Tough Decisions vs. Bad Choices

As expected, Senator Darling’s special interest friends are launching attack ads against our grassroots campaign to provide a true voice for the 8^th Senate District. Unfortunately, their attacks are full of misconceptions and gross distortions that will undoubtedly pollute our airwaves, telephones and mailboxes for the next three weeks. 

What their desperate attacks don't tell you is that in 2009, I first came into office facing a historic $6.6 billion budget deficit left over from previous administrations throughout Darling’s decades in Madison.

The fact is that we made some of the toughest decisions ever facing our state to pass a budget with a record $3.2 billion cut in state spending. Yet, we took a measured approach to minimizing the impact on key investments and managed to limit cuts to public education by roughly 3 percent. This choice, while a tough one to make, is a drop in the ocean compared to the devastating impact Darling’s choices will have on our schools and children.

Under Darling's leadership, our state will gut aid to public schools by nearly $1.6 billion, while giving over $2 billion in tax breaks and loopholes to big corporations and special interests throughout the next decade. That’s $1.6 billion less for our children, who will enter our workforce less prepared to succeed as a direct result of Senator’s Darlings choices this session.

With nearly unlimited funding from large corporate interests, I have no doubt that there will be an endless stream of distortions and lies through the remainder of the campaign. However, I have faith in your ability to see past these desperate last ditch attempts to save Darling’s political career. 

Please do not let them get away with this – do your homework, check their sources, and call Senator Darling and ask her how, as a former teacher, she could allow such a toxic budget for public education to pass under her watch.