U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh has been a vocal critic of everyone from President Obama to "typical" Republicans, and during a Tea Party meeting in Darien, Ill. last week, he directed his anger toward Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.
“This governor, Gov. Quinn, is a tool,” Walsh said, according to The Doings suburban newspaper. “This state is an embarrassment. People are leaving in droves because of taxes and regulations. One man runs this state, and it’s not Gov. Quinn; it’s (House Speaker) Mike Madigan.”
Walsh isn't the only high-profile Illinoisian to call the state an "embarrassment" in recent weeks. After the state's credit rating was downgraded to the worst in the country, CBOE CEO Bill Brodsky told reporters that he was "embarrassed" to live here. Brodsky, whose company will save an estimated $6 million annually following a tax break approved by Quinn, said the city of Chicago is making economic strides, but the state is floundering.
Quinn, who approved a 66 percent personal income tax hike in Illinois around this time last year, also took heat from state GOP lawmakers last week. On the one-year anniversary of the tax hike, House Minority Leader Tom Cross said the tax increase was passed because lawmakers thought it would balance or drastically improve the state's budget -- which has not happened.
“It needs to be done in a bipartisan way, all of this needs to be done in a bipartisan way. But, at this point, some of these critical [issues] have not been addressed by the Democrat leaders,” Cross said, according to CBS Chicago.
Before Quinn-bashing, Rep. Walsh told Tea Party supporters that they should vote Republican no matter who wins the GOP primary, calling the party "the only game in town."
“I’m one of 22 Republicans who voted no every single time this year,” Walsh said, according to The Doings. “We need to double that number. Our Republican Party lost its way, and we have to get our party back.