Scott Walker’s Record on Race & Ethnicity

It must be the final weeks of a gubernatorial campaign if Gov. Scott Walker is earnestly looking straight to camera saying he respects others’ beliefs. One Wisconsin Now Program Director Analiese Eicher noted that Walker’s words in this election cycle ring hollow when compared to his action and inaction on issues important to women, people of color, migrant families, students and sex assault survivors.

Scott Walker won’t be the only racist, sexist politician on stage at a campaign rally at the Mosinee airport tomorrow, joining him will be Donald Trump. According to One Wisconsin Now Program Director Analiese Eicher, Scott Walker’s record of racism and sexism put him in the same class as Trump who has bragged of sexually assaulting women and is currently barnstorming the country actively stoking racial fear and division to try to help fellow Republicans get elected.

The following are the statements of One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross on Gov. Walker’s shameless pandering to racism:

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements about Gov. Scott Walker’s disastrous record on corrections in Wisconsin. Walker who was first elected in 1993, is returning to Milwaukee today to talk about prisons to stroke racial division in the hopes of getting four more years in office. His turn to negative campaigning comes after recent public opinion polls have found his electoral prospects grim, despite $3 million in television advertising spent on his behalf since May.

Gov. Scott Walker said Tuesday he sees “no value” in visiting the Wisconsin prisons that he runs and that cost taxpayers more than $1 billion a year. He made the comment at a news conference where he took a swipe at Democrats who have proposed cutting the prison population in half. Walker said such a cut would mean releasing about 4,000 violent offenders.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker repeatedly evaded questions about federal immigration policy Monday, arguing it falls outside his jurisdiction. At the same time, he pushed for an end to international tariffs on products made in the United States. Walker justified his unwillingness to wade into one federal issue while speaking out on another by arguing tariffs “directly impact … the businesses in the state of Wisconsin.” Questions about both issues came as Walker visited the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Dairy Research to highlight an initiative to support dairy manufacturers as part of the state’s second annual Wisconsin Cheese Day. “The more cheese consumption goes up around the world, the better it is not only for our cheesemakers in the state, but for our dairy farmers and everyone else involved in the dairy process,” Walker said. Wisconsin cheesemakers and dairy farmers have voiced concerns as Canada, Mexico and other countries respond to President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs by imposing tariffs on products made in the United States… Walker said one way to mitigate the effects of trade disputes on Wisconsin businesses is to encourage foreign companies to invest in states like Wisconsin. Walker said he discussed that last week during a U.S. Department of Commerce summit in Washington, D.C. “The ultimate goal, if we can get there, would be no tariffs, or if anything, few tariffs on anything,” Walker told reporters. “That’s what I’m going to push for, if we can get to a level playing field, then we don’t have this tit for tat on any number of products out there.” In the same series of questions, Walker declined to say whether he supports the president’s call to immediately deport those who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, without due process… Walker said Monday the Wisconsin troops will have “no interaction with illegal immigrants, with detainees or people seeking entry into the United States.”… Asked about the Facebook ads, Walker noted that previous presidents of both political parties have used National Guard troops to bolster security at the southern border. He argued people are drawing connections that don’t exist between troop support and federal immigration policy. “I’ve got my hands full with things here in Wisconsin,” Walker said. “That’s my point, is I could comment on every single thing at the federal government, it might be good for the media, for stories, but that’s not what I’m elected to do. I’m elected to lead the state of Wisconsin and focus on the things that need to be done here.” Walker also said he is not aware of any migrant children being sent to Wisconsin.

A media report suggests a right wing group provided Trump administration officials with their Bible-based talking points attempting to justify their border policy of stripping children from their parents. The same group, Capitol Ministries, was previously welcomed to the Wisconsin Capitol by Gov. Scott Walker when they established a Bible study group here to help “... Christians in the political sphere.”

One Wisconsin Now Research Director Joanna Beilman-Dulin offered the following statements in advance of Gov. Scott Walker addressing this evening’s Badger Girls State inauguration in Oshkosh.

In a stunning display of political cowardice, when questioned by a reporter Gov. Scott Walker refused to share his thoughts on Donald Trump’s family separation immigration policy that strips children from their parents. Walker, who mounted a 71 day run for president in the summer of 2015 said Trump’s policy is a “federal issue.” One Wisconsin Now Research Director Joanna Beilman-Dulin condemned Walker for his cowardice and complicity.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has ordered about two dozen National Guard troops to the U.S. border with Mexico. The announcement was publicized by state military officials June 18, and progressive activists and politicians in the state responded quickly with protests… A news release from the Wisconsin National Guard said the president called on forces to mobilize “under the Militia Clause of the Constitution” and “Wisconsin is one of several states nationwide providing support to states on the southwest border. All will mobilize in a Title 32, 502(f) status, meaning they will operate under state control but with federal funds.”

Gov. Scott Walker was quick to share his reaction to a policy adopted by National Football League owners seeking to suppress the free speech of players protesting racial injustice. Yet Walker has been unable to muster a response to the release the same day of footage showing the harassment and abuse suffered by Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown at the hands of the Milwaukee Police, including being violently thrown to the ground, tased and arrested over where he parked his car.

Last week, Gov. Scott Walker was featured at a Milwaukee event hosted by America First Policies, an affiliated arm of the the America First Super PAC. Last week was a busy one for the Trump-Pence aligned group. In addition to hosting Walker, the group’s advocacy director, Carl Higbie, made a media appearance in which he defended his racist statements that “... the black race as a whole, not totally, is lazier than the white race, period” and Black women believe, “breeding is a form of employment.”

