Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Backs Walker on Recall

Wisconsin’s largest newspaper has come out in favor of Gov. Scott Walker is his battle to save his job. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said Walker’s policies may be controversial but they are no reason to remove him from office.
 

“No governor in recent memory has been so controversial,” the paper said in an editorial. “No governor in America is so polarizing. Everyone has an opinion about Gov. Scott Walkerof Wisconsin. Here’s ours: We see no reason to remove Walker from office. We recommend him in the June 5 recall election.”

The paper wrote the recall is about one thing, Walker’s stance on public-employee unions and added that a “disagreement over a single policy is simply not enough to justify a vote against the governor.”

“Walker brought some of this animosity on himself,” the paper said. “He chose an in-your-face style from the start. To his credit, the governor now acknowledges that he did a poor job of building support for his policies. . . .
Whether any amount of explaining would have made a difference is questionable considering the breadth of Walker's vision.

“We think his limits on collective bargaining went too far. We think Republicans generally took an unfortunate sharp turn to the right on social issues,” according to the Journal. “That led to bills in the Legislature promoting abstinence-only education, limiting women's health options and creating a concealed-carry law with insufficient training requirements.”

The paper wrote that while “Act 10 — the law that clipped the wings of most public-employee unions in the state — was an overreach” it was necessary to rein labor costs at the state and local level.

Turning to Walker’s challenger, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the newspaper said “as a leader, the mayor can be tentative and slow to act.”

“While building consensus is admirable — the opposite of the approach Walker often takes — the mayor can be risk-averse to a fault,” it said. “One example: He has been slow to articulate a vision for economic development in the city and to develop a strategic economic plan for Milwaukee that dovetails with regional efforts.

“But this election isn't about Tom Barrett. It's about Scott Walker,” the paper concluded. “Even if you disagree with Walker's policies, does that justify cutting short his term as governor? And if so, where does such logic lead? To more recall elections? More turmoil?
 

“It's time to end the bickering and get back to the business of the state. We’ve had our differences with the governor, but he deserves a chance to complete his term. We recommended him in 2010. We see no reason to change that recommendation. We urge voters to support Walker in the June 5 recall election.”