Alberta Darling's Rotten, Horrible, Miserable Week That Just Wouldn't End

Poor old Alberta Darling.

The poor woman has had a very bad week this week.

On Monday, we learned that Darling doesn't represent the people or the businesses in her district.  Who she represents isn't clear, but my guess is their last name rhymes with Koch.

Tuesday, she was a walking gaffe machine.  The problems she had included:

• Getting sued for not complying with open records laws, trying to conceal her contact with various right wing school-privatization groups.
• She couldn't name one business in her district that hired one person because of her policies.
• She admitted she had no confidence in her chances of winning.
• She was being forced to choose between her constituents and the hate-mongering teahadists.

Wednesday came and smacked Darling around again.

First there was the news that despite her claims (which is really just a talking point for the GOP) that their budget would give local governments the "tools" they need to balance their budgets despite the state slashing their shared revenue without care or forethought, the fact is her own constituents in Milwaukee County are looking at draconian cuts to service, including the once majestic parks system, transit routes that would have served the people and businesses she should be representing but isn't and endangering public safety by cutting holes in all the safety nets, due to her budget increasing Milwaukee County's already looming deficit by another $21 million.

Then there came a first person description of Darling's appearance at yesterday's Newsmaker Luncheon, which included less than glowing reports such as this quip:

On her on-again, off-again, on-again support for paying corrupt Milwaukee cops accused of rape? She claimed she,well, she just changed her mind, and that's what people want anyway, isn't it? Elected officials who can change their mind. Yep.

But she wouldn't change her mind about the disastrous budget repair bill, oh, no, what she repeatedly referred to as, "The Tools." On that, she praised herself and compared herself to her immigrant grandmother, who was "very brave."

You can read the whole thing at Uppity Wisconsin.

And speaking of that luncheon, it is also the starting point for Darling's biggest headache of today.

If the gentle reader would remember, I had this to say about her jobs gaffe at the luncheon:

Later, she appeared at the Newsmaker Luncheon at the Milwaukee Press Club. When she was asked to name one company, just one, that had created jobs because of the union busting and the draconian budget, she could only come up with that deer-in-the-headlights look.

Hours after this gaffe, her campaign called to list three companies that had added jobs, but with no mention of when or if how they were related to Darling's policies. For all we know, they were added well before any of the GOP's malarkey got under way.

I must be some kind of prophet.

The three companies her campaign named were Cambridge Major Laboratories, Johnson Controls and Bradley Corporation.

Well, this is where things went from bad to worse for Team Darling.

You see, the thing is that all of these companies have indeed created new jobs. But not because of Darling's efforts. If anything, they created them despite Darling's best efforts.

Cambridge Major Laboratories received a Department of Commerce Industrial Revenue Bond allocation worth $6 million from Governor Jim Doyle.

Johnson Controls received WEIF support from 2008-2009, and the project was funded by ARRA funds (stimulus money) that Governor Doyle was key in attaining for the company. Furthermore, Johnson Controls also benefited from Wisconsin Energy Independence investments including $500,000 for battery research and development. (Point of interest, both Scott Walker and Darling were against the stimulus.)

Bradley Corporation benefited from Wisconsin Economic Development Tax Credits, a program that was created by Doyle and the Democrats in 2009.

Since Darling likes to tie her opponent, Sandy Pasch with Doyle and his budget, then I reckon it's fair to say that Sandy Pasch gets the credit for creating all these jobs.

I would suggest that for her Thursday adventure, Darling should apologize for her lying and thank Pasch for helping to  create those jobs.  Then she could admit and apologize for the soaring unemployment in the state, the unbearable increase in fees, the gashing of education and the stripping of working men and women of their rights.

No, it won't make her look any better to the voters. But at least she would be telling the truth for once.

Then she should just read the writing on the wall and take an early retirement.  Then she could still get back to the golf course with a month of summer left.