Scott Walker and Republicans Tank Economy

Robert Kraig sums the Wisconsin situation in the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, noting the corruption and Republican policies purposefully driving down wages.

Insanity.

The Republicans have gerrymandered Wisconsin, and growing numbers want to end GOP-backed machine, black box voting, so power-mad and underhanded are the Republicans who are subverting anything not overtly Republican.

Even as Republicans trash the formal structure of democracy and they want it done in secret, they are crashing the economy.

Writes Kraig:

What passes for discussion of economic strategy in Wisconsin is dominated by Gov. Scott Walker’s discredited jobs agency, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp, or WEDC.

As embarrassing as the agency’s failures are, by fixating on the WEDC trainwreck we are missing a more fundamental challenge: the lack of a strategy to reverse declining economic opportunity in Wisconsin.

Contrary to the cheer-leading we hear from Governor Walker and corporate leaders, our economic direction is alarming. Wisconsin’s middle class shrunk more than any other state since 2000. There is overwhelming evidence from academic research institutes at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UW-Milwaukee that we are sliding toward a low-wage economy. Wisconsin is hemorrhaging middle-class jobs and replacing them with poverty-wage jobs, so much so that the poverty rate is increasing even as employment increases. Wisconsin also has some of the worst race-based economic disparities in the country, including the highest rate of African-American unemployment.

Never has Wisconsin seen as corrupt and as complete an economic failure as Scott Walker.

Scott Walker Hit Probe of Jobs Agency as "Witchhunt," Warrants Sworn Out and More Coming

Scott Walker hates audits, investigations and probes of government operations for which he is responsible.

In May 2015 Walker—the former chair who resigned/was fired from his own flagship and embattled 'jobs' agency—through a spokesperson blasted Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne's decision to review a recent audit of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) to determine whether to open a criminal investigation.

Walker called the probe of WEDC a "political witchunt." (DeFour, Wisconsin State Journal) (Mal Contends)

Walker spokeswoman Laurel Patrick said, "This is clearly political gamesmanship by legislative Democrats and others more interested in playing politics than in helping improve economic development in Wisconsin," (DeFour, Wisconsin State Journal) (Mal Contends).

Don't look, nothing to see here. This is the tip of the iceberg (Oneida Eye).

Today, Matthew DeFour reports in the Wisconsin State Journal that:

A Green Bay businessman is under criminal investigation for allegedly defrauding the state’s job creation agency of more than $1 million, according to search warrants obtained by the State Journal.

Ron Van Den Heuvel has not been charged with a crime, but he is suspected of committing theft and securities fraud against several parties, including the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., according to six search warrants the Brown County Sheriff’s Office executed at Van Den Heuvel’s home and businesses in De Pere and Ashwaubenon in July.

Even clearer now why our hopelessly corrupt governor didn't want anyone looking too closely at what he does in office.

Scott Walker to DA: Don't Read Audits of Failed Jobs Agency

Scott Walker, Chair of embattled WEDC jobs agency, looks
like a pay-to-play scandal, another betrayal of public integrity
by Scott Walker who now calls any suggested probe a
"witch hunt" after promising in 2012 to take dramatic and
aggressive action to address massive failures.

As the national press notes Scott Walker shying away from the press again (Cogan, New York Magazine), back home in Wisconsin Scott Walker's flag ship 'jobs' agency has fallen apart amid calls for federal and state law enforcement investigations after a new, critical audit and a series of news reporting from a right-leaning Wisconsin newspaper. (DeFour, Wisconsin State Journal)

As Walker is still seeking God's will to run for the presidency, Walker doesn't want the national political press poking around, asking questions, amid the debris of Walker's failed jobs agency.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is almost universally recognized as a trainwreck, but the announcement yesterday that Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne will review a recent audit of the WEDC to determine whether to open a criminal investigation has Walker's office fuming.

Walker spokeswoman Laurel Patrick said, "This is clearly political gamesmanship by legislative Democrats and others more interested in playing politics than in helping improve economic development in Wisconsin." (DeFour, Wisconsin State Journal)

Since when is reading an audit gamesmanship?

Since it embarrasses and might ultimately reveal more criminality from Scott Walker, busily traveling out of state dodging the press.

