, , , , , ,

New York Mayor Urges Democrats To Take Walker Seriously During Milwaukee Visit

Democrat Pushes For More Specifics From Clinton's Presidential Campaign

By
Chuck Quirmbach/WPR

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Saturday that Democrats should take Gov. Scott Walker’s possible presidential campaign seriously, but that the Republican often misrepresents himself.

De Blasio was in Milwaukee on Saturday night for a Democratic Party dinner.

Wisconsin Democrats often criticize Walker for what the Democrats say are gaffes and poor policy, but de Blasio said he takes the governor very seriously — although he said there appears to be more than one Scott Walker.

Stay informed on the latest news

Sign up for WPR’s email newsletter.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“I believe that looking at the record, that he has had an ability to either present himself as something other than he is,” De Blasio said. “You know, he presents himself as a friend of working people, (but) then pursues policies that undermine the interests of working people. And obviously, his policies have hurt the economy of this state.

“And the fact that he’s going to take money away from education is the most striking of them all. It goes against every idea of economic progress that you see around the world right now,” the mayor said. “So, I think that has to be exposed. But I never mistake the fact that a good politician’s a good politician. He’s a clever politician. He presents himself in a likable way and should be taken seriously.”

Walker said last week that if there’s additional tax revenue this spring, his proposed budget cut to K-12 education could be eased. However, the governor said he still intends to cut the University of Wisconsin System budget by $300 million.

De Blasio has also come under some fire from fellow Democrats for saying he’s not ready to endorse possible Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton and for calling on her to be more specific on some issues like income inequality. De Blasio said that he thinks specifics would help Clinton in Midwest states like Wisconsin.

“(I want to see) a very sharp tangible vision of economic change,” he said. “I’m hopeful we’ll hear that from her. But, I think that’s what people are waiting for — to hear a clear message of how we move forward and address inequality, and I would say this to all the candidates. If you’re going to address income inequality, you have to talk about progressive taxation.”

De Blasio said he’ll continue to travel the U.S. and plans to create an open-to-any presidential candidate forum this fall on the wealth gap between rich and poor.

He also said he’s very proud to be mayor of New York City, but some analysts said that they think he could positioning himself as a more progressive alternative to Hillary Clinton.