Gov. Scott Walker says he’s unfamiliar with the details surrounding an FBI raid on President Donald Trumps private attorney Michael Cohen. Asked Tuesday whether he shared those views, Walker declined to weigh in. “Being a state official I don’t know all the details of what they’re doing in that. I just try to focus on the issues before us here in the state,” said Walker. Walker has been vocal about Trump’s call to send National Guard troops to the Mexican border. During an interview on a conservative talk show Tuesday in Milwaukee, he said he would absolutely send National Guard members to the border and suggested the National Guard should train soldiers along the border with a mission of deterring illegal crossings and crime.

Gov. Scott Walker launched himself headlong into the immigration debate Monday, advocating for military training facilities along the Mexican border after previously backing President Donald Trump’s call for sending National Guard troops to patrol. However, Walker did not say whether he would activate Wisconsin National Guard members and send them to the border as governors in Texas and Arizona have done. “The state of Wisconsin has not been asked to assist with any southwest border missions at this time,” said Walker spokeswoman Amy Hasenberg. “If our assistance is needed, Major General Donald Dunbar, Wisconsin’s Adjutant General and homeland security adviser, will brief Governor Walker and plans of support will be made at that time.” … “As Governor, I want to ensure the safety of all of our citizens, and I want to reduce access to illegal drugs as part of a comprehensive strategy in dealing with opioid and illegal drug addiction,” Walker wrote in a letter to Pocan. “Therefore, I welcome President Donald Trump’s aggressive actions to secure our nation’s southern border.”

Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa, D-Milwaukee, faulted Republicans at the state and federal levels for policies that have imposed a culture of fear in Hispanic communities, pointing out that Gov. Scott Walker in his recent State of the State address didn’t mention the struggle of Latinos or immigrants. “The governor and his party seem unconcerned with the nearly 7,600 DACA Dreamers who call Wisconsin home, who right now their lives hang in the balance,” she said.

Despite Republican Paul Nehlen’s continuing racism and anti-semitism, Wisconsin’s most prominent elected Republican officials, including his opponent Rep. Paul Ryan, have refused to condemn Nehlen’s actions. Republican Gov. Scott Walker and Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel, who have both received campaign contributions from Nehlen, have offered no condemnation of Nehlen.

Fresh off an historic electoral defeat in a state Senate race, Wisconsin Republicans led by Gov. Scott Walker announced a special session of the legislature devoted to renewed attacks on Wisconsin families struggling to get by.

Gov. Scott Walker has expressed his concern about who an as yet unannounced Democratic gubernatorial challenger met with while as the Mayor of Madison more than 40 years ago. But according to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross, Walker has failed to express any remorse for his own appearance as a featured speaker, sharing a stage with white nationalists, at a conference in Florida a mere three weeks ago.

How desperate is Gov. Scott Walker for a political junket to Florida this December? Shockingly, so it seems, based on his scheduled appearance at a conference featuring some of the most extreme and divisive figures in American politics today.

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross is demanding the 64 members of the Wisconsin Republican Assembly Caucus meeting at the State Capitol today condemn by name their party’s leader: Donald Trump.

Gov. Scott Walker’s unwillingness to criticize Donald Trump by name for coddling of white nationalists in the wake of the horrific violence in Charlottesville, Virginia this weekend is a shameful addition to Walker’s appalling record on issues of race. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross pointed to Walker’s record stretching back two decades to his days in the State Assembly as evidence his silence is not just cowardice, but a pattern of behavior.

Gov. Scott Walker’s unwillingness to criticize Donald Trump’s coddling of white nationalists in the wake of the horrific violence in Charlottesville, Virginia this weekend is a shameful reminder that Walker will always put his own partisan political interests ahead of doing what is right for all peoples of Wisconsin. This includes a series of unconstitutional and racist attacks on the right to vote in Wisconsin for people of color.

Gov. Scott Walker says state attorneys shouldn’t intervene in a Syrian refugee’s lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s travel ban. The refugee now resides in Wisconsin. He filed a federal lawsuit Monday challenging Trump’s ban. The man contends his wife and young daughter are still in danger in Syria and Trump’s order halted his efforts to bring them here.

Gov. Scott Walker is backing President Donald Trump’s travel ban affecting seven mostly Muslim countries. Walker had been silent on the ban issued Friday until his spokesman released a statement Monday afternoon. Walker says, “This is a safety issue. A resettlement program to help refugees is compassionate and one that I support, but we should ensure we are doing everything possible to put the safety of our citizens first.”

Responding to rioting and violence in Milwaukee in recent days, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump made an appeal to black voters and said the country needs more police officers during a rally here Tuesday night… Trump was introduced by Giuliani, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, of Kenosha, and Gov. Scott Walker… “There are two names and only two names on the ballot who can be elected the next president of the United States,” Walker said in introducing Trump. “One is Hillary Clinton. The other is Donald Trump. … It is clear, the American people, the people in this state, as well as people across this country, we want change.”

With the eyes of the nation focused on racial unrest in Milwaukee, Gov. Scott Walker has provided no leadership on bringing communities together and healing racial wounds. Quite the contrary, Walker’s career has been built on and is embodied by fomenting racial strife in Milwaukee, according to a review of Walker’s 24-year record as an elected official conducted by One Wisconsin Now.

