Posted on 03/27/2015 11:23:46 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
The Boy Scout Motto is "Be Prepared."
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who achieved the rank of Eagle Scout as a teen, has taken that motto seriously. His Eagle Scout status has him so prepared, he indicated this week, he's ready to serve as commander in chief of the U.S. military.
The Republican governor and likely 2016 presidential candidate spoke on Wednesday at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Phoenix, Arizona. The event was closed to press, but video of Walker's conversation with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt was recorded by the opposition research group American Bridge and released by the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now.
According to the video, the final question Hewitt asked Walker was, "Does the prospect of being commander in chief daunt you? Because the world that you describe when you're talking about safety is going to require a commitment to American men and women abroad, obviously at some point. How do you think about that?"
Walker first acknowledged, "That's an appropriate question."
"As a kid, I was in Scouts. And one of the things I’m proudest of when I was in Scouts is I earned the rank of Eagle," Walker said. "Being an Eagle Scout is one of the few things you get as a kid that, you are not the past, it’s something you are."
The governor said whenever he attends an Eagle Scout ceremony, he tells the young man being honored that he's not there to congratulate him, but to issue a charge — that once a Scout obtains the Eagle ranking, he is responsible for living up to that calling for the rest of his life.
He then drew from his Eagle Scout experience discussing his military philosophy.
"America is an exceptional country," Walker said. "And I think, unfortunately, sometimes there are many in Washington who think those of us who believe we are exceptional means we are superior, that we're better than others in the world.
"And to me, much like my thought process of being an Eagle Scout is, no, being an exceptional country means we have a higher responsibility ... not just to care for ourselves and our own interests, but to lead in the world, to ensure that all freedom-loving people have the capacity, who yearn for that freedom, to have that freedom."
Speaking to his military strategy, Walker said the U.S. needs to engage in military action when appropriate, but that it must be done with "a plan and a charge that ultimately leads to victory."
The Eagle Scout analogy is one that's likely to offend less than a comparison the governor made in February, addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference.
In Washington, D.C., Walker pointed to his experience battling Wisconsin's public sector unions in 2011 as an indication of how tough he would be when dealing with terrorists.
"If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the world," Walker said at CPAC.
Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now (OWN), says both analogies show a major overreach on Walker's part.
"Kudos to Gov. Walker for, as a teen, achieving the highest ranking possible for a Boy Scout. But let’s be honest, that does not qualify him to be the commander in chief of the United States military," Ross said.
Luke Mathers, who earned the Eagle Scout rank in 2012, said his experience in the Boy Scouts instilled in him a strong sense of civic duty to his community and his state. It also helped him to grow as a person, he said.
Mathers, an intern at OWN, cited a two-week backpacking trip that taught him as much about camaraderie and working with others as it did about himself.
To be an Eagle Scout, Mathers said, "you have to be able to work with people." The ability to coordinate and balance is key.
Mathers has nothing but praise for Eagle Scouts. But he's skeptical about using the rank as a qualification for any position, let alone commander in chief.
"I think you can gain a lot (as a scout), but I do not believe the rank alone should be the qualifying factor on why you're fit to do something," Mathers said.
"One Wisconsin Now (OWN) is a liberal issue advocacy organization based in Wisconsin that focuses on advancing "progressive leadership and values."
Obama Kids Music Video : Cute or Creepy ? "We're going to change the world; Obama, Obama's gonna lead us; yes we can-can-can; yes we can-can-can, yes we can-can-can, yes we can-can-can...."
The Cairo-Madison Connection [Noam Chomsky's take on Scott Walker and the WI protests] "...Linguist and social activist Noam Chomsky (a self-described libertarian socialist) said that the Wisconsin protests and the 2011 Egyptian revolution "are closely intertwined", and that both consist of "struggles for labor rights and democracy". Source
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On my honor, I will do my best To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.
Note that the Boy Scout Oath has traditionally been considered to have three promises. Those three promises are delineated by the semicolons in the Oath, which divide it into three clauses. The three promises of the Scout Oath are, therefore:
Duty to God and country,
Duty to other people, and
Duty to self
DUTY TO GOD AND COUNTRY: Your family and religious leaders teach you to know and serve God. By following these teachings, you do your duty to God.
Men and women of the past worked to make America great, and many gave their lives for their country. By being a good family member and a good citizen, by working for your country's good and obeying its laws, you do your duty to your country. Obeying the Scout Law means living by its 12 points.
DUTY TO OTHER PEOPLE: Many people need help. A cheery smile and a helping hand make life easier for others. By doing a Good Turn daily and helping when you're needed, you prove yourself a Scout and do your part to make this a better world.
DUTY TO SELF: Keeping yourself physically strong means taking care of your body. Eat the right foods and build your strength. Staying mentally awake means learn all you can, be curious, and ask questions. Being morally straight means to live your life with honesty, to be clean in your speech and actions, and to be a person of strong character."
Boy Scout Law
A Scout is:
Trustworthy,
Loyal,
Helpful,
Friendly,
Courteous,
Kind,
Obedient,
Cheerful,
Thrifty,
Brave,
Clean,
and Reverent.
Boy Scout Motto
Be Prepared!
Boy Scout Slogan
Do a Good Turn Daily!
The Outdoor Code
As an American, I will do my best to -
Be clean in my outdoor manners
Be careful with fire
Be considerate in the outdoors, and
Be conservation minded.
___________
[some Scout Law history] "..During the years, Baden-Powell himself edited the text numerous times, notably in 1911 adding:
A SCOUT IS CLEAN IN THOUGHT, WORD AND DEED. Decent Scouts look down upon silly youths who talk dirt, and they do not let themselves give way to temptation, either to talk it or to do anything dirty. A Scout is pure, and clean-minded, and manly."
Gov. Rick Perry is also an Eagle.
I was a scout [in Wisconsin, no less] way back when.
Eagle Scout beats the hell out of “Choom gang” or “community organizer” any day of the week. Good for Walker.
Better than being a community organ(iser)
Sounds a lot better than a community organizer..............
I’d MUCH more like an American Eagle Scout as President, than a Kenyan Illeagle Sabouteur
I understand and appreciate what he means. My dad was a scoutmaster, decades ago, when there was far less pretense.
The average person today knows nothing about being in the military or Boy Scouts accept what liberals tell them.
Scott needs to follow up that statement by saying the fact of his successful GOVERNORSHIP is what best qualifies him to be COC.
Beat me by >< that much....
Walker has already shown what he’s made of.
I’m promoting Cruz, of course. But Walker is a close second for me. I’d love to see those two running together.
No kidding. It also beats being Monica Lewinksy’s boyfriend’s wife or claiming to be 1/64th Cherokee as qualifications for president.
We should be prepared to reject all muzzieness.
*grin*
I got up to Star, but we moved around a lot.
Being an Eagle Scout prepared him for the path towards being President of the United States. Only a half-wit would make the logic jump to say it has prepared him for the Presidency. The road he has traveled has prepared him. His background as Eagle Scout has given him the experience to travel that road: a moral compass:
On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.
Eagle Scout vs. Community Organizer? Fine, Eagle Scout wins. But against a first string candidate insteade of an affirmative action candidate? not so impressive. To say ready to be president because he was an Eagle Scout is about as credible as my 7 year twins saying they can drive the family car because they drive RC cars.
I respect Walker as a candidate and would consider him except for his pro-amnesty stance, but seriously, is this how he qualifies himself?!
It is shocking to me.
Rachel Maddow said that this statement really scares her.
GOOD!
: )
>> Eagle Scout beats the hell out of “Choom gang” ...
Exactly.
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