We finally are starting to see how much Walker is billing us for his campaign

You've probably heard me complain quite a bit about the time and money our Fair Governor spends on photo ops and other media events around the state. Not only are these events cravenly political and often at the businesses of campaign contributors, but state vehicles, planes and personnel are used to shuttle our governor around at these events.

Well, we finally got some idea today about how much Governor Scott Walker’s taxpayer-funded campaigning has cost us, courtesy of the good people at One Wisconsin Now.

In total, between dropping out of the presidential race in September 2015 and April of this year, Walker has flown 114,390 miles on the state plan at a cost to taxpayers of about $818,500, the report from One Wisconsin Now showed.
On average, Walker's flights cost taxpayers about $241,030 during his first term between 2011 and 2014. But that jumped to an annual average of about $317,000 between September 2015 and April.

Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle averaged $240,000 on state flights in his last two years in office, 2009 and 2010. When including 2006, the year Doyle ran for re-election, the average spent was $280,000.

The flights included distances as short as 24 miles between campaign stops appearances. That’s not exactly living up to the “frugal, fiscal conservative” BS that Walker constantly spouts through his absurd tweets like this.

Another brown bag lunch while traveling on our bus tour! pic.twitter.com/NPFsj6fgmQ

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) August 9, 2018

Great few days in New Hampshire last week. Pic of the Kohl's where I found my new sweater. Be back in April pic.twitter.com/6whc8XNA6Y

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) March 16, 2015

How stupid do you have to be to still buy into this 'I'm an everyday guy who pays his own bills" shtick from this lifetime grifter?

The list of flights that One Wisconsin Now accumulated includes one Walker took last Sept. 7 from Madison to Rhinelander to “tour Three Lakes High School Fab Lab.” That event was back in the news earlier this month when the local school board objected to being used as props in Walker campaign ads talking up Scotty’s newfound commitment to K-12 education.

Quite tellingly, a Walker campaign flack said that Three Lakes Superintendent George Karling should have known better when the Governor showed up at his district.

A spokesman for Walker's campaign said Karling knew why Walker and a film crew were on school grounds, however, and provided the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel with a permission form sent to Karling allowing the footage to be used for broadcast purposes….

Brian Reisinger, spokesman for Walker's campaign, supplied the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel with a July 15 email from the campaign to Karling with an attached form on campaign letterhead for film participants to allow the footage to be used for commercial broadcasting purposes, among other things.

The form features Walker's name on the letterhead and says the footage can be used for any broadcast purpose, but does not explicitly mention campaign ads.

Again, did you really think I was doing this for the kids?

So Reisinger is admitting that these trips are at least partly designed to help the Walker 2018 campaign. Yet instead of having his donors pay for it, us taxpayers are the ones paying the price.

One Wisconsin Now director Scot Ross accused Walker of abusing public money and trust in his use of airplanes.

"He's operated as if the state airplane is his personal vehicle and available for him whenever he wants to for whatever he wants," Ross said.

And that $818,500 doesn’t include the costs of the Governor’s sizable security crew on these trips, a group that cost $1.75 million in 2014. Hmm, that sounds like one of the next projects OWN or someone else should track, since the costs could prove every bit as intriguing as the Governor’s flight itinerary over the last 2 ½ years.

Whether it’s Walker’s usage of state planes for his own benefit, State Rep (and State Senate candidate) Dale Kooyenga trying to make us pay a $30,000 settlement after Koo-Koo stole a citizen’s sign at the Capitol, or US Senate candidate Leah Vukmir hiding records about her work with ALEC, and making us pay $15,000 to make her follow court orders, these Republicans truly think they can (ab)use the state Treasury for their own political needs. And we’re the only ones that can end that arrogance on November 6, by booting their unethical asses out of office.