First of all, a tip of the hat to Michael Mathias at Pundit Nation for this story.
The race for Milwaukee County Executive between State Senator Lena Taylor and incumbent Scott Walker promises to be one of the most hotly contested races in Wisconsin in 2008, so it shouldn’t come as any surprise that both candidates are going to pull out all the stops in order to win the race. However, what is surprising is just how low Scott Walker’s most vocal supporters are willing to sink in order to see him re-elected. In an editorial written for GM Today, WISN radio host Mark Belling, one of Walker’s most vocal and reliable media surrogates pulls out all the stops and asserts that Lena Taylor is a gang member. Commenting on a bill that would raise the age at which some juvenile offenders could be charged as an adult, Belling noted:
t’s not surprising that the bill is sponsored by some Milwaukee County Democrats like Sen. Lena Taylor, as they are chronically soft on crime and sympathetic to their increasingly influential gang bosses.
As Michael Mathias noted, Belling’s choice of words is curious, given that Lena Taylor is the only lawmaker among those cited by name whom Belling chooses to associate with gang bosses, and she also happens to be the only lawmaker of those cited by name who is African American. Anyone who has paid attention to Belling’s bellicose squawking throughout the years knows he’s not afraid of a little race-baiting from time to time, but his assertion that Lena Taylor is somehow beholden to “gang bosses” is vile, despicable and simply uncalled for, and I’ll be curious to see how Scott Walker responds to Belling’s comments.
I know the right-wing squawk brigade here in Milwaukee makes their living on saying and writing things that most normal folks find to be objectionable – lest we forget Jessica McBride’s attempted comedy bit bringing up the murder of 4-year-old Jasmine Owens in a fake interview with Journal Sentinel columnist Eugene Kane or Mark Belling’s comments referring to hispanics as “wetbacks,” resulting in his suspension. It’ll be interesting to see Senator Taylor’s response to Belling’s comments, because I’m sure she’ll have something to say about being thrown in with gang members.
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