Thursday, February 9, 2012

An Undeniable Pattern

Last evening, I had been interviewed by an out-of-state reporter who was trying to get a grasp of the timeline and the expanse of Walkergate.

As we were discussing the course of events, a larger picture of things occurred to me and a pattern of poor behavior from Scott Walker became undeniable.

It started some 25 years ago, when Scott Walker ran for President of the Student Government at Marquette University.  Even then, he violated election laws, campaigning where he wasn't allowed to.  He then tried to smear his opponent.  On top of that, when the school paper, the Marquette Tribune, retracted their endorsement of Walker and called him "unfit", he and his buddies grabbed all the issues of the paper that they could and destroyed them.

In 2004, when Walker was running for his first re-election as Milwaukee County Executive, the question came up whether he kept a campaign promise of having his at-will staff sign waivers regarding the enhanced pensions.  He hadn't.  But to cover it up, once an Open Records Request had been filed, scrambled to get the promised signatures.  He then submitted a form in response to the ORR, written in such a way to disguise the fact that they hadn't signed it until then.

For this unethical act, he received a severe dressing down by the Department of Justice.  As Bill Christofferson, who worked for Walker's opponent in that race, put it:
The indisputable point is that Walker himself ordered his staff to engage in cover up and deception to keep the public -- the voters, since this was in the midst of an election campaign -- from learning the truth. [Dave Umhoefer, a Journal Sentinel reporter, uncovered the truth after the election.] 
The dishonesty was deliberate. It was calculated. It was wrong. And it was ordered by the guy at the top of the chain of command, Walker himself.
Over the years of being a career politician, Walker has also demonstrated a continuing problem of being unable to file a legal campaign finance report.

And who could ever forget the way he acted as the sycophant to a caller whom Walker believed to be David Koch.

Most recently, in the unfolding Walkergate saga, it is becoming increasingly evident that Walker did not win the Governor's office by honest means, having surrounded himself with ne'er-do-wells who have been charged, and some already convicted, of illegal politicking.  And it has gotten to the point that the only time a Walker staffer hasn't been charged, convicted or granted immunity  is because they're still being investigated.

And now, as governor, it appears that Walker still hasn't earned his Eagle Scout badge for integrity yet.

Case in point is Jocelyn Webster (emphasis mine):
Late last year, the governor's office announced it had hired 28-year-old Jocelyn Webster to serve as communications director for the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA). The department manages the state buildings where most of the anti-Walker protests have been held, and its duties include setting rules for protests. Webster started her career with Rove's notorious Office of Political Affairs in the George W. Bush administration 
A congressional investigation of the activities of that office yielded allegations -- including specific allegations against Webster – that Rove's team was involved in partisan campaigning on the public dime, a claim also leveled at aides of her newest boss during his tenure as Milwaukee County Executive.
Well, as least she should fit in real well with the rest of this boogle of weasels.

Over the span of decades, Walker has shown an undeniable pattern, not of leadership, but of deceit, dishonor, bullying, manipulation and an utter and complete disregard of the law.

In other words, Walker has shown that he is completely devoid of any ability to be a leader worthy of respect, much less any position of authority.

20 comments:

  1. But you have to admit he did balance the budget at both the county level and the state level, far better than his predessesors. I am not sure he is as crooked as you want to believe, but haven't I heard for years from the democrats that the end justifies the means?

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    1. LOL! You don't even have that.

      His last two budgets as MKE Co. Exec were illegal and unbalanced with $20M in unaccounted for money. That is why the county owes workers for a lot of back pay, plus 12% interest.

      And even Walker has admitted that the state budget isn't balanced either.

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  2. The letter, in regard to health care, from the Walker Administration to the Federal Government that admits that the State Budget isn't balanced either needs to be circulated more widely because a lot of people have fallen for his lie about a balanced state budget.

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    1. Half the state has fallen for that LIE and hate radio keeps repeating it!

