Uppity Wisconsin

From those intrepid researchers at One Wisconsin now comes the Scott Walker Failure Files, documenting his long record of failed leadership, mismanagement and skewed priorities.  Here's the interactive website. Check it out. An amazing collection.

The Washington Times:

The Republican National Committee failed to report more than $7 million in debt to the Federal Election Commission in recent months -- a move that made its bottom line appear healthier than it is heading into the midterm elections.

In Milwaukee County, the Public Policy Forum says the county is walking into an estimated $20 million to $45 million budget hole—and that doesn’t include deferred maintenance (estimated to be $200 million in the parks alone), the still-unresolved employee concessions written into the 2010 budget, and challenges at the Mental Health Complex and at the Milwaukee County Transit System (estimated transit shortfall next year: about $10 million, the Shepherd Express reports.

And then there's the $400-million Walker borrowed to shore up the shortfall in the pension fund, which still needs to be repaid.

But Walker has merrily announced a budget surplus of $8.9-million for 2009.

See any similarities?

The latest Republican Governors Association spot says Tom Barrett has raised Milwaukee’s taxes “every single year,” increased spending by $300 million and seen the city lose dozens of businesses during his time as mayor.

“Tom Barrett more taxes, less jobs. Just like Jim Doyle, only worse,” the RGA spots say.

Here's the thing: Barrett's city budgets may have gone up $300-million, but Scott Walker's county budgets have gone up $396-million.

The city may have lost dozens of businesses, but the county (which includes the city) has no doubt lost even more. And even more jobs.

Scott Walker, more taxes fewer* jobs. Just like Jim Doyle and Tom Barrett, only worse.

Pretty catchy message, huh?

(*Can we fix the grammar, RGA, while we're at it? Fewer, not less.)

Why do we have to read the Milwaukee Biz Blog to find this out?

  County Supervisor John Weishan explains how Scott Walker has diverted money from maintenance of capital projects, and what that has meant:

Milwaukee County currently has a 0.5-percent sales tax that, at its inception in 1991, was to be used to pay for debt service on capital projects or to pay cash for those capital projects.

In 2002, shortly after being elected County Executive, Scott Walker was successful in changing that county ordinance, enabling him to divert millions in sales tax revenue from the capital budget to the operating budget.

Over the last eight years, more than $112 million in sales tax revenue has been diverted from capital fund to the operating budget.

Public employees are taking a beating in the current political climate.

Scott Walker, who has made a pretty cushy career for himself as Milwaukee County executive by beating up on public workers at every opportunity, has no other ideas about how to handle a looming $2,5-billion state budget deficit except to take it out of the hides of workers.

Make them contribute more for their own pensions.  Get rid of thousands of them.  Put the ones who don't get fired on furlough.  And on and on.

Public workers -- we used to call them public servants, back when they were popular -- have become such an easy target in the current angry, hateful state of the country that even Journal Sentinel columnist Mike Nichols decided to pile on.  (He's not an editorial writer, but the old description of an editorial writer as someone who comes in after the battle to shoot the wounded applies in this case anyway.) Says Nichols:

Dear graduates of the class of 2010. If you do nothing else in life, work for the government.

Government workers, in Nichols's world, have it made.

One of the dangers of a contested primary is that it will force candidates to try to out-do one another in appealing to their party's most hard core elements, be that liberal or conservative.

Case in point: The GOP primary for Wisconsin governor, where Scott Walker continues to veer farther right, even changing his positions, to keep Mark Neumann from outflanking him in the extreme right lane.

And it's beginning to look like Walker is getting even farther out than Neumann

First it was immigration.  Walker took a more moderate position, but when Neumann beat him up and some of the GOP base complained that Walker was too soft, he quickly switched and became a hard-liner.

Last week it was the state smoking ban.  Walker first said he didn't like it, but wouldn't commit to repealing it.  But once Neumann came out for repeal, Walker followed suit.

Now, it appears Walker has found an issue where he can be even more extreme than Neumann -- human reproduction.  Liberals often call the issue women's reproductive rights, but one group backing Walker and Neumann doesn't discriminate by gender.  It wants to ban condoms, too.

Despite his endorsement by the crazies at Pro Life Wisconsin, who oppose all abortions and all birth control, Mark Neumann says he does not oppose birth control. Who says he's not forward thinking? Welcome to the 20th Century, Mark. (Or the 19th, at least.)

Says Neumann:

“I do not agree with them on that issue. When it comes to birth control, obviously that’s something – I’d have two dozen children by now.

Not bad, even a little humor. But he should have quit when he was ahead. Instead, he continued:

Neumann, with his wife, Sue, by his side, spoke to reporters after turning in his signatures to get on the ballot.

I can't believe Scott Walker thinks he can put this one over on the voters, let alone the news media, but never misunderestimate how gullilble people can be.

Walker's latest budget cutting scam is -- Ta-Da! -- to eliminate 4,000 state jobs.  He says it will save $284-million a year.

But it won't save a nickel, because those 4,000 jobs he want to eliminate are not filled now.  The Doyle administration is leaving them vacant to save money and reduce the state budget deficit.

Walker can't reduce the state payroll by eliminating those jobs, because there are no people on the payroll now.

Based on Walker's figures, the Doyle administration is already saving taxpayers $284-million a year. 

