Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) has effectively given women “the back of his hand.”
“Scott Walker has given women the back of his hand,” Wasserman Schultz said Wednesday at a roundtable discussion on women’s issues at the Milwaukee Athletic Club according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I know that is stark. I know that is direct. I know that is reality.”
Wasserman Schultz, according to the Wisconsin newspaper, criticized Walker for signing a bill that prevents victims of employment discrimination from seeking damages in Wisconsin courts. Other Democrats have criticized the Wisconsin governor for ushering in tighter regulations on abortion.
The comments by the top DNC official comes as Walker faces a tough re-election fight against Democrat Mary Burke.
“She has run a campaign from beginning to now that is exactly on track to make sure she’s elected governor, a slow rolling boil that will eventually reach a crescendo that will serve her to the governors office,” Wasserman Schultz said.
Asked for comment, a Walker spokeswoman pointed toward Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch who responded that she was “shocked” about Wasserman Schultz’s comments.
“I think the remarks were absolutely hideous and the motive behind them was despicable,” she said according to the Journal-Sentinel.
DNC communications director Lily Adams said that Wasserman Schultz did not mean to belittle “the very rail pain survivors” of domestic violence experience.
“Domestic violence is an incredibly serious issue and the Congresswoman was by no means belittling the very real pain survivors experience,” Adams said in a statement. “That’s why Democrats have consistently supported the Violence Against Women Act and won’t take a lesson from the party that blocked and opposed its reauthorization. The fact of the matter is that Scott Walker’s policies have been bad for Wisconsin’s women.”
The TPM Polltracker gives Walker a 2.2-point lead over Burke.
This story was updated.
