With the 2018 midterms just 19 days away and so much at stake in fighting President Trump’s horrifying agenda, comparisons to the 2010 midterm elections abound. When Republican opposition to President Obama reached fever pitch, the GOP insisted it needed people like Scott Walker, the Tea Party darling, to balance out rampant government overspending that would surely explode the national deficit.
Wow. In Wisconsin, four of Scott Walker's former department secretaries — who he appointed — said they won't be voting for him.https://t.co/esdMxf3URD
— Steve Contorno (@scontorno) October 18, 2018
Those same Republicans are now discovering that those Tea Party policy ideas were not feasible. Three top Wisconsin state officials appointed by Governor Scott Walker have left their post, giving up as much as $200,000 a year in salaries, to admit their mistakes, accuse him of coverups, and back his challenger, Tony Evers. In a letter published by local Wisconsin news agencies, those secretaries wrote:
‘[In the beginning] we were proud to lead the way on some of his bold initiatives in our state agencies. That pride evaporated at various times for each of us as we found ourselves disagreeing with both policies and practices within the administration that lacked integrity. It became clear that his focus was not on meeting his obligations to the public but to advancing his own political career at a tremendous cost to taxpayers and families…’
‘During the recall in 2012 he stopped attending cabinet meetings and delegated state business to his Chief of Staff and DoA Secretary. When he decided to run for President in 2015 he subordinated Wisconsin interests to those in Iowa and New Hampshire and his policy/budget proposals started to clash with members of his own party who still would have to stand for election in Wisconsin.’
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is the only sitting governor to win 3 elections in 5 years. ('10, '12, '14) He's looking for another win this November. But he trailed 53-43 in the latest NBC poll. And the FiveThirtyEight forecast, out today, puts Walker's chances of winning at 38%.
— Marshall Cohen (@MarshallCohen) October 18, 2018
‘AÂ constant theme during Governor Walker’s tenure has been to put off difficult decisions, drive our state further into debt and kick the can down the road for future generations to tackle at higher costs with opportunities lost. He lacks the basic understanding that investing in our state’s infrastructure spurs economic growth.’
Scott Walker is literally suing the government to end protections for people with preexisting conditions.
This is the GOP model:
1) Do something terrible
2) Claim they'd never do such a terrible thing
3) Try to blame the terrible thing on someone else
4) Do terrible thing again https://t.co/aJuDe133ml— Randy Bryce (@IronStache) October 15, 2018
Those closest to Walker, according to the writers, “simply did everything in their power to avoid transparency in his decision-making process.” It was an administration that lacked proper checks and balances, and the result was often chaos and possibly even wrongdoing.
‘Governor Walker has consistently eschewed sound management practices in favor of schemes or coverup and has routinely put his future ahead of the state. The result is micromanagement, manipulation and mischief. We have all been witness to more than our shar?e of this.’
Advisers have urged Trump, without success, not to travel to Wisconsin, among other states, WaPo reports.
His team had argued he would be wasting his time because they believe Scott Walker is going to lose his race. https://t.co/5ag2bCOYom
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 18, 2018
The letter was signed by Walker-appointed Secretary of Financial Institutions Paul Bildsten, Secretary for the Department of Commerce Paul Jadin, and Department of Corrections Secretary Ed Wall.
Featured image via Flickr by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons license