The Scott Walker flip-flop

Remember when Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker said he wouldn’t any money for Milwaukee County from a federal economic stimulus package? The response to Walker’s refusal to accept federal aid was swift and widely critical, coming from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial board as well as local bloggers capper, James Rowen, and the Brew City Brawler, just to name a few. No doubt Walker publicly refused aid from the proposed federal stimulus package as a means of bolstering his own looming gubernatorial campaign, but as capper pointed out, it hardly seemed smart for Walker to willfully fail to do his job by refusing to accept federal aid for the county he was elected to serve.

It’s only been a few short days since Walker made public his refusal to accept federal aid on behalf of Milwaukee County, and already Walker is flip-flopping on the issue, saying on Friday, “I’m not opposed forever” to carrying out projects with federal money. Walker went on to say, “If they put money in programs where we have legitimate needs, of course we are going to look at that.” Once again capper has been right on top of Walker’s flip-flop, pointing out Walker’s current predicament is of his own creation.

Obviously Scott Walker’s going to be running for governor in 2010, and while there’s no doubt his refusal to accept federal aid for his constituents in Milwaukee County may curry him some favor among conservatives, I’m willing to bet his refusal to accept federal aid for Milwaukee County is only going to come back to bite him once his gubernatorial campaign swings into full gear. After all, if Scott Walker’s willing to refuse federal aid for Milwaukee County simply to prove a point that he’s a real conservative, then it’s not hard to believe he’d turn down federal aid for the State of Wisconsin if he were ever elected governor – not that he’s likely to be elected.