WPR report: Scott Walker’s attempt to eliminate Wisconsin Idea was no “drafting error”

Yesterday I wrote about a provision in Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed 2015-17 Executive Budget that would strike “the search for truth” and the Wisconsin Idea from the university’s mission. After Gov. Walker’s intent to remove the Wisconsin Idea from the UW System’s mission statement became public, backlash was swift and hostile, at which point Gov. Walker’s staff chalked up the language to a “drafting error” while Gov. Walker again avoided taking any responsibility for language contained within his Executive Budget.

However, Gov. Walker’s explanation that a “drafting error” was to blame for his attempt to remove the Wisconsin Idea from the UW’s mission statement has now been exposed as a flagrant lie, as outlined in a report by Shawn Johnson of Wisconsin Public Radio

Documents show Gov. Scott Walker’s administration gave detailed instructions on how to remove the “Wisconsin Idea” from the University of Wisconsin System’s mission statement after telling reporters Wednesday that the change was a “drafting error.”  

In a drafting file first reported on by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin State Journal, a Walker administration budget analyst gave explicit directions to the budget bill drafters on what to delete from the UW’s mission statement. That included deleting the words, “Basic to every purpose of the system is the search for truth.”

This should put to rest any doubts that Gov. Scott Walker is in fact a liar of the highest order.

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4 thoughts on “WPR report: Scott Walker’s attempt to eliminate Wisconsin Idea was no “drafting error”

  1. It’s pretty shocking, but Walker supporters have shown they don’t care about lies and a lack of accountability from Walker and his administration. They are totally cool with anything he does, as long as he’s punishing “liberals”.

  2. Probably true, MaseMan, but they turn out to vote, which ultimately is the driver of what’s happening in our state.

    More people agree with us: We’ve got to get our folks to vote!

    1. Totally agree. Maybe moderates and left-leaning voters will be pissed off enough, come the next election cycle, that the Democrats will actually put up a fight when it comes to turnout.

    2. First, thanks for checking in at the forum here. Hope you can offer some ideas from your experiences and connections regularly.

      The Party will fail to bring in the votes needed to overcome the outside money and redistricting. Party members I have worked with or volunteered to work full time for, (recalls and several candidates individually) dismiss my thoughts, ideas and efforts because I am not a paid party member. So much for inclusiveness, so much for actually looking for solutions to overcome opponents to small ‘d’ democracy.

      Because of the DPW’s affiliation with the DNC and refusal to break from them, I will never join the party or give them any money or time. (Individual candidates may be exceptions). No discernible difference in policies or practices between the two “party,” branches of the ruling cla$$, needs to be addressed first and foremost if you think any better voter participation can be effected. I will fight against any Hillary type loudly and publicly, for example. Good people will continue to simply stay home.

      This state has a large left leaning contingency but we need to threaten the national supposed leadership, to withdraw our support without a serious change to their corporatist, forever destructive and military hegemony, if we wish to get them to move even one millimeter away from the status quo of bank rule, military rule, corporate monopoly mass media indoctrination, financial theft of public resources (extraction industries), failure of even minimal standards of freedom from fear of capitalist terrorists of every stripe, no affordable healthcare (spare me Obombya’s gift to health insurance profiteers) backed up with a militarized civilian police force that only protects capital’s property.

      I realize there is a lot of detail left out in that not so brief rant, but there is NO Democratic party in existence at the national level. They don’t deserve even lip service approval for anything.

      Readers (possibly unfortunately) have me home at my desk today, mitigating successfully the very first signs of a minor sinus problem. Thanks for your attention.

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