State Democratic leadership criticized Gov. Scott Walker Monday, accusing him of “kicking the can down the road” by ignoring the state’s budget deficit while he explores a potential 2016 presidential run.
“The Scott Walker running for president sounds a lot different than the Scott Walker who promised to be our governor for the next four years,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said in a teleconference. “He’s leaving a disaster behind while he runs for the next office.”
The criticism comes on the heels of Walker’s appearance at the Iowa Freedom Summit on Saturday, where he joined Republican heavyweights including Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in addressing conservative voters.
Walker then flew to California to speak at a fundraising event organized by Charles and David Koch, Koch Industries executives and long-time Walker supporters.
“We need to make sure the governor is focused on our state because it appears he’s out of state, wearing rose-colored glasses regarding our current economic situation,” Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, said.
Shilling called on Republicans to take action to fix what the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the state’s non-partisan financial office, projects to be a $283 million budget shortfall.
“Right now the deficit is at $283 million and that’s about three times what the [budget repair] trigger is,” she said. “We need to act on this rather than say its going to fix itself.”
A spokesperson from Walker’s campaign did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment.