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements regarding Gov. Scott Walker’s continued endorsement for Donald Trump, even in the wake of Trump’s repeated attacks against the parents of fallen soldier Army Captain Humayun Khan.

Among Wisconsinites who lack ID cards and other documents proving their identity, race is a key factor in who requests free IDs to vote and whose requests are approved, according to data cited Monday in a court trial of a challenge to the state’s voter ID requirement… On Monday, the plaintiffs highlighted DMV data showing racial disparities in those who requested free IDs, as well as which of those requests were rejected. Two-thirds of the 981 people who used the petition process to request free IDs through April 19 were minorities, who make up 12 percent of the state’s citizen voting age population. That’s according to data submitted by the DMV to Allan Lichtman, an expert witness for the plaintiffs… Gov. Scott Walker earlier this month issued a rule he said is aimed at helping people to vote in the November election if they’re stalled in the petition process.

Some voters might not have been able to cast ballots this fall if not for a new state rule put in place on the eve of a trial over Wisconsin’s voter ID law, the official responsible for issuing ID cards testified Monday. Her testimony came as the federal judge hearing the trial expressed serious concern about voters who have found themselves in a Catch-22 in getting IDs needed to vote because they lack birth certificates or other key documents…Some people have found themselves caught up in that process for months and, at least in one case, for nearly two years. These are the voters who the judge described as stuck. Just before the trial started, GOP Gov. Scott Walker approved new state rules that will allow such people to quickly get temporary receipts with their photos printed on them that they can use for voting while they wait for a determination on whether they can get a state-issued ID… During Monday’s exchanges, lawyers for the plaintiffs homed in on racial disparities, noting minorities make up a big share of those needing ID cards because they don’t have driver’s licenses, as well as a large chunk of those facing the toughest time getting IDs.

In February, Gov. Scott Walker’s office released records that showed Lincoln Hills staff in 2012 failed to take an inmate who was sexually assaulted to an emergency room until after a prison basketball game — three hours after the assault took place.

Gov. Scott Walker says he doesn’t expect the Wisconsin state Senate will pass a bill banning sanctuary cities, and he’s “just fine with that.” Walker said Wednesday that his focus is on bills that help improve the state’s economy. The Assembly last week passed the bill that says local governments can’t prohibit police from inquiring about immigration status of someone charged with a crime or from working with federal immigration authorities.

In May of this year, Governor Scott Walker proposed a bill requiring that anyone applying for public assistance be required to complete a screening questionnaire for illegal drug use. Those deemed at risk would be drug tested before benefits could be awarded; a positive drug test would have resulted in denial of benefits and referral to a free treatment program paid for by the state. This bill was included in the proposed 2015-2017 state budget.

Walker among Republicans against Trump’s idea to ban Muslims: The Associated Press reports: “Gov. Scott Walker joins a growing number of Republicans publicly opposing presidential candidate Donald Trump’s call to ban Muslims from entering the United States. Walker, who abandoned his own presidential campaign in September, was in Chippewa Falls Tuesday where he told WQOW-TV that the country’s founding principles are based on protecting religious liberties, so he disagrees with Trump’s proposal.

Gov. Scott Walker pledged Monday that the state “will not accept new Syrian refugees” as he and Republican legislators joined a national chorus of mostly GOP leaders Monday calling on President Barack Obama to bar refugees from entering the United States. Immigration experts said governors can’t legally prohibit refugees from settling in their states but they can establish policies that make living in their states more difficult. Walker said in the wake of last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris that Wisconsin’s first priority “must be to protect our citizens.” “In consultation with our adjutant general, who also serves as my homeland security adviser, it is clear that the influx of Syrian refugees poses a threat,” Walker said. “With this in mind, I am calling upon the president to immediately suspend the program pending a full review of its security and acceptance procedures.”

To rally support for a GOP bill to break apart Wisconsin’s agency that oversees elections and ethics matters, Gov. Scott Walker is casting the Government Accountability Board as incompetent. At one point, he stormed Twitter using the #ReformGAB hashtag. In one Oct. 13, 2015 tweet, he claimed the agency wanted to consider Mickey Mouse and Adolf Hitler as valid signatures on recall petitions — a claim we rated False. In another tweet from the series that day, Walker wrote: “GAB ignored their duties & did not regularly audit the voter rolls to remove all felons – for a span of 16 elections. #ReformGAB”… He said the ignored duty was meant to remove felons. But the post-election felon audit is a final check to see if any felons voted, not primarily to remove them from voter rolls. That effort comes earlier in the process, and is done mainly by local clerks…

As Governor and as Milwaukee County Executive, Scott Walker personally had artwork depicting African Americans removed from public buildings, one piece featuring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. standing near a dove with a sign reading “Vote!” and another featuring a multicultural group of children playing together in a Milwaukee neighborhood. Yet just this weekend, Walker refused to call for the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina state capitol, claiming it was a “state issue.”

Yesterday Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker announced he would return seven contributions to his campaign totaling $3,500 from Earl Holt, the leader of a white supremacist organization that reportedly inspired the individual that massacred nine black churchgoers in a racially-motivated terror attack in Charleston, South Carolina. However, Walker failed to explain how it was he accepted seven contributions over four years from Holt with no questions, or what it was that inspired the white supremacist leader to become a regular donor to Walker’s campaign.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was unwilling this weekend to call for the removal of the Confederate flag from the Capitol grounds in South Carolina on the heels of the horrific, racially-motivated mass killing of black churchgoers in Charleston.

