Tag Archives: Tony Evers
Dane County Judge Blocks Legislation
If there is anything that should get conservatives off of their collective asses to vote for Hagedorn for Supreme Court, one would hope this would be it.
MADISON – A Dane County judge on Thursday blocked a series of laws that limited the powers of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul.
Within hours, Evers and Kaul used the decision to try to get Wisconsin out of a multistate lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act that their Republican predecessors joined. Until the judge’s ruling, Republican lawmakers were able to prevent them from doing that.
This ruling will be overturned… eventually. If the Appeals Court doesn’t do it, the Supreme Court will. We saw this exact pattern over and over again after Walker assumed office. Law passes. Liberals sue. Dane County judge rules against law. Appeals Court or Supreme Court overturns Dane County Judge.
That is, of course, assuming that the activist liberal judges don’t take over the Supreme Court. If that happens, then you will see a series of lawsuits where concealed carry, right to work, etc. are all thrown out by an activist Supreme Court. And if you think that Attorney General Josh Kaul will defend Wisconsin’s laws, think again. Look at what he just did. Liberals are perfectly happy ruling by judicial fiat.
Vote for Hagedorn.
Posted by Owen at 1634 hours
Evers’ Delusion
Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday said he thinks his budget will come “close” to his campaign pledge to raise no new taxes, despite the fact that it would raise taxes by more than $1 billion over two years.
“I think we’ll be pretty close,” Evers said during an interview on WTMJ radio, adding that there might be some “small” increases.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, tweeted after the interview: “Is this a joke?”
Evers’ message on taxes shifted throughout his campaign for governor as he faced attacks from Republicans who argued he would implement massive increases if elected.
He told reporters in September that his goal was “to keep taxes reasonable in the state of Wisconsin,” but days before the election, he told the Washington Post he was “planning to raise no new taxes.” He repeated the claim on Nov. 4.
“I’m planning on raising no taxes,” he told WISN-TV.
I hope the Republicans help Evers keep his pledge.
Posted by Owen at 2045 hours
Evers Stokes Division in Madison
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers will sign a Republican bill removing the term “mental retardation” from five state agencies’ administrative codes even though he’s already issued an executive order that does just that, his spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Evers issued the order late Tuesday afternoon, stunning GOP legislators who have been pushing their bill toward floor votes in both the Senate and Assembly. The measure’s authors, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and state Rep. John Jagler, who has a daughter with Down syndrome, accused the governor of copying them and vowed to keep working on the legislation.
Evers spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff said the governor would “happily” sign the bill if it reaches his desk. She said Evers believes protecting Wisconsin residents’ dignity is more important than who gets to claim credit.
That statement by Evers’ mouthpiece would sound noble if it weren’t for the fact that Evers specifically took action to get all the credit. And there’s the rub… Evers knew this bill was coming. He could have waited to sign it, have a nice signing ceremony with the lawmakers, and use it as a way to build relationships and bipartisanship. This was the perfect bill to do it.
Instead, he used it as an opportunity to poke the legislative leaders in the eye… again. Evers is showing over and over again that he has no interest at all in trying to work across the aisle. His is just going to continue campaigning and never shift to governing.
Posted by Owen at 0806 hours
Evers Proposes to Triple Capital Budget and Fund it with Debt
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has requested more than $2.5 billion in his two-year building projects capital budget, with close to half of the proposed money going to upgrades and renovations at University of Wisconsin System facilities.
The 2019-21 capital request is about three times larger than the $803 million requested by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker in his 2017-19 capital budget request.
About $2 billion of Evers’ request would come from state taxpayer-supported borrowing.
Posted by Owen at 2025 hours
Evers Preaches Patience on CWD Management
Three wild deer tested positive for CWD in the Crescent Corner area near the Lincoln-Oneida County line, all since 2017.Democrats criticized former Governor Scott Walker for not doing enough to stop the spread of CWD.During a stop in Rhinelander on Tuesday, Evers said he wants the DNR to take its time studying the disease more.“It wasn’t that we were dismissing the issue of CWD, it’s obviously a very important one,” Evers said. “It’s a very important one for our state, tourism, hunting, natural resources, but we believe the first place to start is around that.”
Scientists first found CWD in southern Wisconsin in 2002. Recently, the DNR has asked hunters to submit more deer for testing. The agency is also in the middle of a four-year study in southwestern Wisconsin that should offer a lot more information .
