Gov. Walker--- Punk'd & Debunked
“ Forget voter ID. Scott Walker needs better caller ID. It's astounding that some blogger pretending to be rich Republican backer David Koch called up our governor, utterly fooled him and got a 20-minute unguarded assessment of the war on public unions in Wisconsin. The gov got punk'd.”---- writes colunmist Jim Stingl (today's Journal Sentinel)
And the newspaper's Editorial Board weighs in with this editorial:
'Scott! David Koch' A crank call from a Buffalo blogger impersonating a supporter of Gov. Scott Walker reveals something of the mind of the governor. And what it reveals isn't pretty.
Among other things, the editorial observes:
"Koch" at one point said he thought about "planting some troublemakers" in the massive crowds protesting Walker's bill. Walker demurred - but not because that would be wrong, a modern version of a Nixon dirty trick. "We thought about that," Walker said. He declined the offer because the "ruckus" might put pressure on him to give in .
As the call wound down, "Koch" suggested he'd jet Walker off to California "and really show you a good time." "All right," the governor said. "That would be outstanding."
Actually, it would be unethical. And then Walker signed off with a breezy, "Thanks a million!" Which, unfortunately, may have been the most revealing statement of all. “
Click on WTMJ4 article Capitol Chaos: Caller pranks Walker, find the pink box on the page, click there to listen to part 1 and part 2 of the call.
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Gov. Walker may be adept at “spin”, but at telling the truth? That’s another story.
PolitiFact Wisconsin has already debunked a number of Scott Walker’s statements—calling them “False” or “Pants on Fire” (as in liar, liar…”)
Here’s a sampling:
"The things I said (during the prank call by a blogger posing as GOP contributor David Koch) are the things I’ve said publicly all along" about the Wisconsin budget debate.” Rated: FALSE
“ When it comes to protesters in Madison, "almost all" are now from outside of Wisconsin.” Rated: FALSE
"I campaigned on (the proposals in the budget repair bill for Wisconsin) all throughout the election. Anybody who says they are shocked on this has been asleep for the past two years." Rated: FALSE
“Says under his budget-repair bill, "collective bargaining is fully intact." Rated: PANTS ON FIRE
"The alternative" to higher state worker pension and health care payments "is to look at 1,500 layoffs of state employees or close to 200,000 children who would be bumped off Medicaid-related programs." Rated: FALSE
“Wisconsin employers have repeatedly said in surveys that our anti-business litigation climate is one of the most important factors affecting their expansion decisions.” Rated: FALSE
“In Wisconsin, 98 percent of all small businesses will qualify for income-tax relief under my plan, freeing them to expand and create jobs.” Rated: FALSE
See the Journal Sentinel PolitiFact Wisconsin web site for more information.