Even as fellow Republicans say they are "troubled" by WEDC loans and tax credits being dished out to Walker donors and the lack of any responsible oversight by Walker as WEDC Chair (Hall, Wisconsin State Journal), Walker through a spokesperson says to District Attorney Ozanne: Don't read the nonpartisan audit.

Walker's allies are also trying to kill a different law enforcement probe with the help of corrupt justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court (Levy, Mother Jones).

Now the Walker administration is criticizing a state constitutional law enforcement officer for even reading an audit after virtually unanimous bipartisan criticism of WEDC, after even Walker called for an end to WEDC loans and after the powerful GOP-led legislative committee called for Walker to be removed from the WEDC Board—essentially fired from his own flagship jobs creation agency.

Any objective observer, anyone who has ever watched Scott Walker operate, should be asking: What is Scott Walker hiding now?

Answers from Scott Walker are not forthcoming who was in D.C. yesterday at a no-press-allowed rightwing conclave attended by the likes of: Jerry Boykin with the Family Research Council, Morton Blackwell with the Leadership Institute, Tim Goeglein with Focus on the Family, Charmaine Yoest with Americans United for Life, Jeanne Monahan with the March for Life, Brian Brown with the National Organization for Marriage, Grover Norquist with Americans for Tax Reform, Brent Bozell with For America, Phil Kerpen with American Commitment, Chuck Cunningham with the National Rifle Association (NRA), former NRA president David Keene, and activist Ginni Thomas.

Scott Walker Fired as Chair of State Jobs Agency

Epic failure at Scott Walker-created jobs agency as powerful legislative
committee removes Walker from position as Chair.
From Scott Walker's 2011 Budget Address

Updated - Amid the burgeoning pay-to-play scandal showcasing Scott Walker's epic jobs failure, Wisconsin legislative Republicans did Scott Walker a big favor yesterday: They fired Scott Walker as Chair of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation [WEDC], Walker's failing jobs-creating agency.

Walker has long promised a laser-like focus on jobs that backfired as the Republican-led Joint Committee on Finance called for removing Scott Walker from Chair of WEDC, admitting failure on the foundation of Walker's campaigns: Jobs. (DeFour, Wisconsin State Journal) (Cognitive Dissonance) (Democurmudgeon)

In Scott Walker's 2011 Budget Address, Walker intoned, "During our special session on jobs, we created a public-private agency, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation [WEDC] that will focus solely on job creation."

Since its inception in 2011, WEDC has engaged in the shady practice directing public monies to private Scott Walker donors, uncovered by state audits, creating few jobs with recipients of WEDC largesse shipping many jobs overseas. This prompted a bill authored by State Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) that would ban companies receiving WEDC money who off-shored jobs, now blocked by Wisconsin Republicans

The shady practices at WEDC is recently highlighted by a series in the Wisconsin State Journal and in a piece by national political writer, Michael Isikoff who broke a blockbuster story in March about a secret $1.5 million contribution to a GOP front group made by a Wisconsin billionaire, John Menard Jr., who subsequently received $1.8 million in special tax credits from WEDC and the virtual dismantlement of the Wisconsin DNR in Walker's proposed budget.

The DNR is long criticized by Menard whose operations were fined for violating Wisconsin environmental laws and illegally dumping hazardous wastes.

Make no mistake, the Republican-led Joint Committee on Finance did Walker a political service by removing him from Chair of the failed jobs agency, as the putative candidate for the presidency is increasingly tainted.

Meanwhile, Walker campaigning on Oklahoma yesterday is posing new national energy policy as back home in Wisconsin, the abandoned people are suffering from Walker's lack of leadership on jobs and the corruption of public office for the benefit of big political donors to Walker.

But Walker feels free to spend most of his time outside Wisconsin. Walker's allies on the Wisconsin Supreme Court are expected to soon issue a favorable and a nakedly corrupt ruling on a criminal probe into Walker's illegally directing dark money from political donors to fight off the 2011-12 Recall movement.

Scott Walker—Pathological Liar's Deceptions Look Desperate

Scott Walker, Chair of embattled WEDC agency, looks
like a pay-to-play scandal, another betrayal of public integrity
by Scott Walker who now calls any suggested probe a
"witch hunt" after promising in 2012 to take dramatic and
aggressive action to address massive failures.