“We’re going to make sure that we’re very thoughtful,” DNR Secretary-Designee Preston Cole said. “When we roll something out in the future, we’re going to make sure that the science is there, we have our partners there.”
Posted by Owen at 1058 hours
Who wants to live in Evers’ Wisconsin?
Here is my full column that ran in the Washington County Daily News yesterday.
The first salvo in Wisconsin’s biennial budget process has been delivered. Gov. Tony Evers has delivered his budget proposal to the Legislature and it is a hot mess of liberal vengeance against the previous eight years. If our state’s budget were not so important to so many people, one would be inclined to think that Governor Evers is trying to play a joke on the people of Wisconsin.
When Evers began to draft his budget proposal, there were two paths before him. One path was the one of compromise. Knowing that he defeated Scott Walker by fewer than 30,000 votes and that the same electorate had sent even stronger Republican majorities to the Legislature, Evers could have taken the path of reasonable compromise that had a high probability of moving legislation in favor of his goals. Indeed, the Republican leaders in the Legislature had been sending strong signals that they were willing to compromise on a number of issues including education funding, transportation spending, criminal justice reform, and several other issues that Evers highlighted during the campaign.
The second path before Evers was one of inflexible fealty to the radical liberal base that elected him. He could write a budget that amounted to a liberal manifesto that tossed vegan faux meat to every liberal interest group in his batty base. Evers chose the second path. His choice to advance a statement of political doctrine instead of a serious budget proposal has forced the legislative Republicans to toss Evers’ proposal in the recycling bin and start from scratch.
While Evers’ budget proposal fails to measure up as something to be evaluated as serious legislation, it does offer Wisconsinites a view of the Wisconsin Evers and the Democrats would create if the voters were foolish enough to give them control of government.
In Evers’ Wisconsin, we would all pay more taxes. Wisconsin’s manufacturers would pay higher taxes forcing them to cut costs elsewhere or move to a more friendly state. Wisconsinites would pay higher taxes on capital gains — a particular burden for entrepreneurs and investors in Wisconsin businesses. Wisconsinites would also may higher gas taxes to feed the transportation lobby and higher property taxes to shovel into government schools. While he does not yet raise income or sales taxes, Wisconsin would run a massive structural deficit that would have to eventually be fixed.
In Evers’ Wisconsin, all of those tax increases would go to fuel a massive increase in spending. Evers would spend more on government K-12 schools without bothering to insist on better results for the taxpayers’ largesse. The University of Wisconsin System would get an injection of taxpayer funds, as would transportation, Medicaid, the Department of Natural Resources, the juvenile justice system, and many other areas. In all, Evers’ Wisconsin would have 701 more government employees, for a total of 71,990 people, to poke and prod into every area of Wisconsinites’ lives. Evers’ Wisconsin would spend a whopping $1,300 more per person.
In Evers’ Wisconsin, work requirements for welfare recipients would be rolled back. In a state with full employment, people could still sit on the dole when there are jobs waiting to be filled. Wisconsin would be well on the path to legalizing marijuana despite the incredible social costs being paid by states that have already legalized it.
In Evers’ Wisconsin, illegal aliens would be given driver’s licenses and ID cards, making it easier for them to vote and prohibiting every other Wisconsinite from using their driver’s license for air travel because Wisconsin would no longer comply with the REAL ID Act.
In Evers’ Wisconsin, criminals would be given light sentences for their crimes because keeping them on the street is more important than protecting innocent Wisconsinites.
In Evers’ Wisconsin, the DNR and other regulators would be re-weaponized to make sure that no Wisconsinite or business dares to move a rock or drain a puddle without suffering the expensive and intrusive scrutiny of a government bureaucrat.
In Evers’ Wisconsin, our right-to-work law would be repealed, forcing workers to belong to unions when they do not want to be. This violates their right to freely associate and automatically takes Wisconsin off of the list of states that some businesses will consider to locate.
Frankly, Evers’ Wisconsin sounds terrible. It is not a state that makes it easier, more enjoyable, or more affordable to live, work, or play. Thankfully, we do not live in Evers’ Wisconsin. In our republican and divided form of government, Governor Evers is still one man whose barmy ideas can be ignored by the adults in the room.
