Scott Walker takes Oath of Office, begins journey to reform State Governement

Scott sworn in as Florida's 45th governor
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Republican Rick Scott declared "Job Creation is a mission" after being sworn in Tuesday as Florida's 45th Governor, and he vowed to move swiftly on an agenda of lower taxes, smaller government and less Regulation. Scott told the crowd gathered outside the historic Capitol that he understands the hardship of Unemployment because his father was often Laid Off and his mother had to take on ironing work to put food on the table. "I have a clear memory of their fear and unc...

New Florida governor promises to add jobs and cut tax
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Former Hospital executive and political novice Rick Scott was sworn in as Florida Governor on Tuesday and he promised to create jobs, reduce government Regulation and eliminate the state's corporate Income Tax. Scott, a 58-year-old Republican, took the oath of office on the steps of the old State Capitol building in Tallahassee. In his inaugural address, he said Job Creation would be his top priority. "Florida has to offer business people the biggest opportunity ...

Walker takes office as Wisconsin's 45th governor
Republican Scott Walker has been sworn in as Wisconsin's 45th Governor at an inauguration ceremony in the State Capitol Rotunda. The top issue on the 43-year-old's agenda is the Wisconsin economy. The state is facing a $3 billion shortfall in the two-year state Budget, and Walker plans to call an emergency legislative session immediately to begin work on bills he says will help The Economy. Walker said Monday in his inaugural address that he will "right-size" State Government and make tough but ...

Walker takes office as Wisconsins 45th governor
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican Scott Walker has been sworn in as Wisconsin’s 45th Governor at an inauguration ceremony in the State Capitol Rotunda. The top issue on the 43-year-old’s agenda is the Wisconsin economy. The state is facing a $3 billion shortfall in the two-year state Budget, and Walker plans to call an emergency legislative session immediately to begin work on bills he says will help The Economy. Walker said Monday in his inaugural address that he will “rig...

Scott Walker begins term facing $3B budget shortfall
MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Scott Walker began his term as Wisconsin’s 45th Governor Monday facing a $3 billion Budget shortfall and asked the new Republican majorities in the state Legislature to start work immediately on proposals to improve the state’s economy. The oath of office Walker took Monday from Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson was ceremonial. He had already been sworn in Thursday by Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen so there would be a seamless transi...

Preparing To Obstruct Health Law, WI Gov. Scott Walker Hires UnitedHealth Lobbyist As Deputy Chief Of Staff
Today, Republican Scott Walker was sworn in as the newly-elected Governor of the state of Wisconsin. One of the major themes of Walker’s campaign was opposition to federal Health Care reform efforts. Back in March, Walker announced his support for Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen’s intention to sue the Federal Government to win the right for Wisconsin to opt-out of the recently passed Health Care law. It is widely expected that, now that Walker is governor, Wisconsin will...

Your Opinions
While I generally agree with columnist John Gurda's plea for more comity and Compromise in today's political transactions, I can't help but be suspicious of his timing (Crossroads, Jan. 2). I recall there being no such pleas when Sarah Palin was being savaged, nor when ObamaCare was being slammed into law by partisan maneuvering. During those not so distant days, character Assassination and running roughshod over the opposition were seemingly acceptable as long as it was those with conservativ...

"What is failing us is not our people or our places. What is failing us is the expanse of government."
"But we can do something about it right here, right now, today." The biggest applause line in Scott Walker's inaugural address. [Wisconsin's new Governor has called a] special legislative session and told lawmakers he wanted them to approve a string of bills by the end of February.... The bills would: give Tax Breaks to business owners and income Tax Credits for contributions to health savings accounts; reduce business regulations; provide protections from Lawsuits; give the governor more say i...