Any chance we'll see this in the news coverage of this non-idea?

(Apologies for the headline.  I know the vision of Walker naked will give some people hives.)

Scott Walker, trumpeting the meaningless number of signatures he collected on his nomination papers for governor, almost got asked some real questions by reporters who showed up.

Like, what about the endorsement from Pro-Life Wisconsin, the extremists who not only oppose all abortions but all birth control?

One asks not whether he agrees but whether he agrees with Democrats who say he's out of the mainstream, which lets Walker get away with saying he's always been pro-life -- a non-answer, but to a non-question.

The follow up: "Do you agree with that specific part of their platform?" Walker says he'd have to look at it, but he's been consistently pro-life.

One last question from another reporter: "Do you oppose condoms?" Walker: "Well, to me, that's not a position of the governent."

So Walker escapes the pack of pussycats once more. (Apologies for mixing metaphors.)

Video.

Hat tip: Pretty Important.

You have to be very sick to read the Journal Sentinel comments, mostly dominated by a pack of right-wing trolls who get their jollies by being personally mean and vicious. Please stop me before I read again.

This one, however, is worth sharing, regarding that wacky Rebecca Kleefisch, GOP candidate for LtGov:

jimtherepublican - Jun 30, 2010 5:54 PM Becki is a cute lady. Very nice person, great wife & terrific mom. That said, this is her first run for office. Normally, it wouldn't bother me. But if Walker wins this year, his record would be impressive to the Washington crowd. If he moves up the political ladder, could she handle being governor? I really don't know.

I've had a cocktail or two with Bret Davis. I like him. Stable great family man with a good head on his shoulders. There are some who claim he's not a conservative. I disagree. He's as conservative as they come and he could take over if Scott moved on.

Jim, Jim, I have a lot of questions. Couldn't a "cute lady" take over when Walker moves on? Do you think Brett's a cute guy?

Walker wants speedy review of buildings after garage collapse says the Daily Reporter headline.

That certainly paints the picture the way Scott Walker would like it. But if you read it carefully, you'll find what Walker really wants to do is to avoid or at least counter any negative findings from an audit:

“I’m not against an audit,” Walker said Tuesday. “If they want another check and balance, that’s fine. I just want to figure out the best way to make the case that our facilities are safe.

Got that? Walker accidentally told the truth. He's not looking for the best way to find our whether county facilities are safe; he's looking for "the best way to make the case that our facilities are safe."

The audit reportedly could take several months to complete.

So the campaign for governor has come to this: 

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Republican candidate for governor Mark Neumann says his goal is to attracted 300,000 jobs in 10 years by working closely with University of Wisconsin campuses to attract more businesses and research.

Neumann unveiled his plan to create three "research triangles" that would match expertise on the campuses with businesses that create jobs.

Neumann says his plan can succeed even if the university's budget is cut as part of his plan to reduce the budgets of all state agencies. His plan even calls for offering a tax break to businesses that create jobs.

Neumann's Republican challenger Scott Walker says he can create 250,000 jobs in four years. Democrat Tom Barrett says his goal is to create 180,000 jobs in his first term.

Well, I guess I have to be for Neumann.  He made fun of Walker when he announced his 250,000 job "plan," but now Neumann's got the biggest number.  Unless Tim John, whoever he is, says he'll create some bigger number.

First, Sheriff David Clarke acted at a news conference like he was somehow in charge of investigating the fatal accident at O' Donnell Park.

But in today's story, County Exec Scott Walker, a champion finger-pointer who never accepts responsibility for any bad news, appears to be running the investigation.

Is that an improvement? Is that appropriate?

Doesn't this seem like the time for an independent investigation of what caused a county-owned structure to fail? Scott Walker is the county executive, hardly a neutral observer.

Can't we do this right? 

Tom Barrett has injected stem cell research into the race for governor, saying he would champion it, as Gov. Jim Doyle has done.

"My concern is you have candidates for office . . . who want to inject politics into science," said Barrett. "I think it would be a huge mistake to allow an ideological agenda to stop the work that's being done here."

The candidates for office he referred to were the GOP candidates for governor, Scott Walker and Mark Neumann, who both oppose embryonic stem cell research.

Wisconsin has been on the cutting edge of stem cell research, which makes it even more problematic for the Repubs. Research done here boots the state economy, the state university, and creates jobs.

The issue is not as prominent nationally as it was in 2006, when Doyle hung it like an anchor around the neck of his his opponent, Mark Green. But it remains a potent issue, as conservative blogger (and losing Assembly candidate) Jo Engelhoff realizes:

So the Dems are playing the embryonic stem cell card again. And well they would – it worked last time. Really worked. Remember the Michael J. Fox ad? Mark Green was a killer, denying life-saving research for your family member and mine...

It was a useless strategy in 2006 for the Mark Green group to argue the productivity of adult stem cells...

Finally, a reporter has asked Scott Walker how he intends to pay for the $2-billion in tax breaks he's proposed for corporations and wealthy individuals, as One Wisconsin Now has been asking for months.

Scott Bauer of The Associated Press asked the question, and -- surprise! -- Walker didn't have much of an answer.

He back-pedaled pretty quickly. It turns out he doesn't have a tax plan, the AP learned: