Ban fundraising during budget talks

Governor Walker has been busy raising money. He is a politician after all. Walker has not yet officially announced his intentions to seek a third term as Wisconsin’s governor, but the amount of money he has raised makes it clear he plans to run again. Walker announced this week he has raised $3.5 million in the first half of this year, with more than $2.4 million cash on hand, more than he had four yearss ago. The problem with that is the pledge that Walker made as a candidate on the campaign trail. He promised not to raise money as governor from the January introduction of the budget until it is signed into law. Walker has repeatedly broken that pledge, to the tune of millions of dollars. Walker was right when he said politicians shouldn’t be walking around with their hands out while crafting a state budget. That leaves them open to special interests, glad to write the checks in hopes of getting their pet projects included in the state budget. Walker and lawmakers in the senate and assembly should not be allowed to conduct fundraisers while the budget is in front of them. They should make decisions over what to include in the budget based on what is best for the people of Wisconsin, not based on who writes the biggest check.