Wisconsin’s partisan primary elections are one week away. Several Democrats running for governor want to drastically reduce the state’s prison population. Governor Scott Walker says he wants to reduce it the right way, by ensuring inmates have the tools to suceed upon release.
“But just cutting it in half is dangerous,” Walker said during a Tuesday press conference at headquarters of Milwaukee’s police union, where he warned Democrats would release violent offenders. He then tweeted on the subject, throughout the afternoon.
The real story is simple: my opponents want to cut the prison population by 50% — which today would let thousands of violent offenders out early. I will NOT let violent criminals out early, period.
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) August 7, 2018
Scot Ross with the liberal activist group One Wisconsin Now notes Walker is lagging in polls. “He’s blowing that dog whistle loud and clear, and he’s trying to get every racist across the state to hear him.”
“We are entering the Willie Horton phase of @ScottWalker‘s re-election bid. His numbers in that $29,000 poll he did in July must have been abysmal and as always with Scott Walker, in case of emergency, blow the racist dog whistle.” — our @rossacrosswi
— One Wisconsin Now (@onewisconsinnow) August 7, 2018
One of eight Democrats will face Walker in the November general election.