Later today, the multi-billionaire Bircher Koch brothers will officially have their candidate enter the Republican presidential race, their employee of the year, Gov. Scott "Koch Head" Walker (R-Kochland). Alice Ollstein at Think Progress summarizes what Walker did to Wisconsin, as a preview to what he would do to the rest of the nation (spoiler alert: he won't get the chance):
Much of Walker’s appeal to conservatives lies in his record of enacting far-right policies as the governor of a historically progressive, working class swing state. Riding over more than a century of strong labor history, he passed laws in 2011 stripping away collective bargaining rights from public sector unions, triggering a weeks-long occupation of the state capitol by tens of thousands of protesters. Then, earlier this year, he signed a so-called “right to work” law that will further cripple workplace organizing in the Badger State.
At a time when both conservative and progressive states across the country have embraced a boost in their minimum wages, Walker has not only refused to consider a raise for Wisconsin’s workers, he questioned whether there should be wage protections at all. Other worker protections have also been eliminated, including the right to one day off per week.
Just a few months before announcing his bid for president, at his State of the State address in Madison, Walker told lawmakers that “Wisconsin is more free and prosperous” after his first four years in office, and assured them, “The Wisconsin Comeback is working.”
But several studies have shown that the governor’s economic agenda — slashing property and corporate taxes, restricting collective bargaining and keeping wages low — has left the state in a precarious position. Data from the Pew Charitable Trusts predicts that Wisconsin will end this fiscal year with less money in reserve than any other state in the country. Walker’s 2011 tax cuts, which largely benefited wealthy landowners and factory owners, will cost the state at least $275 million in additional lost tax revenue over the next two years — twice as much as originally predicted.
To close the gaping budget deficit exacerbated by those tax cuts, Walker is cutting funding for the state’s famed public universities by $250 million over the next two years. These impending cuts, which are already prompting schools to force out professors and cut entire programs, comes as the campuses are still struggling to absorb the cuts Walker approved in 2011. Faculty members also lost their right to tenure in the budget Governor Walker signed one day before launching his bid for president. [snip]
Scott Walker’s environmental record offers another window into how he would govern in the White House. The governor plans to openly defy new federal regulations on coal plant emissions, and has said he believes the Environmental Projection Agency should have its powers gutted.
In 2013, he pushed through a controversial bill to loosen regulations on mining and allow a massive, open pit iron ore operation to begin strip-mining in the state’s northern forests. Among other provisions, the law creates a presumption that damage to wetlands is necessary and exempts companies from paying a recycling fee on waste rock. The corporation that would have benefited from the mine donated $700,000 to Walker’s defense in the 2012 recall campaign, sparking accusations of quid pro quo corruption.Ollstein also covers the on-going "John Doe" corruption investigation that's already led to the conviction of six of Walker's aides, and could still affect Koch Head's run.
We've also noted the stark contrast between Walker's far-right
UPDATE: Here's The Onion's profile for Koch Head (h/t Silver Spring Bureau Chief Brian).
UPDATE II: The AFL-CIO's press release on Koch Head's candidacy is short and to- the- point:
Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in response to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s upcoming announcement to run for President of the United States:
Scott Walker is a national disgrace."No argument here.