Government Uncertainty Hurts (High Speed Rail) Business
This played out over the holidays so I’m a bit late in coming to it, but Spanish train manufacturer Talgo is converting their new plant in Milwaukee to a maintenance facility set to employ far fewer people following the cancellation of the planned high speed rail line to Madison (and eventually to the Twin Cities) by new Gov. Scott Walker (R). Walker ran against the rail plan and expressed concerns that a Federal Grant of $810 million would commit the state to unaffordable maintenance cos...

Norcross Defends Priebus
David Norcross, former chairman of the New Jersey Republican party, defends Reince Priebus against an onslaught of recent attacks in an e-mail to the Republican National Committee. Here’s the e-mail: As you know, someone has been inundating Member’s inboxes with attacks against all Candidates in the RNC Chairman’s race.  It’s unfortunate that these attacks continue - they are childish and inappropriate.  In particular, we have seen the same 3 untrue charge...

Brown sworn in as California's 39th governor
Reporting from Sacramento — Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. was sworn in as California's 39th Governor Monday — 36 years after first taking the same oath — warning of shared sacrifice and hard choices ahead to help the state out of its Financial Crisis. Striking a serious tone but with a strong undercurrent of optimism, Brown read, uncharacteristically, from prepared remarks. In a 17-minute address, the Democrat spoke of the coming Austerity and of overcoming adversity. But he also ...

Wisconsin looks to join multi-state reform lawsuit
A high-profile Lawsuit against Healthcare Reform may get a little bigger, with Wisconsin announcing Monday afternoon it would challenge the law. Just hours after Wisconsin’s new Republican Governor, Scott Walker, was sworn in, he authorized the state's Republican Attorney General to join a federal Lawsuit in Florida challenging the reform law’s requirement for individuals to purchase Health Insurance by 2014. “Simply put, the requirements of the [law] are unprecedented, and in my view,

Jerry Brown returns to lead a troubled California
Jerry Brown is sworn in as Governor Monday by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, as Brown's wife, Anne Gust Brown, center, watches in Sacramento. (Rich Pedroncelli, The Associated Press ) SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Democrat Jerry Brown was sworn in Monday as California's 39th governor, returning to the office he left 28 years ago but inheriting a much different and more troubled state than the one he led then. The man who once was California's most famous bachelor took t...

Open Thread: Accountability for Public Employee Unions?
Today's starter topic: Is the gravy train for Public Employee Unions finally grinding to a halt? On Wednesday, for example, New York’s new Democratic Governor, Andrew M. Cuomo, is expected to call for a one-year Salary freeze for state workers, a move that would save $200 million to $400 million and challenge labor’s traditional clout in Albany. But in some cases — mostly in states with Republican governors and Republican statehouse majorities — officials are seeking ...

Subsidy transparency a must
Governor-elect Scott Walker comes to office having made three chief promises: More transparent Government Spending, greater accountability to prevent waste and more jobs. Especially in hard economic times, these three undertakings are interconnected. Every public dollar wasted could have been used to make Wisconsin a more successful place to grow jobs and must otherwise be shouldered by Taxpayers. Transparency, meanwhile, remains the best way to make programs more efficient and accountable to ...

Labor Market Commentary, by Arnold Kling
Two pointers from the indispensable Mark Thoma. 1. Catherine Rampell writes, A large fraction of displaced workers who have found new jobs have had to switch careers, and most of those career-changers have downgraded to a lower-paying job, according to a new report from Rutgers's Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. I regard that as evidence in favor of the Recalculation Story. I'm not saying that it's decisive evidence, but it's the sort of evidence I would expect to find if it were a v...

Unemployment Rises In Two-Thirds Of Metro Areas
Unemployment rates rose in more than two-thirds of the nation's largest metro areas in November, a sharp reversal from the previous month and the most since June. The Labor Department said Tuesday that Unemployment Rates rose in 258 of the 372 largest cities, fell in 88 and remained the same in 26. That's worse than the previous month, when rates fell in 200 areas and rose in 108. The Economy is strengthening, but employers have been reluctant to create jobs. Hiring will pick up in 2011, but not...

