by Keith Best

Governor Jim Doyle gave a speech where he said “we should not, we must not, I will not raise taxes.” Since then he has raided funds in the state treasury, raised fees and taxes. Surprise! It took awhile but the people of Wisconsin finally caught on to the games Doyle has been playing, and his poll numbers have dropped accordingly. Any wonder why he is not running for re-election?

With some apparent prodding, Democratic Mayor of Milwaukee Tom Barrett has decided to run for governor. Mayor Tom sure is a nice guy but his record bares closer scrutiny. Barrett has voted to raise taxes in every public office job he has held. Every one including when he was in Washington D.C. where he voted for the largest tax increase in US history. And we can’t forget that as a state legislator he voted for the largest tax increase in state history. Now I am no campaign strategist, but it seems obvious to me that instead of running on his record, nice guy Tom will be forced to resort to personal attacks against his opponent. And if not Tom himself then it will be from all the special interest groups that support him. It will get ugly. I recall the campaign of Republican candidate Mark Green for governor. Doyle smeared Green with “Dirty Money, Dirty Money” charges. Green was attempting to use leftover money from his congressional run. The same thing done previously by Tom Barrett. Only Doyle arranged for the partisan Elections Board to rule against Green. It seems the party that touts its “fairness and tolerance” was not so fair. Now when we factor in the massive spending that our national government has thrust upon us, we here in Wisconsin need a leader that spends taxpayer money as if it was his own.

Let’s look at the record of Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker. He has authored eight consecutive budgets that did not increase the tax levy from the previous year. He has cut the county government workforce by over 20%, and reduced his county debt by 10%. Liberals attack that saying the Milwaukee County Park system is decimated, yet it won a Gold Medal Award for 2009. This common sense approach to government stands in sharp contrast to the approach of liberals such as Barrett.

Let’s face it, we are in a terrible recession. Economists say one of the worst things to do in a recession is to raise taxes. Scott Walker has been a clear, concise and consistent messenger for less government regulation, more personal freedom and an expanded opportunity for economic prosperity. Walker has pledged to roll back taxes during his first budget as governor – a task that will be made possible through the same efforts to streamline government and eliminate wasteful spending that has helped Scott author the eight straight budgets without a tax levy increase. After all, it’s in the record. You can look it up.

I was born and raised in Wisconsin 56 years ago. This used to be a “Great State on a Great Lake.” Scott Walker believes, as I do, that Wisconsin can be great again with a governor that believes in smaller government and less taxes. These policies will lead to positive job growth. The next eight months should be very interesting, but don’t lose sight of the records of these two men. Barrett is just more of Jim Doyle.