Walker Says Social Issues Bills Will Take A Back Seat To Jobs

Scott Walker says the upcoming legislative session could have bills dealing with hot button social issues like more abortion requirements. But, the Republican governor says he first wants to focus on basics first like roads, education and taxes. Wisconsin Right-to-Life told supporters in a newsletter that one of the group’s goals is passage of a law requiring ultrasounds for women seeking abortions. Walker told reporters after addressing the Wisconsin Dairy Association Conference in Madison that he’s pro-life, but didn’t know how much time the legislature would spend on social issues, “We’ll probably spend a whole lot more time focusing on getting an iron ore mine up and running in Iron County than we will on any of those other issues–not to say they may not come up later in the session–but right now people expect us people expect Democrats and Republicans to work together and create more jobs.”

John Doe probe ending soon?

Walker was asked about the secret John Doe probe at the conference. The investigation began when Walker was Milwaukee County Executive, and has resulted in criminal charges to former aides. Walker told the audience he believes the investigation will end this week. Later he told reporters his reason for saying that, “Yeah, I don’t know. Literally the comments I give about that are more driven by what I read and hear about in the media than any insider information. I think there’s a growing sense at least from the comments reported by the media that this is pretty close but we’ll have to see.”

Prosecutors have not accused Walker of wrongdoing. However three former aids, a donor and past appointee have been charged with crimes, including allegedly embezzling from a veteran’s fund, and doing campaign work while working for Milwaukee County.