Tooljob report: the more Walker's story changes, the more it stays the same

 

Scott Walker, making campaign promises: 250,000 jobs "is my floor, not my ceiling."

First, Scott Walker said he'd create 250,000 jobs.  And provide the "tools" schools and public workers needed in the form of helpful, unprecedented, cuts and reversal of over 100 years of progress in securing workers' rights to fair labor practices and a voice in the workplace.

Then, he was elected governor and accomplished the following:

• the worst jobs record in America, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics
• taking Wisconsin all the way down to 44th of the 50 states in job creation
• and the most job losses in the nation from April 2012 to April 2013 (to make up for these job losses, Walker's refusal of federal Medicaid funds also ensured that Wisconsin leads the nation in states kicking people of Medicaid)
• more lies than you'd think possible about his job record (with a shameful 23% of his statements registering as "true" or "mostly true" by the conservative-leaning folks at PolitiFact), like this one from last month where he claimed he'd already created 100,000 jobs

Then, on Monday, he said he never really meant it about the 250, 000 jobs and that "it's really not about jobs, it's about real people." He also said that it's not his fault about the jobs.  He blames the unrest in Syria. And if Obama can't fix that.  Well, "it will inevitably have an impact."

Then, today, he said it was about the jobs, and he's still going to create 250,000 of them.  And then did this weird purge to his website.

Walker's pretty good at promising tools and jobs.  But he's really, really, really, not doing very well at actually creating jobs. Or helping people who don't have them (because of him). But he's doing great at stifling  dissent, and cronyism, if you're into that sort of thing. 

Update 8/28/13 7:30pm: 
It just keeps getting better.  I mean worse.  This just in from James Rowen at The Political Environment:  From the new WJFW report "Walker reaffirms 250,000 job campaign promise," which apparently cancels out the Monday story, "Walker backs off campaign jobs pledge at Merrill stop."

"Walker's press secretary, Tom Evenson, called Newswatch 12 on Tuesday, and asked if we could be persuaded to take Monday's story off our website."

I SAID I'll create 250,000 jobs.  Just kidding, it was never about the jobs.  No, seriously.  I'm going to create 250,000 jobs.  But don't quote me on that.  And if you already quoted me on that, would you mind just, um, deleting it?


Update #2 8/29/13 11:42am: 
In apparent preparation for presidential campaign flip-floppery, Walker also told The Business Journal on the same day his staff tried to purge the "it's not about jobs or numbers" episode from the public record, that his 250,000 promise was "an aggressive goal" (you know how he loves aggression) that he "didn't regret:" 

“What we’re trying to stay focused on is not hitting a magic number as much as making sure everything we did — that our overwhelming focus of this administration — is how do we help the people of the state get more jobs?” Walker said.

Which reminds me...  Remember that "Back to Work" special jobs session he called in 2011 so that they could pass anti-worker legislation?  The one that didn't produce a single jobs bill?  Yeah.  I remember that, too.
 
Oh, and he blames Obama, the Affordable Care Act, and the recall for creating fewer than 85,000 jobs so far.  From the article: "Walker blames health care reform, even as the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau says Medicaid expansion would have added 10,000 jobs," Democratic spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff." 

Pass the popcorn.