Gov. Walker Defends Prank Call Remarks

Who hasn’t said something embarrassing during a prank phone call? Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, whose pranking by a blogger made national headlines, is standing by the statements he made during the call. During the recorded conversation, Walker discusses the possibility of tricking Senate Democrats into returning to the Capitol and sneakily getting them to vote on his budget measure. The blogger pretended to be the billionaire Republican oil tycoon David Koch, a big backer of Walker’s union-busting tactics. Walker said he “takes phone calls all the time” and “the bottom line is, the things I said are things I said publicly all along.” Meanwhile, Democratic State Rep. Brett Hulsey (D-Madison) called Walker’s comments “disrespectful for the working families of Wisconsin” and said the governor is “in the pocket of big oil tycoons.”