Scott Walker: Flip-flopping charges are 'ridiculous'

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker pushed back against allegations of flip-flopping Saturday in New Hampshire, telling reporters that some of the charges are "ridiculous."

"It’s a narrative that other campaigns are pushing," Walker told reporters after an event at Concord High School, where he spoke to grassroots GOP volunteers in the early primary state. "We have a strong reputation of keeping our word."

The Associated Press has reported that accusations of flip-flopping have intensified in recent days, with potential rivals for the Republican presidential nomination circulating materials highlighting Walker's changing positions on ethanol subsidies, education standards, abortion and right-to-work legislation.

"You have to be an authentic candidate," Steve Duprey, a Republican National Committeeman from New Hampshire, told the Associated Press. "If people think you're flipping left and right, that sticks with you."

Walker conceded that there's one major issue that he has changed his mind on: immigration.

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"We listened to the people. This is one where we listened to people all over the country — particularly border governors who saw how this president messed that up," he said.

But Walker said other charges of flip-flopping are "just ridiculous," and maintained he's always been against abortion rights and supported right-to-work legislation, which forbids "closed shops" where someone can be forced to join a labor union as a condition of employment. Walker recently signed right-to-work legislation in Wisconsin.

So what's the difference between changing your mind and flip-flopping? "I think the key is that if you listen to people and have a valid argument for why you've done it," Walker said. "People want strong leaders and they want leaders who will listen to the people."