Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s presidential campaign has watched upstart “outsider” candidates surpass him in Iowa, including Donald Trump, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and businesswoman Carly Fiorina. But Walker’s newest ad focuses on a different GOP target: former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
The ad labels the Obama administration’s deal with Iran a “historic surrender,” with “hidden loopholes” and “secret side agreements,” while pundits and politicos decry the negotiation’s outcome. Font onscreen blares that Democrats are in “disarray” as a result of the deal.
A clip of Bush taking a question about the deal then plays as text appears onscreen that reads, “Republicans who don’t know what they stand for.” Bush is shown saying he will consider ripping up the Iran deal on “day one” before another audio clip plays in which he says, “One thing that I won’t do is say as a candidate, ‘I’m going to tear up the agreement on the first day.'”
The ad shifts to clips from Walker’s speech at The Citadel last week, where he unveiled his foreign policy platform.
“I refuse to live with a deal that threatens our safety, and that of our closest allies,” Walker can be seen telling the cadets in South Carolina. “See unlike others, I don’t need months or years to mull this over. If Congress fails to stop the nuclear deal, I will terminate it on day one. American leadership is back, and together with our allies we will not surrender another inch of ground. America will not be intimidated and neither will I.”
After other GOP presidential candidates without much political experience shot up in the polls while Walker’s position remained stagnant, the governor shifted his rhetorical attacks from Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to Republicans on Capitol Hill. Walker has often refused to criticize his fellow GOP presidential candidates and frequently reiterated that “you’re not going to hear me criticize the others” on the campaign trail.
Walker’s criticism of Bush seems indicative of an attempt by the governor to move further to the right on contentious issues in hopes of gaining ground among conservative voters. Earlier this summer, Walker refrained from commenting on former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s comment that the Iran deal amounted to President Obama marching Israelis to “the door of the oven.” He similarly has sought not to criticize Trump, and did not take the bait from Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who challenged Walker to a one-on-one debate in Iowa on healthcare policy.
When gossip spread that House Speaker John Boehner had called Texas Sen. Ted Cruz a “jacka–” at a fundraiser last week, Walker quickly criticized the highest ranking Republican as flat-out wrong. His defense of the bombastic senator against the personal attack makes his criticism of Bush all the more striking.
A new Monmouth University poll of Iowan voters released on Monday shows Walker trailing Trump, Carson, Fiorina and Cruz. Walker comes next, followed by Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. The Wisconsin governor’s decision to punch down may show he is getting ready to take the gloves off on a campaign that has recently been described as “floundering” and “discombobulated.”
Walker’s decision to expand his attacks against his own party provides evidence of a potential strategic break with the “establishment” wing of the GOP that could pay off in the short-term, but have lasting consequences as next year’s general election grows nearer.
UPDATE: The Bush campaign pushed back against Walker’s criticism in a statement to the Washington Examiner that also jabs at Donald Trump.
“Governor Bush has repeatedly said it’s a terrible deal, that Congress should reject it, and that if elected he would begin the process immediately to responsibly undo the deal and the damage it has done to our national security,” said spokeswoman Allie Brandenburger in an email. “He believes we need a comprehensive strategy to confront Iran, including its efforts to obtain a nuclear weapons capability, its malign aggression in the region, its support for terrorism, its ballistic missile proliferation, its threats to Israel, and its atrocious human rights abuses. Donald Trump said Hillary Clinton would be a good negotiator with Iran and with this disastrous deal we can see the damage that worldview has wrought and conservatives should unite in opposition to it.”
