Wis. Gov. Walker in more hot water

The Caucus (NY Times) reported Friday evening that Wis. Gov. Scott Walker (R) is facing even more problems in addition to a likely recall election:

Scott Walker, the Republican governor of Wisconsin, will meet with a prosecutor who has been investigating the behavior of workers in his previous public office, at the helm of Milwaukee County, Mr. Walker’s campaign office said Friday.

The investigation, which has gone on for 20 months and is seen as a potential problem for Governor Walker in a likely recall election later this year, has led in recent weeks to charges against several close former workers and appointees of Mr. Walker when he served as Milwaukee County executive, before his election as governor in 2010.

The investigation, which led in some instances to charges related to politicking on county time, is secret, so the context of Mr. Walker’s expected conversation with the Milwaukee County district attorney is uncertain.

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The backlash against Wisc. Gov. Walker’s Union-busting continues

Photo courtesy of American Prospect.

Writing for the American Prospect, Harold Meyerson offers a thought-provoking analysis on the effects of the backlash against  Republican Gov. Walker’s drive to end collective bargaining for Wisconsin’s public employees.

Meyerson writes:

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka was only speaking truth when he called Scott Walker, Wisconsin's Republican governor, the labor movement's "Mobilizer of the Year." The backlash against Walker's successful (for now) drive to end collective bargaining for Wisconsin's public employees has been stunning in its scope, intensity, and (ongoing) duration.

The big political question is how far and how deep that backlash will go. My first guess is that it has produced a shift in public opinion that will help America's unions, though it will take a lot more than public sympathy to rebuild labor's power. My second guess is that it will help the Democratic Party across the industrial Midwest.

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Meet Wisc. Gov. Scott Walker’s friends and supporters, the brothers Koch

Gov. Walker and the Koch brothers, photo courtesy of Wonkette.

Thanks to Nancy E.  Gertner (DFL) for the link to the NPR article below.

We hear the brothers Koch have been influential in the amateur Gov. Walker’s administration in Madison, Wisc. ; you recall how easily Scottie fell for the prank call from a pretend David Koch.

Here’s a fine introduction to the billionaire brothers from over at NPR.org:

Chances are you've never heard of Charles and David Koch. The brothers own Koch Industries, a Kansas-based conglomerate that operates oil refineries in several states and is the company behind brands including Brawny paper towels, Dixie cups, Georgia-Pacific lumber, Lycra fibers and Stainmaster carpet. Forbes ranks Koch Industries as the second-largest privately held company in the U.S. — and the Koch brothers themselves? They're worth billions.

And in the past 30 years, they've funneled more than $100 million into dozens of political organizations, many of which are trying to steer the country in a more libertarian direction. Among the organizations they've backed are the Cato Institute, a Washington think tank that has recently raised questions about climate change, and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Virginia — which one Democratic strategist called "ground zero for deregulation policy in Washington."

The brothers also have created several neutral-sounding groups like Citizens for a Sound Economy — which staged media events to oppose President Clinton's proposed Btu tax on energy — and Citizens for the Environment, which called many environmental problems, including acid rain, "myths." 

David Koch founded the group Americans for Prosperity Foundation, which has been linked to the Tea Party — training hundreds of activists in Texas and hosting talking points for Tea Party activists on its website. 

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