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The stunt took place at a pizza parlor in Manchester, New Hampshire. (Photo: Tyler McFarland/Twitter)
Gotcha! Scott Walker Punked by Climate Activist on Campaign Trail
Environmentalist calls Wisconsin governor and White House hopeful 'the most dangerous candidate on climate change'
Aug 04, 2015
Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker became the butt of a political joke in New Hampshire on Monday, when an environmental activist tricked the Wisconsin governor into posing with an oversized check for $900 million, made out to Walker and "signed" by the conservative, climate-denying Koch brothers.
Tyler McFarland, a 23-year-old organizer with the group 350 Action, approached Walker at Theo's Pizza & Restaurant in Manchester for a picture while holding a sign that read "Walker 4 president."
However, just as the photo was snapped, McFarland flipped the sign to reveal the $900 million check from the Koch brothers, with the word "Presidency" written on the memo line.
"I'd like to present you with this check from the Koch brothers for climate denial," McFarland told Walker, who reportedly did not engage and chose instead to brush the incident off and continue mingling with actual supporters.
Billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch said earlier this year that they plan to spend approximately $900 million during the 2016 campaign cycle--and that their top choice for the White House was Walker.
And in a piece for The Nation published last week, John Nichols noted that "[a]lthough this preacher's son has developed a reputation for peddling many versions of the truth, Scott Walker never lies to billionaires who write campaign checks."
"We presented Scott Walker with a 900m novelty check from the Koch brothers today, because Scott Walker is the most dangerous candidate on climate change," McFarland told the Guardian on Monday. "As Obama reveals his clean power plant today, we just wanted to highlight the fact that Scott Walker is poised to receive $900m from the Kochs, particularly to continue climate denial and implement disastrous environmental policies."
Of Obama's climate plan, officially unveiled Monday, Walker said: "It will be like a buzz saw on the nation's economy."
According to the 350 Action website, similar "creative actions" featuring young people confronting presidential candidates on climate change and clean energy will take place across New Hampshire this summer.
This isn't the first time Walker's been fooled by pranksters. In 2011, a caller posing as David Koch succeeded in getting Walker on the phone to talk about his budget repair bill, resulting in what the New York Timesdescribed as "a lengthy conversation that contained some of his most unguarded comments to date about the standoff with public employees."
Watch footage of Monday's gag below:
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Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker became the butt of a political joke in New Hampshire on Monday, when an environmental activist tricked the Wisconsin governor into posing with an oversized check for $900 million, made out to Walker and "signed" by the conservative, climate-denying Koch brothers.
Tyler McFarland, a 23-year-old organizer with the group 350 Action, approached Walker at Theo's Pizza & Restaurant in Manchester for a picture while holding a sign that read "Walker 4 president."
However, just as the photo was snapped, McFarland flipped the sign to reveal the $900 million check from the Koch brothers, with the word "Presidency" written on the memo line.
"I'd like to present you with this check from the Koch brothers for climate denial," McFarland told Walker, who reportedly did not engage and chose instead to brush the incident off and continue mingling with actual supporters.
Billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch said earlier this year that they plan to spend approximately $900 million during the 2016 campaign cycle--and that their top choice for the White House was Walker.
And in a piece for The Nation published last week, John Nichols noted that "[a]lthough this preacher's son has developed a reputation for peddling many versions of the truth, Scott Walker never lies to billionaires who write campaign checks."
"We presented Scott Walker with a 900m novelty check from the Koch brothers today, because Scott Walker is the most dangerous candidate on climate change," McFarland told the Guardian on Monday. "As Obama reveals his clean power plant today, we just wanted to highlight the fact that Scott Walker is poised to receive $900m from the Kochs, particularly to continue climate denial and implement disastrous environmental policies."
Of Obama's climate plan, officially unveiled Monday, Walker said: "It will be like a buzz saw on the nation's economy."
According to the 350 Action website, similar "creative actions" featuring young people confronting presidential candidates on climate change and clean energy will take place across New Hampshire this summer.
This isn't the first time Walker's been fooled by pranksters. In 2011, a caller posing as David Koch succeeded in getting Walker on the phone to talk about his budget repair bill, resulting in what the New York Timesdescribed as "a lengthy conversation that contained some of his most unguarded comments to date about the standoff with public employees."
Watch footage of Monday's gag below:
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker became the butt of a political joke in New Hampshire on Monday, when an environmental activist tricked the Wisconsin governor into posing with an oversized check for $900 million, made out to Walker and "signed" by the conservative, climate-denying Koch brothers.
Tyler McFarland, a 23-year-old organizer with the group 350 Action, approached Walker at Theo's Pizza & Restaurant in Manchester for a picture while holding a sign that read "Walker 4 president."
However, just as the photo was snapped, McFarland flipped the sign to reveal the $900 million check from the Koch brothers, with the word "Presidency" written on the memo line.
"I'd like to present you with this check from the Koch brothers for climate denial," McFarland told Walker, who reportedly did not engage and chose instead to brush the incident off and continue mingling with actual supporters.
Billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch said earlier this year that they plan to spend approximately $900 million during the 2016 campaign cycle--and that their top choice for the White House was Walker.
And in a piece for The Nation published last week, John Nichols noted that "[a]lthough this preacher's son has developed a reputation for peddling many versions of the truth, Scott Walker never lies to billionaires who write campaign checks."
"We presented Scott Walker with a 900m novelty check from the Koch brothers today, because Scott Walker is the most dangerous candidate on climate change," McFarland told the Guardian on Monday. "As Obama reveals his clean power plant today, we just wanted to highlight the fact that Scott Walker is poised to receive $900m from the Kochs, particularly to continue climate denial and implement disastrous environmental policies."
Of Obama's climate plan, officially unveiled Monday, Walker said: "It will be like a buzz saw on the nation's economy."
According to the 350 Action website, similar "creative actions" featuring young people confronting presidential candidates on climate change and clean energy will take place across New Hampshire this summer.
This isn't the first time Walker's been fooled by pranksters. In 2011, a caller posing as David Koch succeeded in getting Walker on the phone to talk about his budget repair bill, resulting in what the New York Timesdescribed as "a lengthy conversation that contained some of his most unguarded comments to date about the standoff with public employees."
Watch footage of Monday's gag below:
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