Uh oh….Mike Ellis ain’t happy with Scott Walker!

Looks like there’s trouble in paradise…

Senate President Mike Ellis on Wednesday questioned Gov. Scott Walker’s plans for deciding whether to approve a Kenosha casino, signaling he viewed one of Walker’s standards as anti-free market.

Walker, who now has the lone say on approving the Menominee Indian casino at a former greyhound track, has said he would approve the facility only if there is consensus among the state’s 11 tribes. That appears unlikely, as the Forest County Potawatomi officials fiercely oppose the Kenosha casino because they believe it will interfere with business at their lucrative Milwaukee casino.

“This seems to me to be counter to the concept of free enterprise,” Ellis (R-Neenah) said of Walker’s policy.

He said Walker’s criteria would be like requiring Home Depot to get approval from Menards and other competitors to build a new store. Casinos are no different from any other type of business, Ellis said.

“Are we going to start saying we can only have so many gas stations?” Ellis said. “Are we going to start saying we can only have so many hardware stores?”

Ellis’ comments came a day after Walker said he did not want to play the role of King Solomon and choose between two “well-respected entities” — the Menominee and the Potawatomi.

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7 thoughts on “Uh oh….Mike Ellis ain’t happy with Scott Walker!

  1. Senator Ellis took the words right out of my mouth…but why is anyone surprised? I believe that Governor Walker originally said this a while back before the feds approved the application:

    http://bloggingblue.com/2013/02/28/governor-walker-rewrites-portions-of-the-oxford-english-dictionary/

    http://bloggingblue.com/2013/02/28/governor-walker-threatens-to-inhibit-free-market-competition/

    and related but not totally on topic:

    http://bloggingblue.com/2013/02/28/governor-walker-will-talk-to-eleven-tribes-but-just-not-to-one/

  2. When is Ellis going to tell walker to sit down a shut up. Heck i’d pay a dollar to see that !

    .Everyone have a good labor day !

    .Now Get Off My Lawn !

  3. I guess if the issue is cheering a little wrangling among party members, you’ve got.

    However, if the issue is adding another casino, WI does not need another casino. If the tribes decide to kill it, so be it. If Walker’s tactict to kill it kills it, fine with me.

    WI tribes/casinos are not forced to play by the same rules as Menards, Home Depot or other WI business. Comparison is laughable.

  4. I think Walker is doing it this way because he knows he can look governor-ish (or even presidential!) while in actuality he’s just pitting tribes against each other in a matter which really doesn’t concern him.
    And I think Ellis knows it.
    Both are playing to a base with little cost to themselves.

  5. I like the “well-respected” comment. the tribes surely have not Ben respected by Walker.

  6. Walker, who now has the lone say on approving the Menominee Indian casino

    Remind me again where/when this came about? IIRC, it was his predecessor who took this power wasn’t it?

    Anti-free market has absolutely no place in this discussion. Native American gambling* is a government sanctioned monopoly on something that is illegal to all but a very select few – there’s nothing free market about any of it.

    *Calling it “gaming” seems a propagandist euphemism, referring to a “date” with an “escort.” It’s betting money on games of chance & sometimes a degree of skill – that’s gambling.

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