Walker STILL Won’t be Stimulated, and the Pressure Mounts
As my fine colleague at OWN Cody pointed out several times recently, bull-headed Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker is fighting tooth and nail to ensure Milwaukee County doesn’t get a dime of President Obama’s stimulation package. Walker went so far as to guarantee the citizens of Milwaukee that he wouldn’t be ‘asking for any new’¦things to be done here.’
Walker’s obstinate refusal to work on behalf of Milwaukee County even ruffled feathers among his own staff and other in Milwaukee County government. It turns out that Walker’s chief of staff Tom Nardelli thinks that going after some of the stimulus money for public works projects was an ‘excellent’ suggestion. Milwauke County Supervisor Joe Sanfelippo said ‘it would be nice to hit the ground running’ should Obama’s stimulus package passes Congress.
The pressure is on Walker’s plan to do nothing from other corners too’labor leaders in Milwaukee have expressed the need to present a united front in efforts to get stimulus money. Others are asking if Milwaukee doesn’t get the money, where would it go? Kenosha County Exec Jim Kreuser said his county would gladly take any of Walker’s cast-off funds.
Walker’s only reason for rejecting the cash? He doesn’t want to ‘put money in the hands of the government. Well just what is Walker’s great idea then? Keep toting the failed Bush Administration’s talking points about ‘smaller government’ (all the while, Bush ruled over the biggest expansion of the federal government’¦)? How is Walker working to help Milwaukee in these troubled times? Or is he too busy running for governor to take care of the people he currently represents?Just when is Walker going to get it? Is he really such a disciple of Grover Norquist that he’d stand by and watch while critical programs and services in Milwaukee are rolled under as Milwaukee’s stimulus money gets spent somewhere else?
There are lots of questions for Scott Walker, but no answers. And as it becomes more and more likely that Congress will pass Obama stimulus package, it’s becoming less and less clear what Milwaukee County is going to get’all thanks to Walker the stubborn ideologue.