Welcoming Scott Walker Home

Posted on: May 20th, 2010

The Democratic Party of Milwaukee County is sending a clear message to County Executive Scott Walker as he arrives back in Milwaukee tomorrow after his taxpayer-financed joyride around Wisconsin. A message reading, “Scott Walker has failed Milwaukee. Don’t let him fail Wisconsin,” will appear on a digital outdoor board above I-43 and Juneau Street beginning at midnight tonight. Walker’s motorcade will pass by the outdoor board as it proceeds to the site of this year’s Republican state convention.

“We want delegates to the Republican convention from around Wisconsin to know what Milwaukeeans think of Walker’s record as County Executive,” said Sachin Chheda, Chair of the DPMC. “We want them to understand that his administration has been a disaster for Milwaukee County.”

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Rolling Blunder – Day Four

Posted on: May 18th, 2010

This is Graeme Zielinski, the communications director for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

I’m enjoying a cold Sprecher root beer and taking a break after a few days following Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker around as he uses taxpayer and corporate dollars to pay for a motorcycle joyride around our beautiful state with his family and supporters. The weather’s been great. But the ethics of this thing sure are awfully cloudy.

That’s because the more I see of this trip, the clearer it becomes that Scott Walker is illegally campaigning on the taxpayers’ dime.

Supposedly, this trip is to promote Milwaukee County. But stop after stop, nobody is showing up at any of his events beside a few Republican cronies. At night, along with Walker’s campaign and county staff, they are eating at fancy restaurants with Walker (the place he ate at last night, the Green Mill in Eau Claire, looked like it had a pretty nice-and pricey-lobster and shrimp linguini).

In fact, this trip has nothing to do with the promotion of Milwaukee County-which Scott Walker has left in ruins.

We all know this trip is all about the promotion of Scott Walker.

Everywhere we go, there are partisans who have come out to see Scott Walker for the sole fact that he’s running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Whether it was in Beaver Dam, where the a UW-Whitewater College Republican showed up in a deserted parking lot to pledge her allegiance to Walker. Or in La Crosse, where right-wing state Rep. Mike Huebsch belittled the depths of the messes Walker caused. Huebsch spoke even as a Milwaukee County department head, who should have been back working in Milwaukee, unfurled banners with the logo of Walker’s corporate campaign sponsor.

Of course, our supporters have been showing up for this corporate- and taxpayer-funded joyride too, holding up signs that say things like, “Don’t Let Scott Walker do to Wisconsin What He’s Done To Milwaukee,” and “Scott Walker: Riding Wisconsin Families Into the Ground.”

In the coming days, you’re going to hear a lot more about what we think of the legality of this trip. You may even see our banners as Scott Walker rumbles into town on the taxpayer dime-and away from any responsibility for all the problems he has caused as Milwaukee County executive.

See you down the road,

Graeme Zielinski
Communications Director
Democratic Party of Wisconsin

Post Categories: Rolling Blunder
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Rolling Blunder – Day Three

Posted on: May 17th, 2010

We’re still wondering why, since this isn’t a campaign event, State Rep. Mike Huebsch was in the parking lot at a Best Western as Milwaukee County Housing Department chief Tim Russell unfurled AirTran flags, but that was yesterday. Today, we have Walker crony and State Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls), who shows up at totally unattended events at a creamery in Nelson and a park in Prescott. We spoke with Harsdorf later in the day at a band stand in Hudson after a trip to St. Paul, and guess what, we agree with her! Harsdorf made the point that it’s great that Walker is visiting this part of the state to promote tourism here. So Harsdorf agrees, as is obvious, that this has nothing to do with Milwaukee County.

Former State Sen. and Walker supporter Dave Zien showed up in Hudson on the way to Walker’s fancy dinner in Eau Claire. Speaking at a dealership in Rice Lake, Zien recalled the time that he rode around before with Tommy Thompson, who wasn’t much of a biker. Thompson fell over in front of a splay of reporters, though, as Zien recalled, “There were no cameras there.”

Speaking of Milwaukee County, Scott Walker political hack and department head Tim Russell was nowhere to be found during the day and our friends back in Milwaukee reported that he came to work at least part of the day. Not to worry, however. Russell reappeared in time in Eau Claire, far away from the mess he created in Milwaukee, to fuss over Scott Walker and a selected few over a pricey meal at the Green Mill Restaurant. They serve a mean lobster and shrimp pasta dish there that I’m not sure would sit so well in a brown bag.