 Earl Holt, a white supremacist leader whose organization's racist rants reportedly influenced the individual that massacred nine black churchgoers in a racially-motivated terror attack in Charleston, South Carolina, has made at least seven donations totaling $3,500 to Wisconsin governor and presumed 2016 presidential candidate Scott Walker. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross demanded Walker return the money and call for the immediate removal of the Confederate flag from South Carolina's capitol grounds.

Just a few days before an unarmed, 19-year-old black man was shot and killed by a Madison police officer, Wisconsin's attorney general had asked lawmakers to fund more positions to investigate officer-involved deaths...Gov. Scott Walker last April signed into law a bill requiring outside agencies to investigate officer-involved shootings. The legislation was championed by Reps. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, and Gary Bies, R-Sister Bay, in response to three high-profile officer-involved deaths in the last decade. Wisconsin was the first state in the nation to pass such a law. In order to implement the law, the state Department of Justice under then-Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen requested $352,600 in 2015-16 and $386,000 in 2016-17, and 5 full-time positions annually, to investigate officer-involved deaths and review public records associated with those investigations. Walker did not fund the request in his biennial budget, introduced in February.

Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel wants the Legislature's budget committee to give the state Justice Department more positions in the state budget to deal with officer-involved death investigations. Lawmakers signed a bill last year that requires outside agencies to lead investigations of officer-involved deaths. Attorney General Brad Schimel told the Joint Finance Committee on Monday that more agencies are turning to the DOJ to handle such investigations. The agency asked Gov. Scott Walker to include funding for five new positions -- three agents and two records specialists -- to help with the workload. Walker didn't include the request in his budget proposal.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says his views have changed on immigration — and he doesn’t support amnesty for undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. Pressed about previous statements in which he allowed that immigrants who are currently in the U.S. illegally could stay if they paid certain penalties, Walker said in an interview aired on “Fox News Sunday”: “My view has changed, I’m flat-out saying it. Candidates can say that, sometimes they don’t.” “I don’t believe in amnesty, and part of the reason that I made that a firm position is because I look at the way this president has mishandled that issue,” Walker said, explaining his views changed after talking to border-state governors and others close to the immigration issue.

For the second time in two weeks, Gov. Scott Walker is refusing to condemn alarming comments made by prominent Republicans on his behalf or in his presence. The latest, failed GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, who said during a Walker meet and greet in New York that he doesn’t believe President Obama “loves America.”

The liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now was critical of Walker's decision to give proceeds to the state party rather than donate them to charity. It dubbed the event a "pay to pray" fundraiser, a nod to the $25 prayer breakfast. "Scott Walker has one foot out the door for a 2016 run for the GOP nomination for president. It’s all politics all the time for him," said One Wisconsin Now executive director Scot Ross. "One shudders to think what Gov. Walker will do with a $70 billion state budget when he’s willing to require a political donation to ice skate or pray with him." "The Republican Party of Wisconsin isn't being inaugurated and the idea Wisconsinites have to donate to a political party to participate in activities like this is another disgraceful example of a governor whose only concern is partisan political politics," Ross continued. Ross said it was "reprehensible" that Walker recently had a "photo op" with the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County when the group won't receive any inaugural celebration proceeds.

Molotov In an undated letter posted by the Capital Times Wednesday, Walker wrote to a constituent that he would be happy to display a menorah at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. At the time, he was serving as county executive. But what stands out most is his closing line. From the letter: Thank you for your letter regarding the Menorah Display. Yes we would be happy to display the Menorah celebrating "The Eight Days of Chanukah" here at the Courthouse. [...] Thank you again and Molotov.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, a potential 2016 Republican president candidate, has signed on to a lawsuit that seeks to block President Barack Obama's recently announced unilateral immigration actions. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, is being led by Governor-elect Greg Abbott in Texas and includes at least 17 states. It represents a test for Republican governors considering 2016 White House bids who need to balance their efforts to appease the party's base with the risk of appearing anti-immigrant and hurting their prospects with the nation's burgeoning Hispanic and Asian populations. "The immigration system is broken, but this is an issue that should be addressed through collaborative federal action, not unilateral action by the president," Walker said in a statement. "President Obama’s actions represent a violation of his constitutional duty to faithfully execute the laws and exceed the limits of his administrative powers."

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker defended his voter ID law Friday night during the first gubernatorial debate with Democratic challenger Mary Burke. Walker said that the voter ID law, which the U.S. Supreme Court just blocked from being enforced, is worthwhile if it stops one person from fraudulently casting a ballot. Burke pointed to studies that show some 300,000 Wisconsin residents lack the necessary forms and identification, disproportionately people of color, and said there’s no evidence of fraud. She called it “shocking” that he’d stop 300,000 people from voting to stop one instance of fraud.

Friday morning, a three-judge panel heard Walker’s appeal to the federal ruling that previously struck down his Photo ID voting restriction law. By afternoon, almost immediately following the hearing, the three GOP-appointed federal judges (a Reagan appointee, and two George W. Bush appointees) restored the restrictive voting measure [PDF] in advance of the November general election...The ruling overturns the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Adelman which had struck down Wisconsin’s “Act 23″ in April. At the time, in his landmark federal ruling, Adelman, a Bill Clinton-appointee, found that some 300,000 registered voters in the state, approximately 9% of all registered voters, lacked the state-issued Photo ID necessary to legally vote under the new statute. That number, he noted, was far larger than the margin of victory enjoyed by Walker and other statewide officials in the 2010 election.“To put this number in context,” Adelman wrote, “in 2010 the race for governor in Wisconsin was decided by 124,638 votes, and the race for United States Senator was decided by 105,041 votes. Thus, the number of registered voters who lack a qualifying ID is large enough to change the outcome of Wisconsin elections.”

