Walker needs a mandate to do the right thing

Here's an interesting twist:

Scott Walker, Milwaukee county exec, is on the verge of proposing cuts in a county program that provides health care to the poor. No surprise there; people on the bottom have always been the target of Walker budget cuts.

But look at his rationale, in today's story:

Walker looks at cuts in health care for poor
County financial squeeze cited in considering action

By DAVE UMHOEFER

Seven years after Milwaukee County committed to serving the uninsured after closing Doyne Hospital, County Executive Scott Walker is contemplating major cuts in - or elimination of - the county's health care program for the poor, which served 29,000 residents last year.

Walker said the county's ongoing budget squeeze and the fact that no state law mandates the safety-net General Assistance Medical Program explains his consideration of reducing the county's $13.7 million tax-levy support by $1 million to $5 million, or phasing it out entirely.

So Scott Walker, who complains bitterly about state mandates on county government, admits that he's someone who needs a state mandate to get him to do the right thing.

Let's file this under Suspicions Confirmed.