Larson's Release - January 25, 2012

January 25, 2012

The State of Wisconsin is Divided

Madison – State Senator Chris Larson (D–Milwaukee) released the following statement today in advance of Governor Walker’s State of the State address.

“Governor Walker has a crucial chance tonight to take responsibility for the deep and continued division in our state caused by his pursuit of extreme ideological policies. The governor has also been given the opportunity to change his leadership approach. This is a governor that does not invite new ideas, he rejects them. He does not welcome transparency and accountability, he locks the door on it.

“If Governor Walker is looking to bring neighbors across Wisconsin together, he must be committed to making honest gestures that move us in that direction. Instead of just talking about prioritizing education, he needs to prove it is valuable by investing resources in our schools and cease demonizing our educators rather than giving away $2.3 billion in corporate tax cuts. Instead of just talking about bipartisanship through citing a sparse handful of examples where Democrats crossed the partisan line to vote for Republican proposals, he needs to prove it is a priority by forming 50/50 bipartisan action committees empowered to tackle crisis issues, including education; housing; health care; waste, fraud, and abuse in government; and most importantly building family-supporting jobs in Wisconsin to turn our economy around.

“Wisconsin doesn’t need another speech that doubles-down on failed divisive policies. Our best bet is on collaborative conversations and truly bipartisan action to get Wisconsin moving in the right direction – forward.

“Although it is unlikely that Governor Walker will honestly address the deep division in our state that keeps neighbor pitted against neighbor and take steps to correct it, I can think of a million reasons why he should.”
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Chris Larson
State Senator, District 7