The Wisconsin AFL-CIO is up with a new ad attacking Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal to strip public employee unions of most of their collective bargaining rights — making quick use of Walker’s phone call with blogger Ian Murphy, who was posing as Republican financier David Koch.
Around the Capitol, the phone call is something people are talking about — a lot. From the protestors yelling about Walker’s “Koch habit,” to reporters who kept asking him about the call during Wednesday’s brief press conference. Indeed, it seems likely Walker will find it difficult to put the call behind him anytime soon — from his discussion of political gamesmanship, brief considerations about planting fake protesters to start trouble, or his passion for busting the public employee unions in the mold of Ronald Reagan’s firing of the air traffic controllers, this thing, as they say, has legs.
Enter the AFL-CIO’s ad:
“Gov. Walker is set on eliminating collective bargaining for nurses, teachers, people who live and work in our communities,” the announcer says. “He tells us it’s for the taxpayers of Wisconsin. But to wealthy GOP funders like David Koch, it’s a different story.”
Some audio clips then come up, with the on-screen text telling the viewer that Walker is actually talking to a blogger posing as Koch. “During each day we crank up a little bit more pressure…five to six thousand state workers will get at risk notices for layoffs. We might ratchet that up a little bit, too,” Walker is heard saying.
The announcer closes: “Tell Republican lawmakers to put a stop to Governor Walker’s charades.”
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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