The Republican legislators are right to start fresh and craft their own budget. Evers has already shown that he is unwilling to compromise when he vetoed the middleclass tax cut that the legislature passed last month. As long as his sole governing principle remains appeasing Wisconsinites fringe liberals, it is probable that he will veto all or most of a budget proposed by the Republican Legislature.
The good news is that Wisconsin’s state government will not shut down if a new budget is not enacted. The old budget will continue to fund Wisconsin’s government perpetually. The Republicans have the strongest hand if they are willing to play it. They win by simply doing nothing.
If there was any hope that Governor Evers would seek middle ground from which to lead an ideologically diverse state, his budget proposal has shattered that hope.
Posted by Owen at 0644 hours
Evers Relents and Releases Public Record
Why are Evers’ instincts always so wrong?
Gov. Tony Evers on Monday released a handwritten note given to him by former Gov. Scott Walker just before he left office in January, after initially refusing an Associated Press open records request for the document.
Evers released it hours after the AP published a story about his denial and asked that he reconsider. Evers rejected the initial open records request, saying that the letter was “purely personal” and therefore not subject to the open records law.
“However, we appreciate the public’s interest in knowing about correspondence between governors, regardless of the nature of the messages,” the governor’s spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff said in a follow-up message that included the letter.
“It is my sincere hope that you will do well, as well as the state, during your time as governor,” Walker wrote. “As you know, this is a wonderful state and I am positive that will continue in the future.”
He goes on to say, “My best advice is personal. Remember to stay connected to your friends who were your friends long before elections. They will keep your life grounded and positive. Good luck and God be with you!”
What would have been wrong with releasing this note? What possible government interest is served by keeping it private? Or did Evers just not want people to see that Walker isn’t the evil caricature the liberals make him out to be? Bill Lueders (no conservative, he) has it right:
Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council president Bill Lueders, who initially said Evers should be ashamed for not making the letter public, praised his reversal.
“It’s good that Tony Evers and his staff have recognized that the law is supposed to be interpreted in a way that provides maximum transparency,” Lueders said. “I am hopeful that he will keep it up.”
Posted by Owen at 2135 hours
Who wants to live in Evers’ Wisconsin?
My column for the Washington County Daily News is online and in print. Here’s a sample.
The first salvo in Wisconsin’s biennial budget process has been delivered. Gov. Tony Evers has delivered his budget proposal to the Legislature and it is a hot mess of liberal vengeance against the previous eight years. If our state’s budget were not so important to so many people, one would be inclined to think that Governor Evers is trying to play a joke on the people of Wisconsin.
When Evers began to draft his budget proposal, there were two paths before him. One path was the one of compromise. Knowing that he defeated Scott Walker by fewer than 30,000 votes and that the same electorate had sent even stronger Republican majorities to the Legislature, Evers could have taken the path of reasonable compromise that had a high probability of moving legislation in favor of his goals. Indeed, the Republican leaders in the Legislature had been sending strong signals that they were willing to compromise on a number of issues including education funding, transportation spending, criminal justice reform, and several other issues that Evers highlighted during the campaign.
The second path before Evers was one of inflexible fealty to the radical liberal base that elected him. He could write a budget that amounted to a liberal manifesto that tossed vegan faux meat to every liberal interest group in his batty base. Evers chose the second path. His choice to advance a statement of political doctrine instead of a serious budget proposal has forced the legislative Republicans to toss Evers’ proposal in the recycling bin and start from scratch.
While Evers’ budget proposal fails to measure up assomething to be evaluated as serious legislation, it does offer Wisconsinites a view of the Wisconsin Evers and the Democrats would create if the voters were foolish enough to give them control of government.
[…]
Frankly, Evers’ Wisconsin sounds terrible. It is not a state that makes it easier, more enjoyable, or more affordable to live, work, or play. Thankfully, we do not live in Evers’ Wisconsin. In our republican and divided form of government, Governor Evers is still one man whose barmy ideas can be ignored by the adults in the room.
Posted by Owen at 0709 hours
Vos Responds to Evers’ Budget
Yup
Wisconsin has a significant amount of new money coming into the state and a surplus from the current budget. The problem isn’t that the state doesn’t have the revenue. The problem with Governor Evers’ budget is that it spends too much. It spends way more than Wisconsin can afford by increasing spending by $6 billion. That translates into an increase in spending of about $1,071 for every man, woman and child in Wisconsin. His budget also raises property taxes to the highest level in nearly a decade. This is clearly a budget that is not based on the reality that Wisconsin families see every day. It’s a liberal wish list.
