David Duke/Scott Walker debate historical gold min

[riversedge]

James Rowen ‏@jer45 9m9 minutes ago

This is a good time to reprise that #ScottWalker/David Duke early 90's video; Walker said Duke then not extreme. http://thepoliticalenvironment.blogspot.com/2015/01/david-dukescott-walker-debate.html …



Thursday, January 1, 2015

David Duke/Scott Walker debate historical gold mine



......But back to the Wisconsin video:

Duke was running in the 1992 Republican presidential primaries against President George H. W. Bush; Walker's role in the TV debate was to explain why the GOP was trying keep the ex-Klan leader off the Wisconsin GOP presidential primary ballot. (Duke ultimately won a lawsuit to get on the ballot but got less than 3% of the Wisconsin GOP primary vote, and didn't siphon serious attention from Bush, either.)

It fell to Walker to do a dance as the party's fall guy that was filled with inconsistencies and stumbles, including a) condemning Duke's views as a former Klan leader - - OK, so far - - but then b) declining to label Duke's then-contemporary views on some issues as extreme - - uh, oh and - - c) defaulting to blaming the media - - oh, no, you didn't!- - for his party's PR mess.

Nearly every caller to the show after Duke and Walker had laid out their respective positions on a ballot position for Duke backed Duke's politics and/or his right to a ballot spot, and slammed Walker and the party, with a satisfied and pretty confident Duke looking on.

He even said Walker and GOP party bosses were behaving like Russian communist party bosses. Ouch.

Here's where I think the video's value lies:

* It's an early window into Walker's signature reflex to dodge and point fingers when the going gets tough.

Walker's finger-pointing, blame-the-media, talking-point driven performance was reminiscent of the end of his failed, scandal-plagued student body presidential campaign four years earlier, and it hasn't stopped since.....................

[Scuba]

1. I've never even heard about this debate. Bookmarking for later. Thanks riversedge.