Madison -- It hasn't even been a month since Gov. Scott Walker was crowned "Governor of the Year" by the website "Governor's Journal" as it now seems he has sullied the award considerably.  In recent days Scott "the fabulist" Walker made no mention of the federal governments order to lift the Family Care cap at a news conference he called Wednesday morning.

As it turns out,  the federal government ordered Walker to lift the cap two weeks ago but he still went before the citizens of Wisconsin and omit the existence of the letter. Walker trumpeted the $80 million plan with advocates for the elderly and disabled at his side knowing full well he was telling one of the biggest lies of his tenure as governor.

The Journal Sentinel reported this today:

State officials released the Dec. 13 letter from the federal government - which pays about 60% of the program's cost - hours later at the request of the Journal Sentinel.

Family Care provides a variety of services to help people who are elderly and disabled stay in their homes rather than enter nursing homes. Walker proposed the Family Care cap in his state budget to help reduce the state's deficit, and his fellow Republicans in the Legislature went along with it.

The cap for enrollment went into effect July 1st of this year causing local officials to scramble in order to continue family care. Keep in mind that Family Care isn't something new, it has been around some 10 years and has proven to be one of the states most efficient programs.

What was the cost of this cap and lie?

The cost to tax payers in Outagamie County was approximately 1.3 million dollars due to a tax levy according to County Executive Tom Nelson. Nelson also went to say that there were people that had to go without the services of Family Care, adding to an already hefty burden in their lives. This from just one county in the state, expand those numbers across the state and the effects are mind boggling.

Not only was there an immediate fiscal and physical impact to this legislation but there was also the mental anguish of families already struggling to make ends meet, only to have this thrown into their psyche. The truly disgusting part of all this is that Scott Walker knew that the changes would never be approved by the federal government.

The time and efforts of our state and federal resources that were used to try and facilitate another hardship on Wisconsinites is nothing short of deplorable. If Wisconsin is broke like the Fabulist Walker says, then why waste our tax dollars on something he knew would never be approved.

If the fabulist Walker tries to say he had no idea the feds would deny the changes, then either Walker is living in another world or he somehow thinks Wisconsin is a country of it's own and he can negotiate the terms and conditions of federally funded programs like Family Care.

Robin Vos Living in the same Fantasy World as Walker?

"Expanding another unsustainable program is irresponsible," espoused Rep. Robin Vos (R-Rochester), co-chairman of the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee. "Perhaps before expanding, we should figure out how to make it work under sustainable parameters."

Yet another republican politician in Wisconsin thinking they have set up a new government in Wisconsin, not accountable to federal programs. Scott "The Fabulist" Walker was quoted as saying "I was just giving the program a time-out". A time out? Really? in other words, "sorry those using Family Care, I am putting your lives in a time-out", this from a governor? Baby talk?

Time-Out Leads to Governor's Spanking

Ah yes, the man of time-outs Scott Walker found out that he does not have the power or authority to make such modifications without permission from the federal government and the federal government delivered a Gubernatorial spanking in a letter dated December 13th.

"We are directing the state to identify any individuals not currently enrolled onto the Family Care or Self-Directed Supports waivers since the July 1, 2011, implementation of the newly instituted enrollment caps, and immediately enroll those individuals in the waiver programs," said the letter from Verlon Johnson, the associate regional administrator for CMS' Division of Medicaid and Children's Health Operations.

Walker has lost all credibility

It would have been one thing for Walker to say "Well, I tried to make the changes but we were informed differently". Instead, Walker tried to pull the wool over citizens eyes and take credit for doing something good. When you hold the office of governor, you are also held to the highest standards in regard to integrity and when you are found to be blatantly distorting the truth for political gain, you have lost the full faith and trust of Wisconsinites.

How can anything Scott Walker said or done in the name of helping Wisconsin, be trusted by any of his most loyal followers? He lied to the state and has now been caught, so I urge the "Governors Journal" to renounce their award and give it to a more deserving and credible governor. Walkers second award "Joe McCarthy Renaissance" seems to be more fitting with each passing day.{fcomment}