While delivering jabs at Gov. Scott Walker for a “John Doe” investigation that’s led to felony charges against Walker aides and saying Walker’s budget reforms aren’t working, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett visited with supporters in downtown Waukesha days before Wisconsin’s historic recall election.
“We have seen over the past several months, Scott Walker has started this political civil war where his pitting people against each other — neighbor against neighbor, coworker against coworker,” said Barrett before a crowd of supporters at “I will end Scott Walker’s civil war.”
Barrett, a Democrat who faced Walker during the 2010 gubernatorial election, is looking to oust Walker from the governor’s seat in a special recall election on Tuesday. The controversial Republican governor is facing the recall because of his legislation that limited collective bargaining for public employee unions.
“He says his reforms are working. His reforms are not working for the middle class,” Barrett said. “Ask those students who are paying more for college in tuition and fees, ask those seniors who are on a fixed income who saw the cuts that he made to the homestead tax credit. Ask many people who are still looking for work. They are not working for the middle class.
“They are working, probably, for those corporations that aren’t paying any taxes and the owners of which are giving him hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, but they are not working for the middle class.”
Barrett said, in contrast, he will focus on job creation, ensuring young people can go to college, and “not pushing people off of BadgerCare.”
“Those are where my priorities are,” Barrett said.
While campaigning in Waukesha, where voters are predominantly Republican, Barrett urged his supporters to vote on Tuesday.
“People have asked me why I am coming to Waukesha County,” Barrett said. “I will tell you why I am coming to Waukesha County. Because there will be a lot of people who are going to vote for Tom Barrett in Waukesha County on Tuesday.”
Waukesha Water
If Barrett is elected governor on Tuesday, he would be the governor to approve and forward the City of Waukesha’s water application to other Great Lakes states. Waukesha Patch asked Barrett in an exclusive interview how he would be fair in reviewing that application given Milwaukee’s interest in selling Lake Michigan water to Waukesha.
Waukesha is looking to the Great Lakes to solve problems with its water quantity and water quality in its ground water wells, but in order to purchase Lake Michigan water, it needs approvals from all Great Lakes states. Waukesha is looking at Milwaukee, Oak Creek and Racine as potential water suppliers.
“I am confident that we can make sure whatever we do is right for the people of Waukesha, of Milwaukee and of the whole state,” Barrett said.
It's quite true that Milwaukee has gotten worse in the past eight years. Milwaukee County got worse during Walker's tenure. The entire country got worse since 2000. These are facts. We may differ on our conclusions. I'm not naming names about the billionaire. I will say that it takes great temerity to complain about one's tax burden with no corporate tax paid between 2005 and 2008, and no personal state income tax paid in 2010.
Manhandled? Did he trip repeatedly over a portable radio or something? And the answer to your question about can we ever be civil again -- possibly, but it will take a long time for the wounds to heal.
The feds were borrowing the money either way, we didn't have the option not to have the money borrowed in our names. Our only option was to build the train in Wisconsin and pay the bill later, or to let CA & IL have the money and then pay the bill later. If I'm going to get a giant bill either way I'd at least like to have to stuff that it bought.
Sorry about your father. What do I stand for? I'm a Ron Paul conservative, not a neocon or a tea partier or what have you. Your mischaracterizations of anyone with an opposing viewpoint are pretty appalling though. If I were concerned with status I would be coming online and posting how many businesses I own and my income and bragging on having paid all my bills this month, but that's not me, that would be you.
You are are taking the conversation completely out of context, I was replying to Hoffa who'd just told me I needed to go to community college and I corrected him. You are clueless if you think I'm concerned about status in the community-- although I do think education is something to be proud of. I'm not the one coming online to post my income and brag that I'm living within my means-- that's Hoffa. Living within your means is something that everyone is supposed to be doing and paying his bills doesn't give him any type of bragging rights. And as far as the railroad goes your view of what happened is just as dumb as Walker's... If I'm going to get charged for a car I didn't order I would at least like to receive the vehicle. The same holds true for the high speed rail project we are going to be forced to pay for, but have no chance of ever receiving now thanks to Walker's brilliance.