Whether or not this is a serious or successful budget proposal depends on what Evers was trying to accomplish. If he wanted to actually advance some policies and initiatives that were important to him through a Republican legislature, then this is a total failure. All it did is tick off the very legislators whose support he will need to advance his ideas. His proposal is so far to the left that it does not have any room for compromise.
If Evers was trying to write a liberal manifesto to appease his rabid liberal base, then mission accomplished. It’s a masterpiece. I guess we’ll see how loyal that base remains when Evers fails to move the liberal ball a single yard because he’s terrible at his job.
Posted by Owen at 2219 hours
Fitzgerald Responds to Evers’ Proposed Assault on School Choice
Yup. Evers’ budget is shaping up to be a liberal manifesto with little room for compromise.
[Madison, WI] — Following Governor Evers’ announcement that he plans to freeze voucher school enrollment for low-income students, Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald released the following statement:
“Governor Evers’ plans would do immense harm to the voucher program and create uncertainty for schools, students, and their families. The program has expanded educational opportunities throughout Wisconsin and helped children escape failing schools.
“For nearly ten years Governor Evers helped to implement the choice program as the head of the Department of Public Instruction. He has turned his back on the very families the policies he enacted sought to help. Why are some of the first targets of his budget minority families, low-income students, and parochial schools from around the state?
“Wisconsinites should have more choices when it comes to the education of their children, not fewer. Budget leaks of far-left proposals like these only make bipartisan compromise more difficult. Republicans in the Legislature have spent years helping build the voucher program. We will not support a budget that includes this proposal.”
Posted by Owen at 2043 hours
Evers’ Fake Stat Disappears into the Memory Hole
In a press release and on his official Twitter account Evers declared that “drug-related offenses make up as much as 75-85% of inmate populations.”
The claim is patently false.
And it appears Team Evers knows that now, too.
The latest version of the press release on the governor’s web page scrubs the 75-85 percent “fact.” The release now notes, “This is an updated version that corrects an inaccurate statistic that was included in error.” It does not specify what the “inaccurate statistic” was, but the figure’s disappearance and actual facts fill in the blanks.
As NewsTalk 1130 WISN talk show host Dan O’Donnell noted in his column this week for MacIver News Service, 11 percent of inmates were incarcerated for drug-related offenses, according to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections’ most recent analysis of inmates.
Posted by Owen at 1221 hours
Evers Vetoes Tax Cut He Promised
I know I’m a little behind. I’ve been busy.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday vetoed the first bill sent to his desk by the Republican-controlled state Legislature — a GOP-backed proposal to cut taxes on middle-income earners in Wisconsin.
In his veto message, Evers said he objected to “passing a major fiscal policy item outside of the biennial budget process, which will begin in less than 10 days.”
I call BS on that statement. He objects because he doesn’t really want tax cuts. He only wants tax redistribution and tax increases. At least, that’s all he has proposed so far.
Posted by Owen at 1745 hours
Work is Good
Yes it is. And Rep. Brandtjen wonders why Governor Evers is against it.
It didn’t take long after Tony Evers was elected governor to signal that he may remove the work requirements for able-bodied, childless adults receiving Medicaid benefits.
This is an inexcusably horrendous idea. What’s wrong with requiring able-bodied people to work for taxpayer- provided benefits? Work is good. People are much happier when they feel a sense of purpose. Why in the world would Tony Evers want to remove incentives to work? It’s almost criminal. Work determines who we are and who we become, it’s our identity; our contribution to ourselves and the greater community. Work should be encouraged because it’s healthy. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reports that being employed reduces a wide variety of health risks including stress, heart disease and stroke.
[…]
Why wasn’t this issue brought up during the campaign? It’s simple; no one supports encouraging people to fail. This is just another example of the soft bigotry of low expectations. If Tony Evers can justify this position I’d love to hear his rationale.
It seems to me Democrats simply do not value work, jobs or anything else that might make their voters freefrom the economic chains of government programs. It certainly would explain their vehement opposition to the Foxconn project, which would bring thousands of jobs to Wisconsin. Where am I wrong?
Posted by Owen at 0532 hours
Evers Wants to Get Wisconsin High
Heh.
Gov. Tony Evers will propose legalizing medical marijuana in his state budget address later this month, the governor announced Monday.