Then-Milwaukee County Executive and Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker directed his assistant administrator to “please help him out,” after being asked by Stephen Einhorn for information that was ultimately used in dozens of voter intimidation billboards that were placed around Milwaukee in the weeks leading up to Walker’s election as governor.

Gov. Scott Walker and Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen are asking a federal court to reinstate Wisconsin's voter ID law, but they have not finalized a plan to comply with a different court's decision requiring the state to provide IDs to people who don't have birth certificates.

Valeria Gonzalez, who is part of the student-led organization Youth Empowered in the Struggle, said Gov. Scott Walker was wrong to repeal in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants in the 2011- 2013 state budget. Because of the repeal, undocumented students attending a University of Wisconsin school or technical college in Wisconsin must pay out-of-state tuition. “We believe that Governor Scott Walker still has the opportunity to change what he has done,” said Gonzalez. “If he wants Latinos to vote for him, he needs to bring back in-state tuition.” Republicans argue that taxpayer-funded benefits should not be given to people who have come to this country illegally.

 In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, One Wisconsin Now is requesting the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) send observers to Wisconsin for the November 2014 General Election. Federal DOJ election observers were previously in the state in 2012, and One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross cited recent law changes and the state GOP's record of animus towards select groups of voters in requesting their presence again.

Acting out of the public eye on controversial measures, Gov. Scott Walker signed asbestos liability legislation Thursday opposed by a number of veterans groups and used a partial veto to loosen new restrictions on early voting opposed by Democrats. Wielding his pen privately on a stack of 31 bills, Walker approved a number of elections bills Thursday, including the absentee voting measure and another one to give lobbyists more time to give campaign donations to state officials. In the early-voting measure, Walker used his partial veto powers — the most powerful in the nation — to nix language restricting early voting hours in Milwaukee and other cities to 45 hours a week while leaving in place a provision to prohibit early voting on weekends. Democrats and Milwaukee officials have decried those voting limits as the latest effort by the GOP to make it harder for minorities, veterans, the elderly and students to vote, saying it amounted to "fixing elections" rather than problems.

 Despite widespread public opposition, Gov. Scott Walker quietly signed into law new restrictions on early voting today. Walker's acquiescence to the latest racist, anti-voter scheme by Republicans eliminates weekend early voting in Wisconsin and outlaws municipalities offering citizens the ability to vote in the two weeks prior to Election Day before 8am or after 7pm.

 Late Thursday night the Assembly approved and sent to Gov. Scott Walker new restrictions on voting branded as “racist, hypocritical and fraudulent” by One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross. In response One Wisconsin Institute is circulating an online petition, already signed by several thousand citizens, urging Gov. Walker to veto the bill and has delivered a letter to Gov. Walker urging the same.

 The State Assembly has once again attacked the right to vote in Wisconsin as Republicans today rammed through controversial legislation to impose new restrictions on early voting. The Senate approved the bill earlier in the week and it now makes its way to Gov. Walker for his signature or veto.

 An analysis of early voting patterns in Wisconsin in 2012 shows that longer waits for voters would have resulted had state Republican’s efforts to restrict the hours of early voting been in place. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross noted that urban areas like Milwaukee would have been particularly hard hit compared to the rest of the state.

 A June 2012 news report in the Wall Street Journal featured a look at the efforts of Gov. Walker and other right wing groups to target Republicans to vote early in the 2012 recall elections, and speculated it could serve as a model for other states. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross noted that Republicans have added a heaping dose of hypocrisy to their updated voter turnout plan by seeking to suppress the votes of seniors, minorities and working families with new restrictions on early, in-person voting.

Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin passed a bill Wednesday to scrap weekend voting—and the rationale they used to support the move may set a new standard for cynicism. A day earlier, Republican Gov. Scott Walker vowed to go to the mat for the state’s controversial voter ID law...As Senate Leader Scott Fitzgerald, a Republican, put it in comments to reporters Wednesday just after the bill had passed: It’s difficult for people to turn on Channel 6 in Milwaukee … and there’s a shot of someone voting during a time when it’s not available to people in rural areas. In other words: Rural counties don’t need weekend voting. But their residents might feel left out if they see others voting at a time when they can’t. So no one should vote on weekends. Unmentioned in this, of course, is that voters in heavily populated urban counties are disproportionately minorities and Democrats.

 A breaking media report indicates that Gov. Walker is mulling a special session of the legislature in the event his voter ID law — estimated to disenfranchise 300,000 legal voters, overwhelmingly the elderly and minorities — is found unconstitutional.

 Legislation before the state Senate today to severely restrict early in-person voting and ban weekend voting in Wisconsin could create more hurdles for minorities, seniors and persons with disabilities who want to exercise their state constitutional right to vote. State election regulators and non-partisan watchdogs have reported serious issues with the accessibility of physical locations used for voting on Election Day and serious delays to vote in many polling places in urban areas.

