Nobody's gonna call you a racist, a white supremacist or a nativist for battling unions and leftist agitators. Walker's gripping the third rail, of restricting legal immigration, with both hands. People who say he's flip-flopping may be overstating the their case.
It's hard to say if Walker's actually undergoing a conversion. Not everyone has a position on everything. As governor, he had no direct influence on immigration policy, a federal function. More likely, at the time, he offered up the usual pablum that sounded like the consensus within the GOP, voters, pols and donors alike.
Now that he's doing a White House run, he's clearly up for a spot that will play a major part in immigration policy. And that's led to a much more careful examination of what that policy should be. In talking to people, my guess is that he's discovering that that there is a great divide separating voters, who are aghast at the deluge, and both GOP pols and donors, who seem to think we need to open up the floodgates.
There's nothing convenient about Walker's current position. By suggesting that legal immigration levels be rethought, he is opening himself up to accusations of nativism and racism, and that's just from fellow GOP pols. Then there's the adverse reaction from wealthy donors whose principal concern is keeping labor costs low by importing unending streams of foreign immigrants. These donors may start treating him as the party leper.
They're going to call Walker that even if he would've given the unions a fat contract and busted the WI budget even more.
My theory is that Walker got a big head after winning his 3rd term. He thought he was untouchable and started believing his own hype. He started his presidential run way too early and should have focused on his job through at least June.
He is trying to be cute by playing both sides of the immigration debate. I want clarity on this issue. I want Republicans to speak truth to power on this issue, not to weasel out because they're afraid of "losing the Hispanic vote."