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Walker
Ducks Debate
County Exec Once Again Puts
Politics Over Policy
by Jim McGuigan
Scott
Walker is a coward.
Last week, County Executive Walker refused to debate County
Supervisor John Weishan, who doesn’t agree with him on development
of the land in the Park East corridor. Weishan wants to elevate the
discussion to an honest debate about public policy. Instead, Walker
held a campaign fundraiser to raise money to make calls into the
districts of supervisors who don’t goosestep to his agenda.
In Walker’s Borg-like zeal to crush any opposing ideas, he’s
using the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to send the message that
resistance is futile. Unfortunately, they’re so in love with him
at the daily that they barely give the County Board of Supervisors
more than a pat on the head. Sadly, they’re helping Walker put
politics above policy.
Last spring, Walker spent campaign funds to try to defeat Weishan
and other candidates who wouldn’t pledge to be his lackeys. Walker
fails to understand the patriotic principles of balance of power.
Just because those in the county’s legislative branch don’t
agree with him, doesn’t mean they should be eliminated.
Instead of debating Weishan, Walker, a Republican, sidestepped the
Park East issue and tried to score political points by challenging
Democratic Governor Jim Doyle on “truth in sentencing.” It was
another of Walker’s attempts to bash Doyle and satisfy his own
craven aspirations to be governor.
But the irony here is too great not to mention. It was Walker who
slammed “truth in sentencing” through while he served in the
Legislature. It was Walker who opposed attaching a fiscal note to
the legislation so the public would know what the plan was going to
cost. Now Doyle has a massive deficit to face because of Walker’s
actions. Walker created the problem that Doyle has to clean up, and
now Walker is posing for holy pictures and promoting himself as the
better person for the governor’s job.
When Doyle was Attorney General, he also supported the concept of
“truth in sentencing,” but it was Walker who opposed knowing
what the costs were before it was passed.
Whatever facts a public debate on the Park East corridor would have
brought to light are sure to be kept in the closet. Sadly, the
Journal Sentinel has once again chosen to focus their attention
primarily on Walker. They have an opportunity to be the champions of
an open exchange of ideas, but they’re wasting it. By not pushing
for an open and public debate, they are betraying the legacy of
newsmen like Edward R. Murrow.
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