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Memo Pad

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Scott Walker Told Billionaire That He’d ‘Divide And Conquer’ Unions [Video]

May 11th, 2012 2:44 pm Henry Decker

A new video has surfaced in which Governor Scott Walker promises a wealthy Koch brothers ally that he will use a “divide and conquer” strategy to turn Wisconsin into a “right to work” state. The video, which was filmed by Brad Lichtenstein on January 18, 2011, directly contradicts Walker’s repeated claims that he has no interest in pushing anti-Union legislation.

In the video, Diane Hendricks — a billionaire roofing-supply magnate who has close ties to the Koch brothers — asks Walker whether he could “work on these unions” and make Wisconsin a “right-to-work state.”

“Oh yeah,” Walker responds. “We’re going to start in a couple weeks with our budget adjustment bill. The first step is, we’re going to deal with collective bargaining for all public employee unions, because you use divide and conquer.”

As the Democratic Party of Wisconsin points out, Walker’s plan to divide labor against itself directly contradicts his repeated claims that he is not interested in “right to work.”

Governor Walker was handsomely rewarded for his promise; since the video was filmed, Hendricks has given Walker’s campaign $510,000. According to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, this makes her Walker’s biggest supporter, and the largest known donor to any candidate in Wisconsin history.

Tom Barrett — Walker’s Democratic opponent in the upcoming June 5 recall election — has been accusing Walker of trying to “divide and conquer” labor for weeks. He told the Journal Sentinel that, until Thursday, he was unaware that Walker had actually used the phrase himself.

“This is another colossal bait and switch that goes directly to his honesty,” Barrett added. “What he claims he is not in favor of publicly, to the person who has made the largest contribution in state history, he says exactly the opposite. You can’t trust him.”



  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_B6RROC4IUESHT322QS5VJVPYRM Lynda

    The funny thing is that he said it was over eighteen months ago and he can’t remember what was spoken of. What a bullshit artist with a one-hair brush. Of course there is nothing surprising here, since the aim of the GOP for over 30 years has been to destroy the unions and increase profits even further.

    I hope that the good folks of Wisconsin are not putting all of their efforts into just dumping that cretin. They’ve got to change the make up of their Senate to truly stop the march backwards in their state. It would be more harmful to the state if most of the others are not recalled just to get this guy. Perhaps the citizens of Wisconsin will not agree, but having a neutered Walker in the state house has a certain poetic justice to it.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ford-Truck/100003735221640 Ford Truck

      Scott Walker can’t remember an important discussion he had with a billionaire contributor that is on tape. Mitt Romney can’t remember cruel acts of homophobia that numerous classmates remember very clearly. Seems the Republican party has a problem with remembering things.

      • http://profile.yahoo.com/C7AAHW642DACTA4UHSVVS5RX5Y Rhonda

        Yep, they are real convenient forgetters, just like Romney being a bully.

    • lmallak99

      FYI, In addition to recalling Walker, Wisconsin is recalling four of his Republican “Yes, Man” Senators.

  • SaneJane

    Alabama is a “right to work” state and you can see where that got us.

    • http://www.facebook.com/joe.stua Joe Stua

      Amen to that. Same here in Florida.

    • http://www.facebook.com/debbie.kieselryan1 Debbie Kiesel-Ryan

      You are all correct it’s called “Right to Work for Less” and the politicians have used lies to tell people we need it to create jobs and bring businesses here. Look at South Carolina, they have one of the highest unemployment numbers in the nation it’s also one of the poorest states in the nation, with right to work for less it makes regular citizens poor and the rich much richer, that’s all…..

  • Melvin Chatman

    Question:
    Is Scott Walker smarter than “W” or Slick Rick Perry? – just askin!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Harry-Trimble/100002067257348 Harry Trimble

    Please wake up Wisconsin. Vote this “TWO-FACED HACK” out of office. Have you seen and/or heard his divide and conquer statement about making Wisconsin a right to work state when he was taking to the woman who gave him $510.000.00. This amount of money from one person is disgraceful. You can select a better governor than this. The vote is in your hands. Best wishes on your recall.

  • dljones

    Take the unions out of the equation and you will have new business looking your way and new jobs to generate taxes and bring the budget in line with necessary spending.

    Presently, I wouldn’t return to Wisconsin to operate a hot dog stand.

    • http://www.facebook.com/clyde.mcwhorter Clyde Mcwhorter

      where do you work? or do you? I have belonged to a union since I got out of the US Navy,my dad was in a union, and raised 7 kids. We always had every thing we needed and were in the middle class. Until the companies started union busting there was about 85% union membership in theUSA. there were not as large a percentage of poverty here. the only ones that were in poverty was in Apalacia,colored folks in the south, and old people. Now that union membership has dropped to about 8% of the work force there are over 50million Americans in poverty. As for as Job loss in Wisc. blame Walker and his anti-worker plans and money suppliers! Compare Illinois who has a strong union force and has one of the highest jobs creation in the country! you have no idea of what made this country great. Do you know which US president that said “anyone that hates labor hates America?

