Following is a statement from Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate in response to Scott Walker’s speech today at the Iowa Freedom Summit.
“The Scott Walker Iowa caucus voters heard campaigning for president today is completely different from the one who was re-elected in November on a promise to serve as Wisconsin’s governor for the next four years.
‘He spent months refusing to talk about birth control and abortion because “no one ever talks to him” about that. When his hand was finally forced on the issue he paid some vague lip service to women’s healthcare choices, but with his re-election in the past and Wisconsin voters the last thing on his mind, Scott Walker is showing his true colors to caucus voters in Iowa who are on board with his extreme plans to criminalize abortion even in cases of rape or incest and outlaw common forms of birth control and fertility treatments.
“The Scott Walker claiming that he cut taxes and balanced the budget faces a different reality at home. While Walker is campaigning in Iowa, and promising caucus voters he’ll be back there soon and often, Wisconsin is facing a $2.2 billion budget deficit for the next biennium that is well on its way to $3 billion and higher. Worse, the state is expected to end the current fiscal year with a $283 million shortfall.
“Instead of bragging to Iowans about how he busted unions with an unnecessary budget repair bill in 2011, Walker needs to start talking to his Republican legislature about a budget repair bill right now to address this staggering deficit. The $283 million shortfall for this year is more than three times the $79 million threshold in state law to trigger a budget repair and is more than double the amount of the deficit Walker used as justification to pass his contentious Act 10 legislation. Wisconsinites need to start hearing real, serious solutions from Scott Walker about how he will close this deficit without gutting critical services or raising taxes on the middle class.
“Conservative soundbites about forced transvaginal ultrasounds and shuttering women’s healthcare clinics — made for the benefit of out of state Tea Party voters — won’t fix Wisconsin’s budget crisis.
“Scott Walker can’t credibly campaign for president on his ability to lead an “American revival” when he can’t balance the budget in Wisconsin, our wage and private sector job growth lags the nation, and our state has the worst fiscal reserves in the country.”
