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Former Republican Governor's #DenimDay Post in Support of Sexual Assault Survivors Backfired Big Time for Exactly the Reason You Think

Well that backfired.

Former Republican Governor's #DenimDay Post in Support of Sexual Assault Survivors Backfired Big Time for Exactly the Reason You Think
@ScottWalker/Twitter, @arlenparsa/Twitter

Scott Walker, Wisconsin's former Republican Governor, tweeted a picture of himself wearing jeans on Wednesday in solidarity with Denim Day, an international campaign to raise awareness about sexual assault.

"In support of sexual assault victims, I’m wearing jeans on ," Walker wrote.


People are not buying it.

Walker's emphatic endorsement of Donald Trump as a presidential candidate undermines his support for survivors of sexual assault. Nearly two dozen women have alleged that Trump acted inappropriately with them.

But that did not stop Walker from jumping on the Trump train.

"Absolutely," he said, when asked in 2016 if he backs Trump, who had just earned the Republican nomination for president.

"I said on this stage almost a year ago August 6th of last year that any of the Republicans running would be better than Hillary Clinton," referring to the party's first debate at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena. "Obviously Donald Trump wasn't my first choice. I was my first choice. As you mentioned I supported Ted in the primary of Wisconsin. But I meant what I said last year. Any of the Republicans running was infinitely better than Hillary Clinton. And obviously Donald Trump is our nominee. And he's better than Hillary Clinton."

More recently, Walker's refusal to offer an opinion on Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court Justice accused of multiple instances of sexual assault, destroys his credibility on this issue.

Walker declined to say whether Kavanaugh should have been confirmed to the Court, even after the emotionally charged Senate testimony of one accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, stirred the nation. Instead, he encouraged the Senate to take Kavanaugh's experience as a jurist into account.

"I said a week or two ago when the issue first came up that I thought the members of the United States Senate should treat that seriously, I hope that they do," Walker said.  "I haven't been privy to the FBI report nor been a part of the hearings or watched them, but certainly he's got the experience, I hope they take that seriously.  But that's not what I'm elected to do, it's up to the members of the United States Senate."

Walker's "abysmal" record as governor is quite telling as well.

"Walker’s actions have repeatedly undermined Wisconsin women when it comes to healthcare and economic freedom. The totality of his actions on reproductive health and women’s economic opportunity rank him as one of, if not the, worst politician in America for women," wrote One Wisconsin Now, a non-profit that champions progressive causes in the Badger State.

"Overall, Walker’s record on policies impacting women is abysmal at best, and as he has sought to court Republican primary voters, he has increasingly highlighted the same extreme anti-choice positions he sought to hide during his 2014 gubernatorial campaign."

Walker gets an eff for effort.

This backfired spectacularly.

Oof.

Launched in 1999 by Peace Over Violence, Denim Day is an extension of Sexual Assault Awareness Month inspired an Italian Supreme Court ruling overturning a rape conviction. The Court determined that the sex was consensual because the victim was forced to remove the assailant's jeans.

"Peace Over Violence developed the Denim Day campaign in response to this case and the activism surrounding it," the group says on its website. "Since then, wearing jeans on Denim Day has become a symbol of protest against erroneous and destructive attitudes about sexual harassment, abuse, assault and rape. In this sexual violence prevention and education campaign we ask community members, elected officials, businesses, and students to make a social statement with their fashion statement by wearing jeans on this day as a visible means of protest against the misconceptions that surround sexual violence."