Documents released this week show that Gov. Scott Walker told one of his closest advisers "Don't hold back" after she forwarded an anti-immigrant screed to top members of his political inner circle in July of 2010. Dorothy Moore, Walker's scheduler in his Milwaukee County executive's office who came to Madison with his gubernatorial staff, forwarded a supposed description of Mexican immigration policies, mocking the use of the term "undocumented." The email can be found on page 10,236 of WalkerDocs 1. The forwarded message outlines Mexican immigration laws that human rights activists call immoral, such as felony charges and years of imprisonment for undocumented immigration into the country. Here's a screenshot..."What is wrong with this picture???" Walker's aide asks. "The new word for supervisors today 'undocumented'!!! I would really love to send this to them. Read what they do in Mexico if it was reversed." "Don't hold back," Walker replies.

Even while arguing for racial outreach from his party, Gov. Scott Walker has had to deal with recent disclosures of racially charged statements from aides, with the latest two examples coming Wednesday in a massive dump of unsealed court documents….Unlike past cases, the newest examples coming to light Wednesday in the unsealed documents involved Walker staff members who served as his No. 1 and No. 2 aides while he served as Milwaukee County executive. In April 2010, Walker's former deputy chief of staff Kelly Rindfleisch received an emailed joke from a friend about someone whose dogs supposedly qualified for welfare because they are "mixed in color, unemployed, lazy, can't speak English and have no frigging clue who their Daddys are." Rindfleisch wrote back: "That is hilarious. And so true!"...In another email, sent in July 2010, Thomas Nardelli, Walker's chief of staff for Walker at Milwaukee County, forwarded Rindfleisch and others a joke about someone who has what he calls a "nightmare" about turning into a black, Jewish, disabled gay man who is unemployed.

For the second time in less than four months, Gov. Scott Walker has fired an aide for making demeaning comments about Hispanics on social media. Walker — who has been calling on fellow Republicans to do more to reach out to minority voters — ousted Taylor Palmisano as his campaign’s deputy finance director on Tuesday. The first-term governor made the move after No Quarter contacted his campaign regarding the inflammatory tweets. In one, Palmisano, 23, complained about an individual who was doing custodial work in a library in which she was working. "I will choke that illegal mex cleaning in the library. Stop banging (expletive) chairs around and turn off your Walkman," she posted on March 9, 2011. Two months earlier, she went to Twitter to write about her bus trip from Pasadena, Calif., to Las Vegas after watching the Wisconsin Badgersplay in the Rose Bowl: "This bus is my worst (expletive) nightmare Nobody speaks English & these ppl dont know how 2 control their kids #only3morehours #illegalaliens.”

There’s fraud in Wisconsin elections — but the impropriety isn’t happening in polling places on Election Day. It’s being perpetrated in our state Capitol where Gov. Walker and his lapdog Republican Legislature continue to manipulate the rules on voting to gain a partisan political advantage.

Fifty years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream Speech” calling for racial equality and economic justice on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross noted how the “divide and conquer” politics of Gov. Walker and the policies he and the GOP-led legislature have pursued are universally antithetical to Dr. King's message.

 In announcing Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker would travel to Alabama as he continues his “stealth campaign” for the Republican nomination for the presidency in 2016, that state's Republican party touted his “Alabama values.” One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross wondered if Walker will also share tips from Wisconsin on his efforts to manipulate the rules on voting to benefit himself politically.

 Determined not to be outdone by recent anti-voter legislation in North Carolina, Wisconsin State Senator Mary Lazich has fired back, re-introducing a package of bills to make it easier to toss out the legally cast ballots of legal voters for minor clerical errors and injecting more partisanship into election administration. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross termed the depth and breadth of Lazich’s contempt for the most fundamental of democratic rights, the franchise, “disgusting and depraved.”

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that Governor Scott Walker has fired Steve Krieser, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the state Department of Transportation (DOT), for a stunningly racist Facebook rant in which he said of undocumented people in the US, “You may see Jesus when you look at them, I see Satan.” However, the Walker aide was not fired or disciplined after issuing a directive in 2011 that would have made it more difficult for legal, low-income Wisconsin voters to cast a ballot in elections under a GOP passed voter ID law.

In a stunning online rant, a top Gov. Scott Walker official likened illegal immigrants to Satan during a Facebook debate over a bumper sticker declaring open season on foreigners living in the United States without documentation. "You may see Jesus when you look at them," Steven Krieser, assistant deputy secretary at the state Department of Transportation, wrote Tuesday regarding illegal immigrants. "I see Satan." Krieser wrote that a "stream of wretched criminals" is crossing the border without obstruction. These individuals, he said, "completely ruined" entire states and industries, breeding "the animus that many American citizens feel toward them." Walker's response was swift and dramatic. Less than two hours after his office was informed of the rant, Walker fired Krieser. He had been paid $96,628 a year as the No. 3 official at DOT.

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. The title “Governor of the State of Wisconsin” suggests that the holder of the office would consider the diversity of the entire state's population. As judged by his actions in office, Scott Walker has clearly failed in this regard.

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.

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. In today's installment, Gov. Walker's anti-voter record is “highlighted”.

Roger Ailes, Fox News Chair and CEO, is in line for a big payday courtesy of Wisconsin's “Money Badger” Michael Grebe, head of the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation and co-chair of Gov. Scott Walker's campaign. According to news reports, Ailes will receive a $250,000 no strings attached “Bradley Award” in a ceremony next month.

