Barrett decries Walker's tactics during campaign stop

• MIlwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett

Tom Barrett is on the campaign trail in Hudson.

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HUDSON - Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the Democratic candidate for governor in the June 5 recall election, attack Republican Gov. Scott Walker for starting an ideological civil war in Wisconsin during a campaign stop in Hudson Wednesday morning.

Barrett began his speech to 100 or more supporters who crowded into Key’s Café & Bakery by saying, “We need a fresh start in Madison with values representing all of us throughout the state, that reflect Wisconsin values, and not the values of billionaires from Texas.”

His hard-hitting address assailed Walker for raising “nearly 70 percent” of more than $25 million in campaign donations from out-of-state special interests and wealthy individuals.

Barrett also raised the issue of the ongoing John Doe investigation into the activities of Walker’s staff during the time he was the Milwaukee County executive.

Six of Walker’s associates have been charged with 15 felonies, so far, as a result of the investigation. The charges have included staff members doing political work while being paid by taxpayers.

Walker in April transferred $60,000 from his campaign account to a legal defense fund, but maintains he isn’t a target of the investigation.

“Do we want to have the only governor in this nation who has a criminal defense fund?” Barrett asked the crowd in Key’s Café.

“No!” came the reply.

“Do we want to have a governor who has had the largest cut in education in this state’s history?” he asked.

Again, “No!” was the response.

Barrett then reminded the crowd of a video of Walker talking to a billionaire donor that was released by Milwaukee filmmaker Brad Lichtenstein in April.

It shows Walker greeting Diane Hendricks of Beloit, the head of ABC Supply and the 188th richest person in the United States, according to Forbes Magazine. It was shot in January 2011, prior to the introduction of the budget repair bill that stripped public employee unions of almost all of their bargaining powers. Lichtenstein was working on a documentary about the closing of the General Motors plant in Janesville.

"Any chance we'll ever get to be a completely red state and work on these unions?” Hendricks asks.

“Oh, yeah," Walker says

"And become a right-to-work (state)?" Hendricks continues. "What can we do to help you?"

"Well, we're going to start in a couple weeks with our budget adjustment bill," Walker says. "The first step is we're going to deal with collective bargaining for all public employee unions, because you use divide and conquer."

Tags: western wisconsin, news, hudson, politics