What frustrates Walker supporters is that this isn’t the Walker they have gotten to know in his career in Wisconsin government. The Wisconsin Walker is the one who stood firm in the face of hundreds of thousands of protesters on the steps of the Capitol. The one who emerged from a historic recall election that put him under a searing national spotlight. They expected the Walker who never withered under criticism when he signed concealed carry for firearms into law, pushed voter identification and expanded health care in the state while still resisting the allure of Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion funds.

Yet this new guy — the one who tends to form a perimeter around issues with multiple positions — illuminates a main difference between National Walker and Wisconsin Walker. Scott Walker is masterful at running against Democrats, but he’s terrible at running against Republicans.

It’s one thing to take a principled stand against big government liberalism — it’s entirely another to navigate the negative space between 18 like-minded conservatives. And Walker has a deli-thin space in which to wiggle. He has to set himself apart from his opponents, but not say anything crazy to do so.

In several instances, the desire to outflank other conservatives has had Walker taking positions with which he’s clearly uncomfortable. When he appeared to oppose birthright citizenship, it reminded me of the times I had to tell my mother her meatloaf was delicious. It wasn’t in keeping with anything he had said during his last two decades in Wisconsin government.