Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) sat down for an interview with David Brody, of Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network, as he heads toward his state’s hotly contested recall election this June.
In the friendly interview, Brody asked Walker about “some folks really kind of getting your face” about his legislation that curtailed public employee unions.
“Well, even more so my personal home where my kids, my parents still live. I mean, I had thousands of people bussed in, in front of my home in Wauwatosa, where I’ve got two high-school sons living, and I’ve got parents in my (sic) 70s,” Walker said.
“I mean, I had at one point last year my 16-year old and my mother in her 70s were at a grocery store and got yelled at. I’ve had my kids targeted on Facebook. We’ve had all those sorts of things. Now, thankfully, for every one of them, you know there’s tenfold people that come up to me at a factory or a farm or small business, and say, ‘Hey Governor, me and my family are praying for you.’ Now, that never makes the news.”
Given the setting of a Christian-Right news organization, Walker also invoked the name of God in commenting on his political situation, when Brody asked what it would mean for the Tea Party movement if Walker wins on June 5.
In one instance, Walker discussed the political stakes of the recall.
“Well, I think it says even beyond, I think it goes even more fundamental than that. What I think it does is when we prevail it sends a powerful, powerful message not just here in my statehouse, but in Springfield, in Columbus, in Albany and Austin and Tallahassee, and statehouses all across America — and equally if not more so, it says to Washington DC and people like my friend Paul Ryan and others are trying to tackle tough issues as well. It sends a powerful message that voters are saying, yeah, we do want leaders to stand up and do the right thing. We do want them to tackle the tough issues. Conversely, God help us if we fail, I think it sets aside any kind of courage in American politics for at least a decade, if not a generation. And that’s why I say all the time, that’s why we can’t fail.”
Brody also asked Walker about the role God plays in his life, as a self-identified “preacher’s kid.”
“Oh, absolutely. People ask all the time, you know, how do you and [his wife] Tonette and the boys, how do you get through this? It’s just really prayer. It’s the prayers that we have as a family, that we have individually, and the prayers that people tell us about. And those that we don’t even hear about, but we feel, of people all around our state and really all around the country, that people go out of their way to lift us up. It’s just, it has been so amazing to us, and really as a family, I think it’s made us stronger. When you think about — the realize that, you know, all this is just a temporary thing, and God’s got a plan for us that, who knows where it might be, beyond just serving as Governor of this state. But if we stay true to that, there’s always comfort, and God’s grace is always abundant no matter what you do, and it’s just every step of the way.”
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