Scott Walker, Chair of Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), and once its champion now issues denials he knows anything about WEDC grants, loans and tax credits as his flagship economic state agency is in full meltdown.

In a normal, moral person the weight of guilt follows lies and other actions intended to deceive.

Scott Walker exceeds the pathologies associated with typical politicians whom most Americans all assume lie to some degree.

This life-long politician is scrambling to react to the WEDC scandal, now in the deny-deceive-and-divert phase of scandal management, without apparent shame.

WEDC Chair Scott Walker issued denials yesterday that he ever read any WEDC letters about a $500,000 loan to Building Committee Inc., and another denial that Walker knew his "top aides, including [former Department of Administration] DOA Secretary Mike Huebsch, pressed for a $4.3 million loan to Building Committee Inc. as the company was collapsing. The company’s owner, William Minahan, made a last-minute $10,000 contribution to Walker’s 2010 campaign" (DeFour, Wisconsin State Journal)

This follows Walker's previous denials in 2012 about any knowledge of WEDC's $11.7 million in tax breaks to Skyward, "a Stevens Point-based company bidding on a $15 million statewide student information system." (DeFour, Wisconsin State Journal)

In 2012 Walker vowed "aggressive" and "dramatic" action when it was reported some 99 companies' loan repayments were ignored by Walker and WEDC. "Following the revelation that millions in past-due loans had been ignored by state [WEDC] officials for more than a year, Gov. Scott Walker vowed Thursday to take aggressive action at the embattled state jobs agency that he has championed." (Stein, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) Walker vowed then he is "a good steward of taxpayers' money."

In Walker's 2011 Budget Address, Walker announced, "During our special session on jobs, we created a public-private agency, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation that will focus solely on job creation. Our budget includes the resources and the organization to get the WEDC working to stimulate our economy."

But faced with revelation after revelation that $100s of millions of tax payer money is going down the sewer to donors to Scott Walker and politcal allies with few jobs created and many jobs shipped overseas, WEDC Chair Walker has been forced into a I-didn't-know line of response, a pattern of Walker's.

For instance, in March Michael Isikoff broke a story detailing how a Wisconsin billionaire, John Menard Jr., gave $1.5 million in secret contributions to a "pro-Walker political advocacy group that pledged to keep its donors secret." (Isikoff, Yahoo News)

Subsequently, Menard's "was awarded up to $1.8 million in tax credits by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation ... in 2013 and 2014," and the Wisconsin DNR, the bane of Manard, was decimated by Walker in his proposed budget.

Walker said through a flack he was "not involved" in the WEDC decision on Menard's tax credits though he chairs WEDC.

On May 10, commenting from South Carolina, Walker repeated he and WEDC "absolutely" have been good stewards of taxpayer dollars. (DeFour, Wisconsin State Journal)

On Monday. commenting from New Orleans, Walker said the WEDC scandal is a "political witch hunt." (DeFour, Wisconsin State Journal) amid calls for a federal investigation into WEDC operations and widespread suspicions of pay-to-play.

Such a federal investigation might fall under the authority of the US DoJ Public Integrity Division, the US Attorney's office or a special DoJ Task Force.

Walker did not comment specifically on the question if his 2012 promised "aggressive" and "dramatic" actions at WEDC have been successful.

Scott Walker—Scandal as Aides Get Walker Donor $100,000s; Letter Cced to Walker

Scott Walker had to comment from New Orleans on the growing scandal back home but it isn't because Walker is digging the Blues-Jazz scene and drinking in the Quarter enjoying the nightlife.

Walker was out trashing public schools at a for-profit private school conclave. (Williams, New Orleans Times-Picayune)

Back in Wisconsin, calls for a federal investigation of Walker's slush fund are growing (DeFour, Wisconsin State Journal), after audits revealed a rash of highly questionable loans and grants from Chairman Walker's Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC).

http://WWW.BCIHQ.COM - Unavailable but appreciative
of the $500,000 from Wisconsin taxpayers

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Stein, Marley) breaks a story this morning Walker lied about his knowledge of a six-figure WEDC loan going to a major Walker backer.

Write Stein and Marley in their lede: "State records say that Gov. Scott Walker received a copy of a 2011 letter pledging a $500,000 taxpayer loan to a now-defunct Milwaukee construction company headed by a Walker donor, seemingly contradicting statements by the governor and his aides that he was not aware of the award."

