A Wisconsin high school teacher, Kristi, serves as the star of Gov. Scott Walker's latest promotional ad defending against an effort to force his recall.
In the ad, Kristi paints the recall push, which kicked off earlier this month and has since gained noticeable traction, as a campaign by bitter Walker opponents trying to change history.
"It feels a little like sour grapes. It's you know, 'we didn't get our way and so we want to change the outcome,'" she says. "The person that I'm going to stand behind and that is going to get my vote is the man or the woman that says what they mean and means what they say and it's not about being popular, you know, it's not about getting the votes, it's 'this is what's right.' Scott Walker said from the beginning, 'I'm gonna do what's right for Wisconsin,' and he did, he did."
While Walker may have indeed run on a broader "what's right for Wisconsin" platform, his oft-repeated suggestions that his post-election moves are entirely in line with his campaign-era promises don't appear to stand up.
Politifact has deemed "False" Walker's claim that he campaigned throughout the election on even the most controversial proposals contained in the budget repair bill -- such as ending collective bargaining rights for public workers. From their review:
For this item, we reviewed dozens of news accounts and various proposals on Walker’s campaign website to determine what he said about collective bargaining during the campaign. We talked to both campaigns in the governor's race, and union officials.
During the campaign, Walker prided himself on presenting many specific proposals to voters. Our Walk-O-Meter includes 60-plus specific promises. Indeed, his plans for the state Department of Natural Resources include at least seven specific elements, including appointment of a "whitetail deer trustee" to review deer counts.
But nowhere in our search did we find any such detailed discussion of collective bargaining changes as sweeping as Walker proposed.
Walker's latest ad is the second of this defensive nature. The first came earlier this month during a Monday Night Football game between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings. That commercial featured Waukesha School Board member Karin Rajnicek arguing that Walker's divisive moves toward state employees helped put more money back into schools.