State Budget: Reaction From Around the State

Updated 6:10 p.m.

Patch is continually compiling reaction from around the state following Gov. Scott Walker's budget address: 

• WISDOM, a statewide faith-based organization, calls for Wisconsinites to stand in solidarity with those who are threatened by the budget.
• The Wisconsin Democratic Party calls Walker "history's most divisive governor" and says the budget takes the state backward.
• The Wisconsin Republican Party says Walker is making good on campaign promises to fix the state's finances, saying he "refuses to raise taxes or rely on the type of sneaky budget raids that got Wisconsin into the current fiscal and economic mess."
• Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder says, "Our enormous deficit calls for bold and decisive action, and from what I’ve seen so far, we’re heading in the right direction."
• Senate Minority Leader Mike Miller believes the governor's budget is an attack on the middle class and working families. 
• The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce says Walker's budget "lays out an honest blueprint to get Wisconsin's economy back on its feet."
• Democratic state Representative Jennifer Schilling of La Crosse says the governor claims he has provided the tools to deal with his budget cuts, but "the tools he has given us are handcuffs."
• The Wisconsin chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business, an advocacy group for small businesses, applauded the proposal, saying "it’s a very businesslike, forward‐looking plan that brings state spending into line with state revenue."
• Democratic state Sen. Chris Larson, in an interview with WISN, said Walker blames Democrats for everything and would blame them for injuries in the Brewers starting lineup if he had a chance.
• State Superintendent of Schools Tony Evers: "Even in these difficult times, our kids should not disproportionally bear the burden of years of state fiscal folly."
• State Representative and Milwaukee County executive candidate Jeff Stone is pleased with expansion of school-choice program.
• The Wisconsin Chapter of the AFL-CIO: "Extreme" cuts will hurt Wisconsin residents and communities for years to come.