign has misdiagnosed the problem and is, in fact, making things worse. Instead of racing to catch up to Trump — making Walker appear desperate and weak — he needs to define his own position in the mainstream of the party. Now he is stuck fending off question after question about repealing birthright citizenship — a policy he embraced only because Trump talked about it. This is reminiscent of his recent struggles over gay marriage. As governor, he was content to let the courts have a final say; as a presidential candidate, he tried to hawk a constitutional amendment.