Wisconsin Democrats slam Gov. Walker's new taxpayer-funded website

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has called on Republican Gov. Scott Walker to reimburse taxpayers for a website launched Monday that touts the results of the legislation he pushed in 2011.

"Since our reforms passed, a lot of people have wondered what kind of results we're getting and why the reforms were necessary," Walker said in a statement. "Reforms.wi.gov shows the results from our reforms and how they're working."

The website claims that local governments have saved over $450 million because of the reforms. The cutbacks were made possible by Republican legislation that curtailed the collective bargaining rights for most public workers.

"Scott Walker is well-versed in using taxpayer money to promote his political career and the campaign website he launched today is a laughable example of what happens when politicians panic in the face of accountability," Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said.

"If Wisconsin is so broke, it stands to reason that there is no money to pay for a website that papers over a terrible record of fewer jobs, more unemployment and fewer services for the people affected by his terrible budget. Scott Walker's campaign has money to spare-and they should reimburse they people of Wisconsin for the production and maintenance of this insulting propaganda."

Democratic Party spokesperson Graeme Zielinski told The Capital Times that the party plans to file a complaint with the state Government Accountability Board.

Walker's new website comes just weeks after Democrats announced they were teaming up with United Wisconsin PAC to launch a recall campaign against the governor on November 15.

Democrats need to collect 540,206 valid signatures in a 60-day period to force a recall election against Walker.

Photo credit: Megan McCormick