Recall puts strain on Walker’s schedule
Poor baby. From the alternate local rag, I should look up the source but I'm sort of flooding the thread with Walker detritus and ought to cut back. Couple clips, first the lead-in:
On Jan. 28, 2011, two weeks before Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker unveiled his plan to slash public employee unions’ powers, he dined at the Washington, D.C., area home of Fred Malek, a wealthy Republican power broker.
It was a taste of what would become routine for Walker.
Somehow, I'm guessing Walker was pretty well acquainted with the Koch Bro network well before that, probably from the time he was nominated at least. It's a tragedy that he's had to spend so much time with the people he really represents since then, though. Mostly a tragedy for Wisconsin. But have no fear, in true Republican "personal responsibility" fashion, Walker's mouthpiece is on hand to blame it all on someone else:
By January 2012, Walker devoted about 30 hours a week to state business — half as much work time as six months earlier. On some weekdays, eight- to 12-hour time blocks on his official calendar simply were marked “Personal.”
“Gov. Walker would be the first person to tell you that if it wasn’t for big outside special interests and union bosses trying to recall him, he wouldn’t need to be spending any time campaigning,” spokesman Cullen Werwie said in an interview last week.
Too bad about the big outside special interest that got him elected and whose company he prefers, but Werwie seems totally oblivious to irony. Article in full:
On Jan. 28, 2011, two weeks before
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker unveiled his
plan to slash public employee unions’
powers, he dined at the Washington, D.C.,
area home of Fred Malek, a wealthy
Republican power broker.
It was a taste of what would become
routine for Walker.
As protesters swarmed the state Capitol
and a historic effort to recall him took
shape, Walker crisscrossed the nation,
breaking fundraising records and netting
about half his donations from out of state.
He logged more time with Fox News, a
national, conservative-leaning cable
channel, than any other news outlet.
But his calendars show the consequences
of fame and fundraising.
By January 2012, Walker devoted about 30
hours a week to state business — half as
much work time as six months earlier. On
some weekdays, eight- to 12-hour time
blocks on his official calendar simply were
marked “Personal.”
“Gov. Walker would be the first person to
tell you that if it wasn’t for big outside
special interests and union bosses trying to
recall him, he wouldn’t need to be
spending any time campaigning,”
spokesman Cullen Werwie said in an
interview last week.
Walker, much like former Gov. Jim Doyle,
keeps his official calendar open to the p
ublic but reveals few details in advance.
Other appointments — personal and
political — generally aren’t disclosed.
To analyze how Walker has used his time
as the state’s chief executive, Wisconsin
Center for Investigative Journalism
reporters created a database of the more
than 4,400 entries in Walker’s calendars
from his first 13 months in office, through
Jan. 31, 2012.
The team labeled events with categories
such as travel time, public relations, and
time with legislators or companies.
The calendars chronicle the life of a
seemingly tireless governor. Some days list
more than two dozen entries — phone
calls, meetings, photo ops, speeches,
travel and other work.
GovernorsJournal.com and was chief of
staff to Republican former Gov. John
Rowland of Connecticut. “You want to know
that he or she is paying attention to the
problems of the state, not spending too
much time promoting himself or herself
and his own career.
“It’s a very basic question that should
always be asked: Is he doing his job?”
Pagani added.
Walker spent two grueling days in
December giving 15- to 20-minute
interviews with 25 news outlets. But the
next month, the calendars clocked just two
hours for media: two TV interviews in
Milwaukee, an open press call and a
conference on his children’s reading
initiative, Read to Lead.
A handful of entries in the fall were blacked
out entirely. Werwie described these as
“haircuts, parent-teacher conferences,
family events, as well as other personal
items.”
No mention of John Doe
The calendar entries are silent on one
subject: the John Doe investigation that’s
been swirling around the governor and his
former aides.
Activities involving Kelly Rindfleisch, Walker’
s fundraising director, appear in March and
April 2011 but lack details. “Phone call to
your CELL: Kelly will provide information,”
reads one entry. Rindfleisch, who was
Walker’s deputy chief of staff when he was
Milwaukee county executive, was charged
in January of this year with four felony
counts of misconduct in office for allegedly
campaigning on county time. Walker
repeatedly has declined to discuss the
investigation, citing its secrecy.
The nonprofit and nonpartisan Center
(WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with
Wisconsin Public Television, Wisconsin
Public Radio, other news media and the
UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass
Communication. Works created, published,
posted or disseminated by the Center do
not necessarily reflect the views or opinions
of UW-Madison or its affiliates.
Bonus late breaking news:
Walker says positive jobs numbers coming
OCONOMOWOC — Gov. Scott Walker said Monday that Wisconsin’s job creation numbers for his first year in office will be revised this week, less than three weeks before he faces a recall election that could turn based on his success in improving the state’s struggling economy.
While the June 5 recall was prompted by Walker’s curbing of public worker union rights, it also hinges on how well he’s met his 2010 campaign promise to create 250,000 jobs over four years.
His Democratic challenger in the recall, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, accused Walker of “fixing the books” to make the jobs numbers appear better than they are.
“They brought in a fiction writer,” Barrett said. “They don’t like their numbers. They’re going to make up their own numbers.”
[ Oops, left the sardonic commentary to the opposition. But what the heck, Walker makes up everything else he says, why not "jobs" too? ] |