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  3. The State's budget is not balanced. He did an accounting "trick" that he vehemently criticized his predecessor for doing: a "balance forward" form of accounting where he put this year's debts into next year's budget. Budgets are very complex, as is accounting. Once again, he practices deceit and half-truths in order to make rhetorical - and thus political - points. I wish his supporters would do a bit of research on this. The facts are there, and his claims have been proven false.

    Another point to make, since the Republicans like to equate macro and micro economic factors: if my own family budget was in the red, I could 1) forestall all payments until next year and say I balanced things, 2) cut all expenses (food, clothing, heat) for my family, and balance things 3) work out a responsible budget that will realistically balance things over a set amount of time, 4) increase income to help balance things.

    Walker claims to adhere to a set of stringent economic principles. The problem is, he is not clear or honest about what they are, though clearly he is most strongly selecting #2 above, while dissembling with #1 to make himself look good, since #4 isn't working for him.

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    1. You agree, then, that the democrats have done a horrible job with this state's budget.

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    2. You mean that we can't consider our checking accounts to be balanced by counting the paychecks not yet deposited?

      Yeh, I think that's called check-kiting. And it's no way to balance a state budget, either. (And yes, Anon at 6:41, that's bad accounting no matter the party that does it -- as both parties have been doing. So what? Get off the party wagon and be an Independent, so that you can think independently. It's very freeing to do so.)

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  4. The Jocelyn Webster hire was done to give Karl Rove an operative inside state government as he pours dirty money into Wisconsin via Super Pacs. This demonstrates how vital the Walker Putsch is to the success of the slow-motion Republican coup in America. The criminality in our state's government may reach well beyond our borders.

    Employees at DOA would do well to monitor Webster's activities and keep careful notes.

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  5. Just as a casual observer, I have noticed there are always a bunch of lawyers being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars and a bunch of lawsuits that seem to follow anything our GOP does. So, even if the budget were balanced, it wouldn't be for long. And I do not understand how any fiscal conservative can turn down money for state infrastructure and then turn around and ask for it again. (the train) Absurd!

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  6. Also these two women Walker has hired seem to be unethical, I refer to one of them being associated with Sharon Angle, who said that Dearborn, Michigan was going to be controlled by Shariah law, a total absolute lie about a place that she knows nothing about! Now we have this person who wants to restrict access to the Capitol and she is from out of state. This is not Texas.

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  7. Remember that the UW is now struggling with a huge "budget lapse" that the Walker admin has put on its shoulders after "balancing" the 2011-13 budget. There may be more "lapses" to come.

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  8. Jocelyn Webster is the Rove protege Walker hired as communications director for the Wisconsin Department of Administration. She is the one who oversaw setting up the new rules and permit requirements for protests. Lets remember that she got slapped down hard when the protest singers refused to get a permit, and the police refused to enforce the new rules against them. Not many realize this because the media generally ignored this stinging Walker (and Rove) defeat.

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  9. 1: If Walker had balanced the budget as he had claimed why would he have to keep coming back for more cuts to balance the budget?
    2: Are the corrupt actions of Ms. Webster something that Walker looks for on the resumes of his staff before he hires them?
    3: Some people never learn.

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  10. So then according to Kathleen Faulk the path towards a balanced budget is to first re-instate collective bargaining? We can spend ourselves into balance? I think we have been seeing enough of that ideology.

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  11. The past is indeed prologue when we deal with Scott Walker, which is why he must blasted out of power as soon as possible.

    He's a classic American "Failing Upwards" story, which seems to be a common thing to do in the GOP, when you think about it.

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  12. Well, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau wasn't fooled, as they revealed a $208 million gap that needs to be made up, and that's AFTER nearly a billion in lapses in the next fiscal year.

    Hmmm, you think maybe selling off $155 million to the Road Builders in the Transportation Fund might not be such a good idea? But it sure got some cold campaign cash coming Walker and WisGOP's way, didn't it?

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  13. As usual, great piece, Cog. Thanks

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  14. You'd think even Republicans would get tired of being lied to so much by their Governor!

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