Walker said he played no role and his spokesperson said Walker had no knowledge, though the Journal-Sentinel notes: "The Sept. 9, 2011, letter from Paul Jadin, WEDC's chief executive officer at the time, was sent to William Minahan, owner of Building Committee Inc., a company that is now being sued by WEDC for defaulting on the unsecured loan without delivering the promised project and the jobs it was supposed to create.

Jadin said in his letter of intent that he was writing "on behalf of Governor Scott Walker" and noted "cc: Scott Walker, Governor" at the bottom.

No role from the Chair, Scott Walker, of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp?

Something smells.

Writes the State Journal's DeFour:

Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, said at a news conference at the Capitol that a State Journal investigation of a $500,000 state economic development loan to Building Committee Inc. (BCI) that has never been repaid shows evidence of “possible corruption.”

The State Journal reported its findings in a two-part series that ran Sunday and Monday.

“$500,000 in taxpayer funds were wasted by Gov. Walker and his administration on a loan that never should have been granted to a major campaign contributor,” said Barca, a board member of Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. “As a taxpayer and someone who cares deeply about economic development in this state, as a legislator and a board member, I am outraged.”

Barca and Sen. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point, who also serves on the WEDC board, called on U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and U.S. Attorneys John Vaudreuil and James Santelle to launch an investigation into missing documents, whether taxpayer dollars were misused, and whether criminal violations may have taken place at WEDC.

Likely, Walker's I-don't-know line will change to a 'We moved on," and then "We are cooperating with federal investigators ... and concentrating on jobs and families.'

Serving the Wisconsin people would be nice.

As would Walker trade missions to Milwaukee, Kenosha, Beloit and Racine.

Scott Walker's Pay-to-Play Scandal Lights Up Corruption

Scott Walker Evades the Nation yesterday

Epic Failure Is Now Full-fledged Scandal

Scott Walker found an inventive way to award political donors when he took office: Take the state Dept. of Commerce, partially privatize it and use the money in a slick pay-to-play scheme, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC).

Never mind recipients of WEDC largess, Walker's political backers, promptly took the money and shipped jobs overseas (Brown, One Wisconsin Now) while making out like bandits.

As WEDC's Chair, Walker has crowed about WEDC since he took office and he and WEDC officials have taken a series of recent overseas junkets that Walker calls "trade missions."

Scott Walker suggested yesterday this makes him the most qualified candidate for the presidency because of his gubernatorial "leadership," enhanced by the tax payer-financed 'trade missions' from which Walker has divined foreign policy wisdom (CBS Face the Nation (May 17, 2015, via Raw Story)).

WEDC has become another dirty scandal for Walker, and a series of state audits ripped Walker's operation seemingly since its inception in July 2011, forcing Walker to defend WEDC from South Carolina in early May (DeFour, Wisconsin State Journal), and then this weekend hurriedly calling for the elimination of all economic development loans without notifying the WEDC Board. (DeFour, Wisconsin State Journal)

WEDC Chairman Walker is head-deep in dirt chronicled in a new series by the Wisconsin State Journal: Dissenting a Bad Idea. (DeFour and Hall), and Company Obtained Loan from WEDC, Unsuccessful Elsewhere (Hall) detailing how Walker cronies fronted for Walker donors to get money from WEDC.

A bill authored by State Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) that would ban companies receiving WEDC money shipping jobs overseas is being blocked by Wisconsin Republicans with no comment from Walker on the bill who avoids questions like Poison Oak in mid-Summer.

Walker has presided over WEDC that has funneled $100s of millions in state grants, loans, bonds and tax credits, many to Walker donors maxed out in political donations to Walker, after which WEDC created arguably a paltry 5,000 jobs as of 2014 after Walker promised 50,000 new jobs (Bottari, The Capital Times).

Scott Walker presents the WEDC disaster and its trade missions as making him fit to lead the country as president because Walker says—in a fast-talking, semi-coherent answer—he has garnered foreign policy insights, in response to this question below from Bob Schieffer of CBS Face the Nation yesterday. Walker's response this morning to the WEDC scandal is here.

Though Walker's response is typically impenetrable, the question now is: Is what Walker and WEDC did legal?