It bears noting that along the way there are plenty of Democrats who are figuring out who Scott Walker really is and who are willing to take time out during there day to hold banners and bear witness against the absurdity of this trip, including several of our friends from labor who actually work for a living, including Iron Workers, Teamsters, Machinists, Steelworkers, and working folks from AFSCME and SEIU. The momentum against Scott Walker and his phony posturing is growing.

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Walker’s Tourism Ride Faces Complaints

Posted on: May 16th, 2010

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and his motorcycle stopped in Madison Saturday night as part of the first day of his seventh annual tourism ride to promote Milwaukee County.

Walker has led the six-day, 1,700-mile motorcycle ride, known as the County Executive’s Ride, since 2004.

But now that Walker is running for governor of Wisconsin, some say that the ride should be viewed as a campaign event and held to strict campaign rules.

Read more from Channel3000.com >>

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Rolling Blunder – Day Two

Posted on: May 16th, 2010

By Graeme Zielinski

Rolling Blunder in Beaver Dam

Let me give you the anatomy of one of these stops, told through the eyes of his visit to Beaver Dam on Sunday. A few Milwaukee County Parks vehicles show up and parks workers take out a cardboard sign that says something about the parks (I’ve never seen a single person look at one). Then the parks workers unfurl AirTran flags. Then a bunch of people on motorcycles come to the site. There is very little media coverage of any of these visits (in Madison, only a single television station bothers to show up. In Beaver Dam there is no one). The crowd mingles around. A few Republican elected officials come by. Then the parks workers tuck in the AirTran flags and the show is on the road again, on to the next site. One thing that we see a lot of are people approaching Walker, from the Harley group or alerted by the local Republican party, to talk to Walker about the governor’s race. But, of course, this is not a campaign event.
 
Some C.C. Riders from Madison join us in holding up a banner that says, “Scott Walker: Rolling Blunder.” They watch in laughter as Scott Walker’s Milwaukee Parks crew hands out AirTran shirts for all the riders to put on. Walker is wearing one. There’s no media here. The C.C. Riders see Walker offloading his bike from a trailer and wonder who is paying for all these expenses. Walker insists that it’s not the taxpayers off Milwaukee County. We know better.
 
In La Crosse, Scott Walker is met at his stop by some blue-collar workers with signs that say things like, “Scott Walker: Don’t Let Him Do to Wisconsin What He’s Done to Milwaukee County.” He’s also met by a major campaign supporter state Rep. Mike Huebsch, a right-wing West Salem Republican who goes on local television praising the Walker campaign.

But this is not a campaign event, right?

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Rolling Blunder – Day 1

Posted on: May 15th, 2010

By Graeme Zielinski

So we’re in Greenfield and surrounded by Milwaukee County staff — all of whom are on county time. There’s a county park a few blocks away where they could be mowing the lawn, but instead they’re here to fuss about Scott Walker’s taxpayer-funded campaign junket. Walker, before the horde leaves, makes holy sounds about how this ISN’T a campaign event and how this is about promoting Milwaukee County tourism. If that were true, of course, he’d be headed down to Chicago, the biggest pile of cash in the Midwest. Instead, he’s going to all the media markets that will be involved in his race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, as well as stops in Rockford and Dubuque.

Meanwhile, a county department head is traveling with Walker, who also is shilling for AirTran, the airline with which Walker is negotiating a lease deal. Walker is wearing an AirTran hat and singing the praises of the airline. Who knew the job of the Milwaukee County executive was as corporate pitchman? 
 
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One question that lingers in the brain as Scott Walker leaves on his campaign trip Saturday funded by AirTran and the taxpayers of Milwaukee County is why is the County Executive of Milwaukee is being escorted by sheriff’s deputies and cops from Waukesha County and Pewaukee? Is he some head of state? Are the people of Dubuque, Iowa, clamoring to see the failed head of Milwaukee County? More importantly, in this day and age of furloughs and layoffs, how dare he take cops on their service vehicles along with him on his bogus trip? There is real crime to be prevented in Milwaukee County, yet Walker needs some coppers to feel like a big wheel. Isn’t it enough that he’s got four or five other county vehicles traveling with him on county time so he can go meet with his fat cat contributors in places like La Crosse?

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