Unemployment Rises in Two-Thirds of Metro Areas
(AP) Unemployment Rates rose in more than two-thirds of the nation's largest metro areas in November, a sharp reversal from the previous month and the most since June. The Labor Department said Tuesday that Unemployment rates rose in 258 of the 372 largest cities, fell in 88 and remained the same in 26. That's worse than the previous month, when rates fell in 200 areas and rose in 108. The Economy is strengthening, but employers have been reluctant to create jobs. Hiring will pick up in 2011, ...

Nixon sets State of the State speech for Jan. 19
John L. White TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2009 - Governor Jay Nixon delivers his State of the State address in the House Chamber of the Missouri State Capitol Building Tuesday evening in Jefferson City. John L. White Related: Mo. death penalty foes seek Nixon intervention St. Louis -- Gov. Jay Nixon will kick-off the legislative session with coffee and unity, but is prepping for a much more hostile crowd later in the month. Nixon -- whose annual prayer breakfast is Wednesday -- announced Tuesday that...

Cantor: Defense Cuts On The Table
Tue Jan. 4, 2011 11:56 AM PST — Flickr/republicanconference. That was the inconsistent message at soon-to-be Majority Leader Eric Cantor's first Press Conference on Tuesday, where he previewed the GOP's agenda for the 112th Congress. With a slew of reporters packed in around him, Cantor laid out the party's priorities, hammering away on issues like Job Creation, slashing spending, and "expanding liberty"—all themes you've heard more times than you can count. But near the e...

Pelosi has no regrets on last day as speaker
Pelosi said Tuesday she looks forward to leading a loyal but tenacious opposition in the House. She started by calling Republicans hypocrites for trying to Repeal President Barack Obama’s Health Care overhaul, saying it would add to the federal Budget Deficit. Republicans won the House majority in the November Elections and John Boehner of Ohio will be sworn in as the new speaker on Wednesday. Pelosi — the first female speaker — will be demoted to Minority Leader. “I don&...

Rep. Cantor Claims Repeal Of Health Care Reform Was "Litigated In The Last Election"
When the lame-duck Congress was debating an extension of the Bush Tax Cuts, incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) supported the unpopular GOP position by saying taxes were a "primary issue" in the Midterm Elections, even though polling indicated otherwise. Now that House Republicans are ready to approve the Repeal of Health Care reform, which is dead on arrival in the Senate, Cantor is reverting to the same rhetorical strategy. As Dave Weigel reports, Cantor told reporters today that...

Florida Voices
“Congratulations to Rick Scott on becoming the 45th Governor of Florida. I’m excited to work with Governor Scott as a partner in achieving an agenda that benefits all Floridians.” “Our first priority will be creating opportunities that lead to greater job growth in our state. Floridians are struggling right now but they should take comfort in knowing that Governor Scott, House Speaker Cannon and I are committed to doing everything within our ability to spur economic growt...

WISCONSIN: Kiddie-Fucking Sends Catholic Archdiocese Into Bankruptcy
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has filed for Bankruptcy due to all those pesky Child Molestation Lawsuits. The move follows the recent failure of efforts to reach a mediated settlement of the claims and a court decision in November that makes Insurance Coverage of the claims unlikely, the archdiocese said in a statement. The archdiocese is appealing the decision to the Wisconsin Supreme Court but said it couldn't be sure that it would prevail. The Bankruptcy plan was the best way to compensate v...

Wis. settles 'open carry' church gun suit
Krysta Sutterfield sued the city and the officers after she was arrested in July for attending services at the Unitarian Universalist Church while wearing her holstered Handgun, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Tuesday. After the services someone called police and they responded, stopped Sutterfield as she was driving away and arrested her, the newspaper said. Prosecutors later decided not to file charges. Wisconsin Carry Inc., a Gun Rights Advocacy Group Sutterfield belongs to, joined he...