Came across this article. Did a Google search. Came across 5 others just like it real quick (see comments). What’s the impression you walk away with? “Scott Walker wants to build a wall on the Canadian border, and if he’s elected, he plans on doing it, the madman!” That’s what they’re going for.
If you read the articles, which most people won’t, you will notice how they are all pretty much saying the same thing. They cite an episode of Meet the Press where he “said this”, then 2/3’s of the articles selected proceed to spend the rest of their space talking about immigration and border security, which is really not how the news is supposed to work. If this is a story about Scott Walker’s policies, then post Scott Walker’s policies. Every. Single. Article. Used it as a springboard for their own 300 words on immigration, as if it’s not a complex issue that can be thoroughly explained in something that’s half a page and 1/3 ads by volume.
HuffPo and CBC did not even link to the dialogue so you could listen in context. We have video evidence of Scott saying this, and they don’t even link it. Christ. HuffPo linked the interview, but not the part where Walker makes the statement! But it isn’t about relaying facts, it’s about throwing facts at people so you can build a fake ethos so people think your stupid opinion is grounded in fact. It’s disgusting, and we should be appalled by it.
Slate was the only article that addressed the context of the comment.
It’s like 30 measly seconds of dialogue. It should be the clip and a text transcript, and maybe a few sentences of background. Anything else is superfluous.
Anyway, as to the specific context, Scott isn’t advocating this for any of this. He’s a politician, and he has to be diplomatic when he answers questions. You can’t get elected to be a goddamn city councilman if you don’t do that. It’s asinine that anyone would expect otherwise, and it’s the media’s job to appreciate the political culture. The quote comes from a Meet the Press interview on NBC where the interviewer was asking stupid “gotcha” questions that I’d completely expect from the admin of “Being Liberal”. Immigration is a big issue, and if you’re not a complete idiot, you know the concern is over Latin Americans, not Canucks. “Hur, dur, what about the northern border?” Walker, a politician, couldn’t just say, “Nobody gives a shit, you pompous ass. They’re concerned about large-scale immigration from the southern border. Jesus, try and pay attention”. So instead he said, “Yeah, well, there are some valid concerns,” which is polite political-speak for “You’re a fucking idiot”. Walker was brushing off the question. There is no story here. “Presidential candidate polity dismisses idiotic question from moron talking head pundit” won’t get clicks–and therefore ad revenue–so that turns into “HEY, THAT GUY ON RED TEAM YOU DON’T LIKE IS STUPID LOOOOOOOLLL”, and society is worse off for it. A pox on these people.