#WalkerAt20: Bradley Foundation Errand Boy

MADISON, Wis. — In his twenty years in office, Scott Walker has amassed a truly astounding record of failure. To commemorate the looming anniversary of his first election to office, One Wisconsin Now is highlighting a different and depressing failure of Gov. Walker every day, for twenty days. Today, we look at the right-wing machine behind the man, the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation, headed by Gov. Walker’s campaign co-chair, Michael Grebe.

“There’s no bigger funder of the right-wing noise machine and radical agenda of unaccountable education privatization than the Bradley Foundation. And there’s no politician with a cozier relationship or who’s more eager to put their agenda ahead of the best interests of the state than Gov. Walker,” commented One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross.

Walker’s record of failing Wisconsin to instead serve the agenda of the Bradley Foundation includes:

• The Bradley Foundation has a direct link to Scott Walker. Foundation head Michael Grebe serves as Walker’s campaign co-chair. Since 2000 the bigger than the Koch brothers Bradley Foundation has spent over $500 million funding right-wing think tanks, advocacy organizations and pundits to advance their agenda. [http://www.bradleywatch.org]
• During Scott Walker’s 2010 campaign, billboards depicting a person of color behind bars and the message “voter fraud is a felony” sprang up around Milwaukee, attempting to intimidate voters in heavily minority communities. It was the Bradley Foundation footing the bill. [Joint Investigation by One Wisconsin Now & TheGrio.com, 10/29/12]
• In 2012, with his policies failing and his “divide and conquer” approach dividing Wisconsin as never before, two non-profit organizations enjoying significant financial support form the Bradley Foundation took to the television airwaves with an unprecedented multi-million dollar ad campaign declaring of Scott Walker’s policies, “it’s working”. [Wispolitics.com, 2/8/12]
• The 2013-15 budget was the big payoff for Bradley and their radical privatization agenda. Gov. Walker proposed a massive expansion of the unaccountable private school voucher program and major boost in funding, while providing no new resources in the classroom for Wisconsin’s public schools. [Legislative Fiscal Bureau, Summary of Governor’s 2013-15 Budget Recommendations]

One Wisconsin Now is commemorating over 20 days, the failings, scandals and imbroglios of Gov. Scott Walker’s 20-years in elected office. Gov. Walker, who was first elected to the State Assembly on June 29, 1993, has spent virtually no time in the private sector and has enjoyed nearly half his life on the taxpayers’ dime, including receiving well over $1 million in salary alone, as well as health care benefits for he and his family.

Previous information compiled by One Wisconsin Now about Scott Walker’s failure as Milwaukee County Executive is available at www.ScottWalkerFailureFiles.com, his first disastrous year as Governor is available at www.WalkerFailure.com and the millionaires and billionaires behind it all at http://pinterest.com/onewisconsinnow/who-s-buying-gov-scott-walker