The buzz today centers on Gov. Scott Walker's response to a call from a man claiming to be David Koch, the billionaire businessman who finances a variety of conservative causes around the country along with his brother, Charles.
Here's the transcript of the call. This morning, Assembly Democrats pointed to the part when Walker compares his action to President Reagan's decision to fire striking air traffic controllers, which he says was "the first crack in the Berlin Wall" that "changed the course of history," as evidence that the governor was not stripping public employees of collective bargaining rights because of fiscal concerns.
"This isn't about the deficit, this is about changing the course of history," shouted Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee).
Regardless of what Walker said on tape, the most damning fact about the conversation is that it was able to happen so quickly. This is the same governor who refused to respond to calls from the mayor of the state's capital city for months. Soglin-backers can rest assured: No matter how far to the right you Cieslewicz has gone, he has a lot of ground to make up before he gets a call through to the governor within a month, let a lone two hours.
Secondly, while the tape isn't necessarily evidence that Walker, for instance, was considering bringing in "troublemakers" to make the protests look bad, it showed the incredible lengths he will go to please a backer as rich and influential as Koch.
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