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross called on state and federal authorities to immediately open an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Capital Midwest being granted management of $1 million of taxpayer funds through the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA). Capital Midwest is run by Stephen Einhorn who, along with his wife Nancy, donated $25,000 to Gov. Walker's campaign a mere month before being awarded management rights over the public funds by the WHEDA board, a majority of whose members are appointed by Walker.

Wisconsin's 'Money Badger', Michael Grebe, appears to have his paws in the attack on worker rights in Michigan according to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross. Grebe, who runs the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation, has doled out nearly $2 million to three organizations taking leading roles in promoting the attack on worker rights launched by Michigan Republicans in a lame duck session of their state legislature.

Recent media reports on prospective 2016 Republican presidential candidates' money chase included Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on a list of suitors seeking an audience with GOP mega-donor and Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. But according to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross, Walker may already have found his Super-PAC sugar daddy, the Wisconsin 'Money Badger', Michael Grebe of the Bradley Foundation.

The day after statewide success for progressives in Wisconsin, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director noted the untold story is the failure of Wisconsin's 'Money Badger,' Bradley Foundation CEO Michael Grebe, and his proteges Governor Scott Walker, Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus and U.S. Representative and failed Vice-Presidential candidate Paul Ryan to deliver the state for Republicans.

The Romney for President campaign has touted the endorsement of Michael Grebe, saying in a press release that the head of the Milwaukee based Bradley Foundation, recently revealed as a funder of voter suppression billboards, is a “great supporter of conservative causes”.

The liberal organization One Wisconsin Now was the first to disclose the role the Einhorn foundation had in footing the bill for the billboards. Scot Ross, head of the Madison-based group, called it “reprehensible” that private foundation money was spent on billboards that Ross said were intended to suppress the vote during the 2010 election in which Scott Walker was elected governor. Grebe is the campaign chairman of Walker’s campaign. “It raises serious questions about how the Bradley Foundation spends its money,” Ross said.

Billboards warning communities of color in Ohio and Wisconsin that voter fraud can lead to jail time were put up by a group led by a Milwaukee-based venture capitalist and donor to Mitt Romney and the Tea Party movement, an investigation by NBC’s theGrio has found. The billboards—which carried the unnecessary (and some might say, intimidating) warning that “VOTER FRAUD IS A FELONY!”—have been removed by the company that erected them in the first place, Clear Channel...the company gave the client a choice: either reveal yourself, or the ads need to come down. The client chose to have the ads come down, and to remain anonymous. But that anonymity lasted about a week. A joint investigation by our colleagues at theGrio and the issue-advocacy group One Wisconsin Now pulled back the curtain a bit: One Wisconsin Now and theGrio discovered that a little-known non-profit, the Einhorn Family Foundation, based in Milwaukee, was behind the 2010 and 2012 Milwaukee area billboard campaigns. The Einhorn Foundation, led by the family patriarch, Steven Einhorn, is just one of a constellation of conservative organizations that go beyond Charles and David Koch, the billionaire brothers behind much of the tea party funding, who have become familiar to those watching the rise of “dark money” in American elections since the Citizens United decision in the U.S. Supreme Court.

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements regarding news late Monday that the Einhorn Family Foundation confirmed the results of a joint investigation by theGrio news service and One Wisconsin Now and admitted it was the previously-anonymous funder of voter suppression billboards purchased in 2010 and 2012 targeting communities of color.

Stephen Einhorn - a Wisconsin venture capital fund manager and major GOP donor - acknowledged Monday that he and his wife Nancy paid for dozens of anonymous billboards in and around Milwaukee and two Ohio cities warning residents of the penalties for committing voter fraud. Democrats and civil rights groups complained that the signs - which were taken down last week - were concentrated in minority neighborhoods and intended to suppress the election turnout, though some were posted as far out as Waukesha and Washington counties...The Einhorns have made campaign donations to many Republican politicians, including Gov. Scott Walker, to whom they have given $49,750 since 2005, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

A joint investigation by theGrio news service and One Wisconsin Now has uncovered that Milwaukee's Einhorn Family Foundation is the “private family foundation” that anonymously funded voter suppression billboards in Wisconsin in September 2010 and again this year. A review of IRS documents also showed Milwaukee's Bradley Foundation, headed by Scott Walker's campaign co-chair Michael Grebe, and one of the largest sources for right wing funding in America, gave the Einhorn Family Foundation a $10,000 grant, at the time the 2010 suppression billboards appeared, “to support a public education project.”

The Republican-crafted spending plan reshapes all corners of Wisconsin life, from how much Medicaid will cost to auto title loans to honoring former President Ronald Reagan to even drinking alcohol at the movies. Here’s a look at some of the ways the budget will reshape the state’s priorities and touch lives across Wisconsin:...If you’re a child of an illegal immigrant, going to college in Wisconsin is about to get much more expensive. The budget ends in-state tuition rates for children of illegal immigrants and forces them to pay out-of-state rates. Those changes will apply to anyone who enrolls for classes after Friday.

Police officers will no longer have to collect traffic-stop data to track possible racial profiling, under a bill signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Scott Walker. The bill, which passed the Senate in February and the Assembly June 8, will reverse a state mandate requiring Wisconsin's 600 law enforcement agencies to collect racial and other data on drivers pulled over by officers. Opponents of the mandate say the repeal will eliminate unnecessary paperwork for law enforcement and cut costs, while supporters of the mandate say the data-collection system helps keep track of potential racial profiling. "During tight budget times we need to set priorities in all areas of government, and this bill allows law enforcement agencies to focus on doing their job - protecting and serving the public," Walker said in a statement.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker has killed a statewide mandate on police to gather racial data during traffic stops. Walker signed a GOP bill Wednesday that ends requirements that officers collect the age, zip code, gender and ethnicity of drivers and passengers. Democrats passed the requirements when they controlled the Legislature, arguing the data will prove whether racial profiling exists in Wisconsin. Some police have countered the requirements are too time-consuming. Walker issued a statement saying the data-gathering effort is burdensome and police should be allowed to do their jobs.