The push for medical legalization will be accompanied by several other marijuana-related proposals, including legalization of small amounts of marijuana for personal use, establishing expungement procedures for people with marijuana possession on their criminal records and bringing state laws on cannabidiol, also known as CBD oil, in line with federal standards.
I suspect one of two things is happening here:
- Evers is truly a leftist who wants to legalize pot. Or he has surrounded himself with advisers of that ilk. But if they truly believe in this, it seems disingenuous to put it in the budget instead of advocating it as its own bill.
- This is a negotiating tactic for the budget. It is a common negotiating tactic to put things in a proposal that are intended to be jettisoned in exchange for something more important. For example, “sure, I’ll drop the weed proposal if you increase K-12 spending to my level.”
Be wary that this isn’t just designed to distract the public while they ram through massive new spending and taxes.
Posted by Owen at 0733 hours
Evers Promises Another Spending Increase
Boy, they sure are adding up. So far, Evers hasn’t met a spending increase he doesn’t like.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said he will “fully fund” a tuition freeze for University of Wisconsin students in his first budget.
Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker and GOP lawmakers first froze tuition for in-state undergraduate students in 2013. They continued the freeze in every budget since.
Speaking at the annual Superior Days gathering in Madison, Evers hinted that he would propose a tuition freeze of his own.
“We will be releasing our budget soon and we will be funding the tuition freeze,” Evers said. “We will be sure that all the campuses across the state are thriving.”
Posted by Owen at 2152 hours
Tax Cut Works Through Assembly
I like the policy and I like the political tactic.
MADISON – A panel of Republican lawmakers advanced a plan to cut income taxes for middle-class families that Gov. Tony Evers has said he would oppose because of the way it’s funded.
The $338 million plan would reduce an average married couple’s income taxes by about $300 and heads to the Assembly floor next week.
But Evers reiterated he wouldn’t support the plan less than two hours after it passed the Legislature’s finance committee 10-3 over the objection of Democratic members.
“Republicans proved today that they’re more interested in protecting handouts for millionaires than providing tax relief for middle-class families,” Evers’ spokeswoman Britt Cudaback said about the Republican plan. “Introducing a competing proposal that uses one-time funds and leaves taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars in the future isn’t compromise, it’s just fiscally irresponsible.”
But Republican leaders of the finance committee said, “we are delivering a real, middle-class tax cut for Wisconsin families.”
On policy, this is a very simple concept. The State of Wisconsin has a surplus of tax revenue and this would give it back to the taxpayers who paid it. For example, if you overpay for a cup of coffee, you get the surplus back, right? We call it “change.” Evers opposes this simple concept because he doesn’t really want a tax cut. He wants to keep most or all of the surplus and redistribute it back to people he likes. It would be like if you overpaid for that cup of coffee and Barista Evers handed your change to the bum shooting up in the Starbucks’ bathroom. Evers’ policy is neither fair nor right.
On the political front, the Republicans are doing exactly the right thing. Push this tax cut through the legislature and put it on Evers’ desk. Then he will be forced to veto a middle-class tax cut as one of his first acts as governor or let it pass. Hopefully, his better Angels prevail and he gives the taxpayers change for overpaying the cost of government this year.
Posted by Owen at 0812 hours
Evers To End Dark Store Valuation Methodology
Here’s something I can agree with.
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) – A change to the way empty box stores are assessed could reduce your property taxes. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) said his state budget proposal will include a provision to close what’s known as the dark store tax loophole.
The governor made the announcement today after speaking at a Wisconsin Counties Association meeting in Madison. He hopes that it will help cities across the state increase their tax revenue to pay for projects.
Here’s my column on this from last year.
Posted by Owen at 2112 hours
Evers Sics DNR on Foxconn
Evers is having his newly weaponized DNR rehash old permits. Wisconsin is not open for business.
Gov. Tony Evers said Tuesday that state environmental officials will review air-quality permits issued last year to electronics maker Foxconn for its planned $10 billion campus near Racine.
Evers told reporters he discussed the topic with Foxconn officials but doesn’t believe the company is concerned.
“Clearly that’s one area the people of Wisconsin were concerned about, is air quality,” Evers said.
