Scott Walker's Record of Failure – Deception
Scott Walker Never Campaigned on Eliminating Collective Bargaining Rights
Scott Walker lied to Wisconsinites when he dropped what he jokingly called "the bomb" on the middle class with his union-busting legislation. Scott Walker NEVER campaigned on the elimination of collective bargaining rights. While it's true that Walker has always been an enemy of labor, and consistently forced wage and benefit concessions from public employees as Milwaukee County Executive, he never told the people of Wisconsin that he planned to eliminate collective bargaining rights and heap the burden of balancing the state's budget solely on the backs of working families.
Scott Walker Tells Phony "Koch" Brother He Will Trick Democrats
In his phone call with who he thought was David Koch, a wealthy out-of-state financer of conservative causes who made contributions to Walker's gubernatorial campaign totaling $43,000, and a $1 million contribution to the Republican Governors Association, which spent $3.4 million on television ads in support of Walker's campaign, Walker stated that he would trick Democratic senators into returning to Wisconsin by promising to "listen" to them, but would actually force a vote on his contentious legislation.
Scott Walker Says Wisconsin Is Broke
Knowing his recall is fast approaching, Scott Walker claimed that Wisconsin is broke in a campaign fundraising email. Walker has consistently held that his union-busting legislation was an effort to rein in spending and solve the state's fiscal crisis, yet analysis by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau has shown that the straits are not as dire. In fact, Walker's crony agency, the privatized Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, just spent $60,000 in public funds to purchase iPads for its employees.
Scott Walker Says His Plan Leaves Collective Bargaining Fully Intact
A week after passing his union-busting legislation, Walker went on the air with conservative talk radio host Charlie Sykes to defend his move, saying collective bargaining was fully intact. Walker's bill strips workers of their right to bargain collectively on working conditions, hours and benefits.
Scott Walker's History of "Funny Math"
- Scott Walker says his budget and budget repair bills gave schools and localities the "tools" to balance their budgets. In reality Walker's tools are just cuts that have forced local governments to explore layoffs, fee increases and reduced services. Walker himself admitted during his campaign that, "When local governments are unable to realize that massive amount of savings, local officials will either have to cut services or increase property taxes."
- Walker falsely claims that he consistently balanced budgets in Milwaukee County, but what he doesn't cop to are the "funny math" tactics that rely on federal stimulus funds and forced county employee concessions to plug holes in his budgets. [Walker seeks across-the-board wage cuts in budget," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9/24/2009]
Walker Suppresses Findings of a Federal Investigation into the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex
Walker's privatization of jobs and overall mismanagement of the Mental Health Complex was marked by multiple reports of patient deaths, the sexual assault of mentally handicapped patients and the findings of a federal investigation, which Walker suppressed during his campaign for governor, that the county failed to manage the complex and protect patients. ["Milwaukee County Board urges release of mental facility report," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/4/2010]
Scott Walker Left Milwaukee County on the Verge of Bankruptcy, Walker Supporter Suppressed Report for Political Purposes
Eight years of Walker's feckless money mismanagement left Milwaukee County on the verge of bankruptcy, according to a report by the Greater Milwaukee Committee, with the structural deficit expected to climb to nearly $100 million by 2014. Walker's historic soaring budget deficits and his series of short term fixes that passed the buck to future generations amounted to nothing more than putting a band-aid over a bullet wound. Walker's political advisor, Michael Grebe, used his position on the board of the Greater Milwaukee Committee to suppress the findings of the report during the 2010 gubernatorial campaign. ["County finances on, report says," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/9/2010]
Scott Walker Flip-Flops on Resolving Budget-Created Conflict, Leaves Milwaukee in Lurch
As localities across the state continued to make the tough choices that Scott Walker wouldn't in his failed "budget bill," Scott Walker left Milwaukee in the lurch on budget questions created by his radical plans. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett expressed to the Walker administration concerns about resolving a legal conflict resulting from the Walker budget. The Walker administration stated that a response was forthcoming, yet as Barrett introduced his budget, the Walker administration had not lifted a finger to help resolve the crucial budget issues relating to pension contributions raised by the Milwaukee City Attorney. ["Barrett gets little clarity on pension law," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8/21/2011]
Click here for a pdf of this information.
