Scott Walker’s gubernatorial PR campaign in full swing; Journal Sentinel on board

Most public officials with plans to abandon their constituents to run for higher office at least try let some decent interval pass between their last election and the declaration that they're seeking greener pastures.

You know, just enough time so the voters don't feel like total suckers.

Not Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker. At last month’s GOP convention, held less than sixty days after his reelection, Walker all but confirmed in a taped WisPolitics interview that he won’t be spending much time actually doing his job as Milwaukee county executive.

So Team Walker must have been thrilled at the headline their guy got over the weekend from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. In a story demonstrating the supine indifference that’s become a hallmark of the paper’s coverage of Walker’s tenure, we learn:

Walker to tighten budget

Now, because of a little thing known as “checks and balances,” Walker can’t actually pass a budget all by himself. So the editors at the paper add a sub-head:

He wants cuts, freezes in county government to push privatization

That’s certainly right out of the state GOP’s talking points. But wait, we haven’t even read the actual story, penned by Steve Schultze, yet:

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker would cut or freeze nearly all county departments' budgets for next year, under tough guidelines meant to prod efforts to privatize more county services.

Parks would lose $766,000, the Department on Aging would lose $468,000 and the zoo would lose $182,000. Many other departments would get no increase for 2009 under Walker's proposed budget targets.

He called those "hold-harmless" sums and noted that he spared the courts and the Sheriff's Department from budget cuts. But with salaries and other costs on the rise across county government, all departments must scrounge for some efficiencies or eliminate some tasks, Walker said.

His message to his staff members as they gear up for the annual budget pageant: economize and privatize.

"Anywhere and everywhere, they should be considering contracting out" so services can be provided at less cost, Walker said in an interview. That's been his mantra since he took office, one that he re-emphasized during his successful re-election campaign this year.

Woo-Hoo! The Milwaukee county executive has a budget-cutting “mantra.” Plus, he’s successful!

It’s not until the seventh paragraph—when most readers have probably moved on—that the Walker news release stops, and the actual story emerges:

Some supervisors already are warning Walker that if he's serious about his campaign talk of working more cooperatively with the board, he must break from his past practice and submit an "honest budget."

"We want a budget that's realistic and doesn't have holes in it," Supervisor James "Luigi" Schmitt said.

Schmitt, who has generally been a Walker ally on budget issues, said he was "on a rampage now, my honest budget crusade."

Schmitt called on Walker to stop submitting budgets that count on revenue that's not likely to materialize or that make unsupportable cuts.

For example, Walker's 2008 budget used overly optimistic state aid estimates and an unrealistic forecast on how quickly the county could sell its former Park East freeway corridor land to developers, Schmitt said. Walker also proposed cuts of deputy positions that weren't doable, he said.

…

"Who fills the holes? The County Board fills the holes," Schmitt said. "People take us for granted."

Do you mean to tell me that even reliable allies are getting upset with Governor Wannabe's lousy budgeting? Gosh, that sure sounds like a pretty important story.

Do reporters have to carry malpractice insurance? Steve Schultze certainly should. Not only does he bury the lead halfway through the article, he fails to mention his own reporting that Walker has a record of submitting phony budgets, and then taking credit for the repairs that have to be made through the override process.

As the saying goes, you can’t buy news coverage like that—especially if you’re not even asked to pay for it. And, if this article is any indication, Walker should be able to count on the Journal Sentinel to provide plenty material for the actors in his upcoming gubernatorial campaign ads.

Jim Rowen noticed the Walker strategy too.