Walker, Green begin to mix it up; Walker's record on gas tax a problem

Are the Republican candidates for governor finally going to start to mix it up a little and begin to talk about their differences? Is Scott Walker really more against taxes than Mark Green? Green says otherwise.

Walker fired the first shot across Green's bow, over gas taxes.

Here's how Republican radio's Charlie Sykes describes it. I've highlighted some parts that deserve special attention:

Scott Walker turns up the pressure on his fellow GOPers. Here is his plan:

*Stop the automatic gas tax increase. This would save $38.6 million in the current budget.

*Protect the Transportation Fund from being raided (like Doyle did in the past two budgets - he took $486 million in 2005/2007 budget)

*Allow the sales tax collected from vehicle-related purchases (currently used in the general fund) to be put in to the Transportation Fund

*Work to end EPA regulations for Reformulated Gas

Walker provides this background:

Background: In 1995, former Governor Tommy Thompson proposed a 3.5% "oil franchise fee" - an indirect gas tax that would raise gas prices about 3.85 cents per gallon. The plan also would tie the state gas tax solely to the national inflation rate. And finally, it would have allowed Milwaukee County to impose a 2-cent-per-gallon gas tax dedicated to the transit system.

At the time, 10 of us in the Assembly stood up against the plan and stopped it - twice. We took the heat on taxes - not from Democrats, but from Republicans in the leadership like Speaker David Prosser, Caucus Chair Mark Green and Rep. John Gard. Still, we blocked the major tax increase.

Most of the 10 were from southeastern Wisconsin. Our constituents were smarting (and still are today) over reformulated gas and how much it was driving up the cost of a gallon of gas.

Now, the next step is to stop the annual increase in the gas tax - without a vote.

Where else do we give an increase without justification for the use of those tax dollars? As Conservatives, this should be a litmus test. Not just because it is the gas tax, but because it is taxation without representation. Forcing a vote forced government to justify the use of those tax dollars.

This puts pressure on Mark Green. He is closely aligned with Speaker John Gard, who hasn't shown much enthusiasm for ending the automatic gas tax increase. But they can't afford not to get on this bus.

Just one problem for Walker: If the automatic gas tax issue is the litmus test, Walker flunks.

He had a chance when he was in the legislature in 1999 to vote for a proposal to end the automatic increases.

What did Walker do? He voted no.

Walker also voted once, during his time in the legislature, to increase the gas tax in addition to the automatic increase.

Meanwhile, Green's weekly newsletter takes out after Walker for opposing cuts in child support enforcement money, which will hurt Milwaukee County's efforts to collect child support. Green voted for those cuts as part of $50-billion in budget cuts that also slashed funding for Medicare, food stamps, and other programs that primarily help the poor. From Green's newsletter, headlined "Mark Takes on the Big Spenders:"

Even Mark’s GOP primary opponent, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, got into the act calling for more spending. Here’s an excerpt from this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story:

Walker, a Republican, finds himself arguing the same points as the advocates and the administration of Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, whom Walker hopes to run against next year. The issue also pits Walker against fellow Republicans in Congress, who support the trim as part of a much larger budget-cutting package.

OK, so it's not exactly a slugfest yet. But it's the early rounds, and as the fight announcers always say, Green and Walker are feeling each other out. Sooner or later, they'll start to throw some real punches.

Unless Green counter-punches on the gas tax issue, Walker wins the first round on points.