* Wisconsin's consistently falling, bottom-feeding economic rankings - - #44th, then 47th, now 49th, while the national economy continues to recover - - as this Democratic Party of Wisconsin billboard near Waukesha illustrates:
Maybe Walker figures there will be an eventual turnaround, and for the time being can distract some voters with chaff about lowered taxes and expanded private school vouchers, but he's got negative statistics affecting real people to defend, especially...
* Failure to keep pace with his signature pledge to create, by the end of one term, 250,000 new private sector jobs.
Talk about bad numbers: he's 50% off-pace, data show.
Blaming poor job-creation numbers on recall protesters, the fiscal cliff and ObamaCare - - as Walker has done - - were finger-pointing evasions of responsibility to cover broken promises and ineffective policies. Which brings to mind...
* Three episodes of close proximity to rule or law-breaking:
1. Most recent are the documented troubles at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation - - an agency which Walker created and chairs - - where state auditors raised questions about the spending and oversight of millions of public dollars:
Take a few minutes and read through the independent and non-partisan state audit report about the 'performance' of the taxpayer-funded Wisconsin Economic Development Agency.
I've read dozens of public agency audits over the years.
Trust me, this is a doozy, documenting an environment where public funds were handed out by the bushel basket free of responsible management, rules, standards, goals, accountability and accounting - - with some revenues forked over to projects that were ineligible.
In fact, the auditors found some project awards were made to businesses that had already completed the work:2. Then there were the criminal prosecutions of several donors, public employees and high-ranking personal staffers for various illegal campaign activities, and thefts when Walker served as Milwaukee County Executive.
3. And there was Walker's failed campaign for Marquette University student body presidency that led to campus ethics and disciplinary charges. And speaking of Marquette...
* Failure to finish college. The campus student newspaper has used the headline word "Murky" to describe the Walker student body campaign.
Finishing college is something of a minimal requirement for someone seeking the top CEO job in the country; in the 2012 presidential campaign, both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney had graduate degrees from Harvard University, indicating awareness of the benefits completing tough work at the highest level.
Walker is touring widely now somewhat under the radar, but his baggage is going to get heavier as time goes on.