Election officials across Wisconsin are bracing for a difficult transition as the state rushes into place new rules for voting signed into law by Gov. Scott Walker Wednesday — including a controversial measure requiring voters to use photo IDs. Passage of the controversial law, which has been discussed by Republicans for more than a decade, means those charged with enforcing it have just under two months to develop and implement the training needed to handle polls in the coming recall elections...Opponents say it is a solution without a problem. They fear it discourages people from voting, especially college students, seniors, minorities and people with disabilities.

On the chopping block in Walker’s two-year budget proposal are early release programs for prisoners, in-state college tuition for the children of illegal immigrants, mandatory insurance coverage of contraceptives, college financial aid for high school grads who are good citizens and public financing for Supreme Court campaigns...Walker’s budget plan also would ax a Democratic initiative approved under Doyle that grants in-state college tuition rates to children of illegal immigrants, so long as the students have graduated from a Wisconsin high school and lived in the state for at least three years.

Among the many provisions in his proposed state budget, Gov. Scott Walker wants to repeal a law that allows some undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at public universities. After years of battling to get that measure passed, Gov. Jim Doyle signed it into law in 2009. Before that students who were undocumented were charged out of state tuition, even if they had attended Wisconsin high schools and made good grades…Christine Neumann-Ortiz, the executive director of Voces de la Frontera, an advocacy group that worked for years to get the bill passed, was quick to react. "We fought for the historic inclusion of immigrant youth in higher education, and we will fight to defend their civil rights and dreams," she said in a press release issued Wednesday. She called the measure part of Walker's "cynical attempt to scapegoat workers and students for the economic troubles caused by many of his own corporate backers."

Democrats are accusing Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker of racism after a campaign aide tweeted a link to a video that some found offensive.Walker spokeswoman Jill Bader quickly took down the offending Twitter post and apologized Monday, but Democrats continued their assault Tuesday, demanding that Walker, the Milwaukee County executive, personally address the issue. MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann seized on the controversy, naming Bader his "worst person in the world" on Monday night's "Countdown." The flap started when Bader retweeted a post from Michael Brickman, another Walker press aide, that in turn relayed someone else's comment that President Barack Obama's response to Walker's stand against high-speed rail was contained in a video. The video was a clip of African-American dancers singing, "C'mon, Get on the Train," from the old "Soul Train" television series.

“Now more than ever Wisconsin needs a leader who is going to put Wisconsin families at the top of the list, for a place in the UW system basing appointments on merits and keep in state tuition affordable not allocating slots based on quotes or giving in state tuition to those who are here illegally. And let me be clear I would sign Arizona legislation on illegal immigration.” (2010 Republican Convention Speech)

Republican candidate for governor Scott Walker reversed himself on Arizona's controversial immigration law over the weekend, first expressing serious concerns about it then saying he would be comfortable signing it into law. The flip came after Walker was barraged with negative comments on his Facebook page following an Associated Press story reporting on his concerns about the law that critics say could lead to racial profiling. Walker's change in position was the result of him doing more research on the issue, not reacting to upset supporters, his campaign manager Keith Gilkes said on Monday. (Note: Walker never followed through, resulting in a “promise broken” rating from Politifact)

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker's pandering flip flop on the racist Arizona immigration law has One Wisconsin Now asking whether a similar strategy could get him to answer the question he has refused to answer: How will Scott Walker pay for his $2 billion tax giveaway to benefit the rich and big business? Walker flipped his position from a weekend Associated Press story after his Facebook page was riddled with criticisms by tea party types.

“As Governor of Wisconsin, I will sign legislation that strengthens our protection against illegal immigration and ensures that taxpayer funded benefits like Badger Care and drivers licenses are not available to those who are here illegally.”

• Jim Doyle and the Democrats have refused to protect the integrity of the ballot box in Wisconsin’s electoral system. Scott Walker will not allow this to continue.
• Scott will work with the state legislature and pass a law that requires a State of Wisconsin issued Photo ID to vote.
• Scott will work with the state legislature to repeal .same-day. voter registration.
• Return absentee ballots to their original purpose - people who are absent on Election Day.
• Require that those who register voters be trained by local clerks or elections officials.”

A state representative has proposed a bill that would require Wisconsin voters to show photo identification before voting, but another lawmaker said the rule would disenfranchise minorities and other voters. State Rep. Scott Walker, R-Wauwatosa, asked an Assembly committee Thursday to recommend passing his bill because he said it could reduce voting irregularities like those that occurred during November's presidential election. It would also maintain the integrity of the ballot, Walker said...State Sen. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, said the bill would threaten the freedoms of disenfranchised voters, such as minorities, women, senior citizens, people with disabilities, college students and the poor...“These are the same sort of onerous obstacles that we saw in Southern states … that were put into place to try to prevent minorities from voting,” Moore said. “It is like a poll tax.”

“For years, Milwaukee students have been bused to schools far from their homes and far from the support of their parents and neighbors.”