Scott Walker Says He'll Target Non-GOP Public Aid

Scott Walker with United Sportsmen/GOP operatives

Former Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder (R-Abbotsford) has his old campaign website still up, entitled "Taxpayers for Scott Suder."

Suder will take it down as soon as it gets too embarrassing.

Suder engineered the insertion into GOP legislation a $500,000 public assistance grant to the GOP front group, United Sportsmen of Wisconsin Foundation Inc, and a $450,000 public assistance grant every two years after in legislation specifically designed for United Sportsmen.

On August 29, DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp, Scott Walker toady, approved the grant.

Even after Democratic legislators in a September 4 letter pointed out United Sportsmen were dishonest and lied about their tax-exempt status, the Republicans stood by their front group that they wanted funded with public assistance.

Scott Walker stood behind his man, Scott Suder and his GOP front group staffed by Tea Party members.

Then it came to light the GOP front group lied about its non-profit status, as reported by Paul A. Smith and Jason Stein and Walker finally was forced to cancel the public assistance grant to the GOP front group.

Suder became an embarrassment, but he still had the backing of the Republican Party; see for instance United Sportsmen's group had Terry Kohler as staunch ally.

In mid-September Scott Walker's announced he will nearly double Suder's pay for corrupt service to Walker and his political friends that could have cost the Wisconsin $28 million in federal aid.

Walker appointed Suder to the Public Service Commission, getting Suder a $94,000 a year gig -- an 88 percent boost over the $49,943 salary as a legislator.

Today, Scott Walker said he want to combat fraud. "We don't want to in any way keep people from getting assistance that is warranted, that they're legitimately qualified for, that they need at the time, but that shouldn't be our overriding focal point. It should be on hitting that balance...and making sure we're good stewards of taxpayer dollars," Walker said. 

Good stewards of taxpayer dollars.

Democratic legislators have called upon Walker to remove Suder from his cushy new job at the Public Service Commission.

Wisconsin Pays, Scott Walker Spends

Scott Walker on tape making pledges to billionaire, Diane Hendricks
Hendricks is Walker's largest donor, along with the Koch brothers

In March 2011, Scott Walker pushed and signed a law in which he gives himself the power to mandate Wisconsin taxpayers pay up cash for 37 new Walker political appointments. (See Stein, Marley. Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, March 17, 2011; and Walker power grabs)

This was only the first in the train wrecks that do everything from paying off cronies with taxpayer money, to giving Scott Walker the power to sell off virtually any public land or facility to moneyed interests.

No consultations with the Wisconsin people, no campaigning on these radical policies; Walker is selling out Wisconsin and I would not be surprised to see Walker put the state capitol, what used to be known as the people's house, on the chopping block.

The examples of Walker's public corruption are legion.

The latest spend-thrift spree of Walker's is his tax-payer subsidy to Scott Suder, Walker's co-conspirator with ALEC and the Koch front group, Americans for Prosperity.

"In his new (Wisconsin Public Service Commission) job, Suder will earn $94,000 a year — an 88 percent increase over the $49,943 he made as a legislator. He'll be in charge of the agency divisions responsible for water compliance and consumer affairs," reports Uppity Wisconsinn.

All the while Suder and other Republicans continue to illegally ignore Open Records requests.

In the latest outrage, "Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has taken the unprecedented step of asserting that a state legislator cannot be held accountable for refusing to disclose public records in response to a lawful open records request by the Center for Media and Democracy."

It's Republican rule; and the people for whom they work are not the Wisconsin people so Republicans and Walker keep their business secret from the people.

With disdain for the Wisconsin people, in favor of a small groups of moneyed interests and cronies, is it any wonder Scott Walker has created a structural (built in) deficit and ruined the state budget by amassing a state debt that reaches record levels in the 2013-15 budget, as noted by State Senator Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma).

See also RE Sen. Vinehout's budget-deficit analysis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel simply refuses to take "yes" for an answer.

Schools, lakes, cemeteries for military veterans, the environment and people take huge hits while Walker and Republicans pocket huge pay-outs. The list of what Scott Walker is selling out is too long to fully note here.

As for that 250,000 new jobs promise Scott Walker campaigned on, Walker now says "it's really not about jobs."

The only people making out are Walker cronies getting paid by you.