Wisconsin Democratic state Sen. John Erpenbach, still out of state in Illinois, has a clear message for Governor Scott Walker: Don’t blame public workers for a broken budget.
Interviewed by CNN’s Brook Baldwin via phone on Tuesday afternoon, Sen. Erpenbach said he continues to be unhappy with Walker’s tactics. “He’s deficit spending right now, and as a result of us calling him on that, something he promised during the campaign he’d never do, he’s going to lay off people. It’s a ridiculous game he’s playing and a very dangerous game he’s playing.”
When asked about the budget Walker was set to announce later on Tuesday, Erpenbach said, “They will have to lay off a lot of their employees. But you can’t lay off the work. The work still needs to be done. As a result, they’ll have to turn to private corporations to contract out the work.”
Erpenbach said he wasn’t aware of any fellow AWOL senate Democrats with plans to return to Madison. “We’re not going anywhere. It’s very easy for me to say I’ve identified eight republicans who are willing to vote with us. It’s a game that goes back and forth.”
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