Welcome to How Walker Lies 101.
A few days ago, class, Walker was gracious enough to give us a fresh example.
A questioner--in this case, Fox News correspondent Brett Baier--asked or started to ask Walker about his position "supporting a path to citizenship" and Walker quickly interrupted, saying, "Actually, I'm glad you asked me about that, because the Wausau newspaper erroneously quoted me on that, they listed a video on their website that actually showed that the person who asked the question said that, not me."
Baier, then said, "so that's wrong?" and Walker agreed saying, "That's wrong, that's not what I said."
But Walker most certainly did say that--he just didn't say exactly that.
As the above video shows, in the Wausau Daily Herald's interview, Walker says, "sure, yeah, I mean I think it makes sense" when asked if he supports a path to citizenship. For you sticklers out there, here is the exact exchange:
Reporter: Can you envision a world where, with the right penalties, waiting periods, and they meet their requirements, where those people could get citizenship?Walker: Sure, yeah, I mean, I think it makes sense.
So, class, was Walker lying when he said that he had been misquoted in the Wausau Daily Herald? Answer: No, Walker is correct that the newspaper had incorrectly attributed the question to Walker. However, Walker agreed with the question.Second question: In his recent interview, was Walker being deceptive in his answer regarding his prior stance on a path to citizenship? Answer: Heck yes! Although he truthfully stated that he had been misquoted, he deceptively left off the fact that had in fact stated his support for a path for citizenship.
Bonus question: What type of deception do we call that type of response? Answer: It is a lie of omission, or possibly even an act of dissimulation.
Walker's answer to the Fox reporter would be like if someone asked you, "Do you agree that the color green is the best color?" and you respond "yes, I strongly agree" and then they mistakenly quoted you as saying, "The color green is the best color." Yes, you were wrongly quoted, but you did agree with everything in the quote.
What he did in his response to Baier, is classic Scott Walker: Lying with truthful, but irrelevant information for the sole purpose of misleading.
In fact, Walker's support of a path to citizenship voiced in the Wausau Daily Herald interview, is in line with Walker's previous statements on the issue. As the National Review pointed out, in 2003 Walker even signed a resolution calling for immigration reform that included a path to citizenship for undocumented workers.
Walker clearly flip-flopped on this one to be more palatable to the uber-conservatives in the Republican primaries. But, like anything Walker, his first instinct is always to try and weasel out of the moment at hand, hoping he never gets asked a follow up question.
While this has usually worked in Wisconsin, it won't work on the national press corps*
*Not including Fox News in definition of national press corps.