New York Times corrects Scott Walker column

In hindsight, perhaps the headline “Scott Walker Needs An Eraser” wasn’t the best idea.

In a recent column about the Wisconsin governor, a conservative Republican, New York Times columnist Gail Collins wrote that Walker had cut state aid to education, causing teacher layoffs in 2010. But Walker didn’t take office until 2011.


Whoops.

Conservative news sites had a field day with the error over the weekend, with The Weekly Standard’s John McCormack calling out the (since deleted and corrected, but archived) mistaken section in question.

Collins wrote that Walker’s recent speech in Iowa was all about “waging war on public employee unions, particularly the ones for teachers.” She cited the case of a Claudia Felske, who took issue with Walker’s characterization of the layoffs.

Walker told reporters last week in London that Felske, who was named one of the state’s teachers of the year in 2010, is making a “petty distinction.”

Jud Lounsbury at The Daily Kos first called details from the governor’s anecdote into question last month.

Collins did not reply to an email seeking comment.