Thursday, March 02, 2006

Scott Walker to Doyle:"Save Me, Save Me!"

Admittedly Scott Walker inherited a difficult financial situation when he became Milwaukee County Executive. The problem is that he has not managed to fix any of the problems and may have made it worse for temporary political gain. Today’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a headline today proclaiming, “Walker seeks rescue from state, unions.” Not a great image for a Governor wannabe, to be asking for help from the very same person that he wants to replace.

Perhaps Walker should have asked Doyle for some advice early on, as he knows something about inheriting difficult situations. Doyle inherited a huge multi-billion dollar defecit after years of Republican rule. The prospect of Doyle eliminating the defecit, while not raising taxes or drastically cutting services was thought to be zero. Guess what? He did it. Now we have reports that Wisconsin’s economy continues to improve on almost all fronts.

Nope. Walker did not ask for Doyle’s advice. He just kept on digging and now he is asking for others to throw him a rope. As is his style, Walker is likely to pass the buck rather than take responsibility for his decisions. The County Board is usually his favorite target when things go wrong. Again he should probably be tutored by Doyle as he managed to solve the woes of the state budget while working with an often hostile Republican controlled Legislature. Perhaps he would then learn how to work with those that disagree with him for the good of the citizens.

I wonder how it feels to preside over what may be the worst fiscal situation in Milwaukee County history. I wonder how it feels to pledge to change it all, only to have everything get worse. Mostly I wonder how it feels to be a Walker supporter when you must twist yourself into a pretzel to absolve your guy from this major league mess.

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