Lee Holloway and Scott Walker

Rather than debate the issues, Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway reveals his desperation by playing the race card.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway unleashed a biting critique of County Executive Scott Walker on Monday, referring to him as a "Howdy Doody" puppet and a David Duke-style politician.

Walker "reminds me of a David Duke - he's good looking, he's smooth talking. (Walker) says he's not part of any race baiting; David Duke says the same thing," Holloway said.

Howdy Doody was a 1950s-era children's TV show character. Duke is a former Ku Klux Klan leader and former member of the Louisiana Legislature.

Holloway, who is black, said later he wasn't accusing Walker of racism. But the County Board chairman said Citizens for Responsible Government had engaged in race baiting with advertisements that used a photo of Holloway. Citizens for Responsible Government played host to a rally Sunday in support of Walker's 2010 budget with Walker as the featured speaker.

It's idiotic for Holloway to claim that he isn't accusing Walker of racism.

Holloway is quoted saying, "[Walker] reminds me of a David Duke - he's good looking, he's smooth talking. [Walker] says he's not part of any race baiting; David Duke says the same thing."

Of course, he's accusing Walker of racism.

Scott Walker has responded to Holloway's baseless charges.

Time for real debate, not personal attacks
October 6, 2009

County Board Chairman Lee Holloway made some remarkable statements in front of the County Board’s Finance Committee on Monday. His comments about race seem to reflect an abandonment of an argument for an alternative budget from the County Board for a strategy of personal attacks on me.

In particular, he is upset that a picture of him is included in a flyer mailed by the group Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG). As you know, CRG is made up of the folks that were the leaders in the re-call movement in 2002 and they operate independent of any candidate or party.

The picture of Chairman Holloway is his official photo. It is not a negative picture or a picture that is changed in any way to make him look bad.

And the information (on the flyer that I saw) raises concerns about him and other members of the County Board being open to raising the property tax levy.

When people are worked up about something in Congress, they often use pictures of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid. Years ago, when the state unions protested the Assembly Republican version of the budget, they used pictures of Speaker John Gard. This is what happens when someone is the head of a legislative body – they become the focal point for attention.

Now, instead of a real debate about the future of Milwaukee County, we have to talk
about baseless statements that are unrelated to the merits of the county budget. I hope we can get back on track and have a real dialogue about our fiscal challenges and opportunities for 2010 and beyond.

Scott Walker
Milwaukee County Executive

Holloway owes Walker an apology.

His attacks reflect poorly on his character, not Scott Walker.

Two county supervisors, Joseph Rice and Joe Sanfelippo, wrote a letter to Holloway, calling for him to apologize.

In a letter to Holloway, Supervisors Joseph Rice and Joe Sanfelippo said Holloway "took the low road" with his comments.

The letter from Rice and Sanfelippo said Holloway's remarks were "wholly inappropriate and set exactly the wrong tone. Your comments serve to further erode the credibility and trust that the public has in the Milwaukee County Board.

"We urge you to issue a prompt apology to the county executive and the people of Milwaukee County for your unfortunate comments and to refrain from similar intemperate remarks in the future," the letter said.

What was Holloway thinking?

His smear campaign was not a good idea.