20 Days Out: Walker Campaign and GOP Flailing With Health Care as Top Issue in the Race

Yesterday was not a good day for Scott Walker. With health care dominating the conversation heading into the final stretch of the election, Walker’s terrible record is catching up to him in a big way.

The day started out with the Washington Post reporting that Walker told Wisconsin voters to not be “distracted by that [pre-existing conditions] debate.” His statement was as tone deaf as it was delusional. It’s not a distraction when approximately 2.4 million people in Wisconsin have a pre-existing condition, and Walker is currently suing to eliminate these protections. It’s also deeply out of touch with Wisconsin voters. In the most recent Marquette poll, 78% of respondents said covering pre-existing conditions is “very important” to them.

But then things got much worse for Walker when, in a moment of candidness, Senate leader Scott Fitzgerald admitted that his caucus couldn’t deliver the votes to protect pre-existing conditions at the state level. “I know I got members who are probably not on board, which is one of the reasons it wasn’t something we tackled at the end of session,” Fitzgerald said.

This admission directly undercuts Walker’s claim that if his lawsuit to eliminate pre-existing conditions was successful, the state could swoop in and pass his deeply flawed replacement bill.

Then just hours later, Fitzgerald miraculously flip-flopped and claimed that he had the votes. Fitzgerald failed to mention what had actually changed in the few hours since he said Walker’s plan was DOA. An angry call from a politically endangered governor perhaps?

Either way, what started out as a day where Walker hoped to keep his liabilities on health care under wraps, ended with his caucus in disarray and his credibility in tatters. Not ideal.

But that wasn’t all. Walker’s administration also had to push back on a report that he was slow-walking Medicaid reforms because he was worried it would expose him to even more attacks.

Walker’s health care charade is falling apart before our very eyes.

“After multiple health care debacles yesterday, how can Wisconsinites possibly trust a word he says on the issue?” said DPW spokesperson Alex Japko. “Scott Walker knows he can’t deliver on his health care promises and is still suing to undermine protections for pre-existing conditions. It’s no wonder he wants Wisconsin voters to focus on literally anything else.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.