During the campaign, Evers said scientists told him a flawed process was used to issue the Foxconn air-quality permits. The company’s plan to build a manufacturing facility in Mount Pleasant would make it one of the largest sources in southeast Wisconsin for pollutants that create smog. The region already suffers from summer smog problems, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has reported.
Posted by Owen at 0654 hours
Evers Badgers Foxconn about Environmental Regulations
Gee, is there any wonder why Foxconn might be getting cold feet when this is the first thing they hear from the new governor?
Gov. Tony Evers says he’s confident Foxconn’s leaders understand his concerns around the manufacturer’s environmental impact in Wisconsin.
Addressing RENEW Wisconsin’s Renewable Energy Summit yesterday in Madison, the guv said he spoke with Foxconn’s Louis Woo Wednesday night. The special assistant to Foxconn CEO Terry Gou told Evers about the company’s plans to keep the waters of Lake Michigan clean.
“I know we’re always concerned about the environmental issues as it related to Foxconn,” Evers said. “I feel confident going forward that they get it, and that we’ll have a good partnership there.”
Still, he said, “we have some things to check up on though.”
Posted by Owen at 2013 hours
Gov. Tony Evers’ SOS
Here is my full column that ran in the Washington County Daily News yesterday. Stay warm out there!
Gov. Tony Evers took to the Assembly chamber last week to give his first State of the State speech. Evers had a difficult challenge ahead of him. Thanks to his predecessor and the legislative majorities who were just re-elected, the state is in historically good shape, but Evers had to redefine success in order to justify his radical agenda. As we enter an era of divided government in Wisconsin, Evers’ speech was infused with rigid liberal dogma delivered in a confrontational tone. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the speech, however, is how he blundered his way into a completely avoidable controversy.
One of Evers’ campaign promises was that he would withdraw Wisconsin from an ongoing lawsuit regarding Obamacare. That suit is suing to invalidate Obamacare on the grounds that the individual mandate is unconstitutional (it is) and has made good progress in the lower courts. Since several states are involved in the suit, Wisconsin’s withdrawal will not have a measurable effect on the outcome of the case, but withdrawing would be a symbolic gesture to Evers’ radical liberal base.
Knowing that Evers intended to fulfill this promise, the Legislature passed a law in December that requires the governor to gain legislative approval before withdrawing the state from ongoing legal actions. It was a way for the Legislature to add a check to what was a unilateral power of the executive branch.
Governor Evers knew all of this when he declared in his State of the State speech, with great fanfare from the liberals in the room, that “I’m announcing tonight that I have fulfilled a promise I made to the people of Wisconsin by directing Attorney General Kaul to withdraw from a lawsuit … .”
While it made for a great applause line for liberals, Evers was declaring that he had instructed Kaul to withdraw from the Obamacare lawsuit. It is important to note that Evers used the past tense, meaning that he had already issued the instruction to the attorney general. Evers announced this in a statewide, televised speech even though he knew that it was no longer legal for him to unilaterally withdraw from the lawsuit.
Quickly after the speech, Republicans pointed out the error in Evers’ declaration and the attorneys from
the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau reiterated the meaning of the clear language of the law that Evers could not order the attorney general to withdraw from the Obamacare lawsuit.
Within days of Evers’ speech, he had to walk back the order to comply with the law and Attorney General Kaul has dutifully requested that the Legislature approve withdrawing from the lawsuit. The odds are that such approval will not be forthcoming.
Evers’ reaction is quite telling. In a statement to the Wisconsin State Journal, Evers claimed that he understood that the action would require legislative approval and said, “So in my worldview — and I know that’s not everyone’s worldview — there’s nothing inconsistent with what I said and what’s actually going to happen.”
Evers is trying to create an alternate reality where he was in the right. The problem with that is he did not say it in an off-the-cuff remark. He made a formal declaration in his State of the State address. Presumably, such a formal speech had been vetted, reworked, and fact-checked by his staff and himself multiple times before it was delivered. He is an educator by profession and had ample time to write the statement in a way that people could understand his meaning without having to divine Evers’ worldview.
There can only be two rational explanations for Evers’ blunder, and refusal to own up to it. Either Evers is simply a liberal activist who will run roughshod over the law in pursuit of his agenda unless he is checked, or he lacks the competence necessary to write a coherent speech — much less run a state.
Either way, for those of us who were hoping, despite our political differences, for honesty and competence in the Evers governorship, this early bungle does not bode well for the next four years.
Posted by Owen at 0627 hours
