Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.Gary Porter/ZUMAPRESS.com
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has been caught again playing fast and loose with the facts on the issue of abortion. Earlier this week, as I reported, Walker’s campaign released a new ad about a bill he signed that restricted abortion rights for women in Wisconsin. In the ad, Walker says, “the bill leaves the final decision to a woman and her doctor”—a statement that falsely implies that Walker supports a woman’s right to choose an abortion, when in fact he wants to ban all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest.
Now, the Capital Times of Madison, Wis., reports that Walker’s campaign website touts an endorsement from a pro-life group that Walker didn’t actually receive this year. On his 2014 campaign website, Walker touts an endorsement by the group Pro-Life Wisconsin. Under the “Walker on Values” section, it reads:
In my campaign for governor, I am proud to have been endorsed by Wisconsin Right to Life, which recognized my long commitment to right to life issues and noted that my election “would greatly contribute to building a culture of life where the most vulnerable members of the human family are welcomed and protected.”
I was also endorsed by Pro-Life Wisconsin which said that a Walker Administration “will have far-reaching, positive effects for Wisconsin citizens who value the dignity of all innocent human life.”
Here’s the problem: That’s not true. Pro-Life Wisconsin endorsed Walker during the 2010 gubernatorial campaign and the 2012 recall election. But the group did not endorse him in this year’s gubernatorial race, as the Capital Times reported:
Pro-Life Wisconsin evaluates political candidates by their responses to a 10-question survey sent during each election cycle. In order to receive an endorsement, a candidate must answer “yes” to every question—giving them a “100 percent pro-life” rating—and complete an interview with members of the political action committee board.
“Scott Walker did not complete our 2014 candidate survey and therefore is ineligible for an endorsement,” wrote Matt Sande, director of the Pro-Life Wisconsin Victory Fund PAC, in an email. “His campaign manager stated in a letter that ‘our campaign will not be completing any interest group surveys or interviews.'”
That didn’t stop Walker’s website from listing Pro-Life Wisconsin as an endorser. Neither the Walker campaign nor Matt Sande, who runs Pro-Life Wisconsin’s Victory Fund PAC, responded to requests for comment.
