The Signature Walker Snub

Yesterday I reminded people that Walker ignored Earth Day in 2011, even though it was founded by Gaylord Nelson, one of his predecessors.

But Walker has plenty of time to jet off to fund-raisers and standing ovations across the country, but too busy to acknowledge the state's history or to do right by the environment, too.

In WalkerWorld, to ignore is to govern. Bipartisanship is for little people.

Now he's extending that approach, as the Journal Sentinel reports that no one at the DNR will present information at a climate conference organized in Madison on the eve of Earth Day by State Rep. Brett Hulsey, (D):

Hulsey said he asked DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp to attend the event. He said he was told she couldn’t make it.

He also said he’s been told by a DNR staffer that top agency officials didn’t want anyone from the DNR attending a climate-related event.

But DNR spokeswoman Laurel Steffes said this isn’t true. “We declined to participate as a presenter,” she said, but employees are not barred from attending.

In an email to one DNR staff member about making a presentation at the forum, DNR legislative liaison Michael Bruhn said, “As you know, our agency has been hit extremely hard by past budget reductions. With the ongoing reduced staffing levels, even with the authorization to fill key positions, now is the time that we must really be focused on our core job duties.”

And there's more than one way to flip off the public.