As Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker and his Republican supporters in the state Legislature seek to have Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen join a lawsuit preventing the provisions of the health care reform legislation recently signed into law from being enacted, Mike Tate, the Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, has called on Scott Walker and his Republican supporters in the Legislature to renounce their taxpayer-funded health insurance:
“Scott Walker and his 34 Republican followers in the Legislature should cancel their policies immediately. Let them be like the rest of us for once. We’ll see if these hypocrites can find the same kind of coverage from the big insurance companies that they now seek to protect.
Let’s be clear: A big talker like Scott Walker has been on the public dime since 1993, enjoying great health care and pension benefits. He is a career politician who hasn’t one thing to fix the health care system, has had himself and his family covered by taxpayer-funded insurance – so now let this big talker ‘walk the walk.’
At heart is the hypocrisy of well-paid elected officials who see nothing wrong with denying health care to others when it is taxpayers who have paid for their comfortable lifestyles, with good pensions and the kind of health care they don’t think the rest of Wisconsin deserves.
They’ve got theirs at the taxpayer’s expense, but seniors, students and working families can live with the uncertainty of getting sick and going to the poorhouse. At every turn, these Republicans who get taxpayer-funded health care have opposed taxpayer-funded health care like Medicare for seniors, TriCare for military families and BadgerCare for working families.
So, today, we’re beginning a petition calling on Scott Walker and his Republican followers to cancel their insurance policies and give up their taxpayer-funded health insurance, even as they seek out right-wing activist judges to block health care for the rest of us.
As for Scott Walker, it’s easy for a career politician like him to pretend that he’s a working man when his paid staff is packing a brown bag lunch for him in the fancy kitchen he paid for with a $50,000 raise. Now Scott Walker, who has never once complained about getting taxpayer-funded insurance calling, on right-wing attorney generals and activist judges, who also get taxpayer-funded health care, to stop health care reform.”
I’m betting Scott Walker won’t renounce his taxpayer-funded health insurance, because he rarely puts his money where his mouth is.
I seemed to remember Walker cutting his own pay and basically returning over 350k over 8 years. Would you rather he bought his own insurance while keeping that money?
E, how many of the 8 years Walker has been County Executive has he “cut his own pay?”
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/29505169.html
60,000 per year, Zach, since 2002 when he was elected. He cut the amount that was due to him by what the position paid by 47%.
Emphasis on the fact that he’s “scaled back” the amount he gives back per year….it’s not $60,000 per year anymore.
You’ve used this red herring before. The County is Walker’s current employer, so he has employer-funded health care, not government health care. His employer happens to be taxpayers.
In the same sense, I don’t think the governent should write everyone a check, but certainly must pay its employees. Surely you see the difference.
Walker’s position on health care reform and high speed rail are enough to make his candidacy a dud for anyone who believes in economic development. Both of these improvements are pro-growth, pro-business & pro-development. This man seems to think you can shrink and cut your way back to success.
Too bad they aren’t pro-taxpayer.
I’ll give credit to Walker returning $60,000 between 2002 & 2007, but in 2008 (to date) as the article states he cut his return to $10,000 per year(blame the wife)….leaving him with a salary of a measly $119,000 per year.
Yet he still returned money. The article also stated that if he goes full term the saving will be over 400k….. I would say he HAS put his money where his mouth is whether it’s 10k or 60k.
How much in raises have ALL of the county and city employees, including elected officials, received since 2002? How much have they given back? This posts rips on Walker for him enrolling and participating in a BENEFIT that is offered by his employer and has absolutely nothing to do with the health care debate. Walker has paid back more than his share for the insurance that he has actually earned as an employee. Where is the big Blogging Blue headline decrying Walker’s greed for unselfishly returning what is actually rightfully his?
Yeah, personally I love the “brown bag” ad he cut in his fancy kitchen with the granite countertops. He’s really an “average joe” with a kitchen like that.