    • http://www.facebook.com/clyde.mcwhorter Clyde Mcwhorter

      yeah! you probably eat too many wiennies!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_5LC2Q22MFT62FDSVE4J4CG2XE4 ace

    So what you do not get any more dirter than the Union and the Democrat party both are controled by the mafia .

    • http://www.facebook.com/rwmunk Richard W Munk

      WOW! I’m surprised you did use the words Socialist, Commie, anti-gun, etc. You could have called us Democrats lots more names, and use a lot of fear inducing verbiage to lump us all into you neat little boxes of bullshit.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MK5CZ3ECJ7TEKGHZ63JPYVMQUU DebnMike

    When my husband retires we are so outta this state, possibly even this country. A bunch of morons voting in a bunch of crooks. Might as well live where it’s less expensive and deal with the crooks who are at least open about their crookedness, lol!

    • http://profile.yahoo.com/C7AAHW642DACTA4UHSVVS5RX5Y Rhonda

      In Louisiana we used to know our politicians were crooks and accepted it because they were crooks who also did good things. Now with Bobby Jindal we have hateful crooks who are only open about being hateful.

      • KathiLee

        So true. I’m a Louisiana native, born and bred, and remember that crook Edwin Edwards (now a permanent guest of the federal penitentiary system) who did do some very good things for our state. Live here in Madison, Wisconsin, now, and am hating seeing Wisconsin go the way Louisiana has for centuries – backwards – with low wages, poor education system, and no help for the unfortunates. Yes, it’s crookedness with hatefullness.

    • http://profile.yahoo.com/LU3AKERTZ5NZMWHTE4RXGW4UDU Sonny

      Come on down to Costa Rica. I have been here for about two years and do not regret it a bit. Having dual residency I am required to participate in the public health system here. Isn’t all that bad for $49 per month, inclucing prescriptions. But if one opts for private health care it is good too. There is CIMA hospital, affliliated with Baylor University, and there is Clinca Biblica affiliated with Tulane University and the University of Miami. In May, 2010, I had a procedure at Clinica Biblica that cost less than $500. The same procedure (without insurance) would have cost me $2,300 in Ft. Myers, FL. With the group insurance plan I was in the procedure in Ft Myers would have cost me $925 out of pocket.

  • wayneonly

    Everybody needs to wake up! Big business is always going to try to destroy the unions. The unions are responsible for most of the gains made for the working class people and big business wants to role back those gains. Unions are responsible for the 40hr work week and overtime pay. Unions are responsible for safer working environments and health benefits and pensions. Do we want to go back to the days of the mine cave ins, the textile sweatshops with their horrendous dust fires? (Oh, I forgot, big business exported those jobs when they had to meet certain standards). Do we want to give up overtime pay, pensions and healthcare? Those are only some of the few benefits that union and non-union workers enjoy today because of actions of unions in the past. And big business threatens every worker when they try to “kill” unions and take away the right to organize.

  • lmallak99

    WALKER IS THE MOST CORRUPT POLITICIAN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN HAS EVER SEEN! It’s about time someone caught him on film exposing his true intentions. He’s claimed over and over that he’s not interested in Wisconsin becoming a “Right to Work” state, and now we have him on tape explaining, (in a conspiratorial lower voice), his plan to do just that.

  • lmallak99

    It all goes back to Regan & Col. Oliver North. They figure if he got away with it they can.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/C7AAHW642DACTA4UHSVVS5RX5Y Rhonda

    Typical selfish Republican: Do whatever you can to make the rich richer and sabotage the middle class. Take their rights and devolve them into the working poor. Hopefully this will seal Walker’s fate in the recall and put other Republicans on notice. Walker is nothing but a liar.

  • jebediah123

    DebnMike——I’ll be right behind you!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/fixtoday Richard Bichanich

    If he wants to keep the people down and create great divisions, right-to-work is the way to go. As planned by those in power, it works here in Arizona very well. Just stick it to the people who do the work and keep on smiling, all the way to the bank. It’s the law.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Steve-Moran/1608891463 Steve Moran

    What a piece of human waste!

  • bigspender7

    Scott Walker may appear to be many things to different people. But the one incontestable fact is that he is just egg-sucking, chicken stealing gutter trash.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/TXXB5MXAP2RPLUF6Y4OMHSSSNE UNSHACKLED

    WELL,WELL,WELL, STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH WITH NO GUN TO HIS HEAD !!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET,BETTER GET OUT & VOTE PEOPLE OF WISCONSIN & ALL OVER AMERICA TO GET CLOWNS LIKE THIS ONE OUT OF OFFICE WHO WORK DIRECTLY FOR BIG BUSINESS & NOT THE PEOPLE, WAKE UP AMERICANS & VOTE THEM OUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • tacoburger

    How can you tell that the 2 minute clip has not been doctored or edited or taken out of context. Many can edit anything to look bad. What is the true record or does that not interest your ears.