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Scott Walker calls Biden and Clinton 'names from the past'

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Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

DANA POINT, Calif. – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Saturday cast himself as a “fresh face” who could successfully challenge either Hillary Clinton or Vice President Joe Biden in the 2016 presidential race and said he still doesn’t “know” whether President Obama is a Christian.

Asked about a New York Times report that Biden is taking a “second look” at challenging Clinton for the Democratic nomination, Walker said: “To me, it doesn’t matter.”

“It’s a third term of Barack Obama’s policies. They have been a huge failure for this country,” Walker said during a question-and-answer session before a group of conservative donors aligned with billionaire industrialist Charles Koch.

He described himself as a “new, fresh face to take on whichever name from the past” decided to run for Democrats and noted he was still in college when Biden first sought the presidency in 1988.

Under questioning from Politico’s Mike Allen, Walker also did not retreat from remarks first made in February that appear to question Obama’s Christian faith. Asked whether Obama is a Christian, Walker said: “I don’t know. I presume he is … I take him at his word.”

The appearance by Walker and rival Carly Fiorina Saturday afternoon kicked off a three-day seminar that gathered together some 450 wealthy donors who are closely aligned with Koch’s limited government agenda and have pledged to spend $900 million ahead of the 2016 election.

On Sunday, the network will hear from three other contenders – Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz and former Florida governor Jeb Bush.

It’s a repeat performance for Walker, Rubio and Cruz – all of whom have spoken before the Koch donor network in the past – and a first-time speaking engagement for Bush and Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO, who trails in the polls but is a rarity in the GOP field as the first woman to head a Fortune 50 company.

Walker said he’s been “fairly consistent” in his policy positions over the years but has hardened his stance on illegal immigration after learning more about the issue.

The Koch event — set at the St. Regis Monarch Beach, a “Tuscan-inspired,” luxury resort perched above the Pacific Ocean – is giving political figures across the country the chance to mingle with influential business people and big donors.

Six sitting Republican governors – Greg Abbott of Texas, Mike Pence of Indiana, Bruce Rauner of Illinois, Doug Ducey of Arizona, Nikki Haley of South Carolina and Pat McCrory of North Carolina — were attending, along with a clutch of GOP federal lawmakers.

Among them: Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan. Jordan, who heads the House “Freedom Caucus” and has pushed to kill off the Export-Import Bank, which provides loans and loan guarantees for U.S. companies doing business overseas.

The bank is a top target of Charles Koch and the non-profit groups in his sprawling political empire, who denounce the bank as offering “welfare” to corporations.

As his guests sipped cocktails and white wine on the resort’s “grand lawn,” Koch warned the nation is “headed toward a two-tiered society – a system that is destroying opportunities for the disadvantaged and creating welfare for the rich.”

“Misguided policies are creating a permanent underclass, crippling our economy and corrupting the business community, present company excluded of course,” he said.

One function of the event is provide donors an update on the activities of the groups in the Koch network and to confirm their financial commitments. At the end of his remarks, he urged attendees to “stand together with us to help save our country.”

Koch first started holding the twice annual “seminars” in 2003 amid concerns about rising government spending and an aggressive foreign policy under a Republican, President George W. Bush.

But the weekend’s event marks a turning point for the publicity-averse billionaire and his family. For the first time, journalists were invited to cover portions of the gathering, albeit with restrictions, such as not approaching donors directly for interviews. (At least one was identified by a speaker, however: Dick DeVos, Michigan-based Amway heir, who long has been active in conservative politics.)

The move for greater openness at the event comes as Koch increasingly seeks to defend himself and his multi-billion dollar industrial conglomerate, Kansas-based Koch Industries, from attacks by Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who argue he is weighing in on elections to elect politicians who will help protect his bottom line.

Koch himself referred to Reid on Saturday night, joking as he stumbled on his way to the microphone: “That was Harry Reid who was trying to trip me there. I didn’t see him.”

The gathering comes amid an election that’s quickly being dominated by the super wealthy.

During the first six months of this year, nearly 60 individuals and entities have donated at least $1 million apiece to super PACs active in the 2016 elections, newly filed campaign-finance reports show. A single hedge-funder, Renaissance Technology’s co-chief executive Robert Mercer, contributed $11 million a super PAC backing Texas Sen. Ted Cruz – the largest check to a super PAC so far this year.


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