And good point about my having made the rash assumption that you live in Waukesha county. This is the internet and for all I know you could live in southern Mississippi and simply prefer to spend your days and nights on the patch discussing what's going on in Waukesha 24x7.
You do have to admit that there is a certain irony in your position-- which you have just explained and I now understand. You want Walker to arrange it so that you can continue to make a living while "taking it easy" and not putting much effort into it. It seems you have more in common with those government handout takers than you thought! Sorry about your father, but nobody is entitled to a free ride.
2) He stuck his finger in a cop's face. Watching him through the rally, you could tell he was begging to get arrested so he could be martyred by right wing cry babies. You are such a buffoon. Sam the unlicensed plumber is a chromed dome know-nothing (http://tinyurl.com/c7nxul) elevated to celebrity status as a logo for the other low income, low educated schlubs who keep this farce of a party running. You cannot win an election with 1% of the electorate. So you to whip up the votes you need to seed lies and fears among the ignorant.
Since you're new to the Patch, I'll catch you up a little. The only reason I ever posted my income or disclosed my debt situation was in response to questions asked of me by those on the recall side. Personally, I don't see how any of that is relevant to the discussions we were having here, but those people apparently did think it was pertinent. So, I indulged them and played along. Never was I intending to toot my own horn - I was merely stating the factual reality of my personal situation. I love Ron Paul as well. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Ron Paul come out as supporting Governor Walker in this recall effort? I do believe he did: http://www.twincities.com/wisconsin/ci_20286535/ron-paul-says-wisconsin-gov-scott-walker-making As to my where-abouts in Wisconsin, I'm from the Racine/Kenosha area. I won't get any more specific than that because of problems I've had with retaliation for espousing my political views on a public forum in the past. Sorry. You appear to be at odds with yourself in your support of Paul, but disdain for Walker. If you honestly don't like Walker, then Trivedi offers a much better alternative to Barrett - especially for a Paul supporter. Care to explain why you're supporting Barrett?
Just because I support Ron Paul doesn't mean I would let him tell me who to vote for. I never said I was supporting Barret, what I said was that I would vote for anyone but Walker. Even though I like what Walker did with public unions, a good act doesn't wash away a bad one and I don't think I could ever forgive him for essentially giving away $800m to CA & IL. Wisconsin citizens such as myself will be paying on that debt for years to come and will have nothing to show for it. Even $800m spent frivolously would have provided some benefit to Wisconsin provided that the money was spent IN Wisconsin. And $5mil a year to maintain it is peanuts. Giving it away for that reason is like saying that because someone made you buy a brand new car that you never wanted you are better off giving it away to your neighbor so you don't have to pay to change the oil. That topic has pretty much been beat to death though. Trivedi I have never heard of before today...
Gee, Herr Schmitz, how's it feel to be the most ridiculed man on Patch (see, I refrained from any "he's a crook" comments. I'll let others carry that banner). Careful driving home tonite after closing time. BTW, isn't calling someone chrome dome a weird when one sees your charming forehead that extends to your back? Even your insults are recycled
That's a shame, as Hari is a really great guy and tens times the candidate that no answers/solutions Barrett is! Here, let me help you with your homework: http://www.trivgov.com/ He's on the ballot just below Walker and Barrett.
I just heard Barrett on TV again spewing lies!!! Saying how Gov Walker has put our children in Debt. Gov Walker did not borrow a single penny to balance the budget so how can he say this? I know because he is not honest!!
Rejecting the money is only a responsible decision if it returns to the treasury. So the feds pretty much made an $800million withdrawl against the state of Wisconsin, and Walker went and dumped the money out of a helicopter over IL & CA. And you call that wise.
For someone who claims not to be a politician, you sure have the avoidance BS down. Who pays your wages? Someone does. And why do politicians get a wage at all? It was supposed to be an honor to serve, not a job. . "$$_and_still_nonsense, you are still all over the board. Are you for massive public spending or against it? Are you for Capitalism or against it? How about a straight answer? " Liars and cheaters do not deserve answers, only silence.
Or The Choo Choo is off the rails! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w95O2snV430&feature=youtube_gdata_player