Walker Plunges state into Deeper Hole, supporters love it, want Walker to run for president? Strange but true.

The real numbers are in, and our whiny Republican majority can't blame former Gov. Jim Doyle for the massive budget shortfalls they now have sitting in their laps. In fact, their own mishandling of the budget has created an almost similar deficit number. "Stand with Walker" Borgites won't notice or care, after all, they're in power now, so what. But some Republicans have already told us deficits are good...when it happens under their watch of course. jsonline-Jason Stein: 

"Come on down..." says Walker.

To keep the state doing what it does now through mid-2017, Gov. Scott Walker and lawmakers have to come up with $928 million in spending cuts or tax increases, according to estimates released Friday by the Legislature's budget office. The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau found that to continue current operations ... state officials have to find $283 million this year plus another $648 million over the following two-year budget beginning July 1. The shortfall in the state's main account becomes even larger — more than $2 billion — in the unlikely event elected officials seek to provide all of the added spending requested by agencies through June 2017 and the additional tax cuts promised by Walker in his successful re-election campaign last year.

Rewarded for withholding their payment to the state, the Potawatomi tribe’s threat helped force Scott Walker to deny the Kenosha casino, killing thousands of jobs and potential state revenues. Hey, that’s just business folks, like high speed rail and solar power. But mining ore that's no longer in demand...?

The fiscal bureau's numbers don't include a roughly $25 million gambling payment that the Potawatomi tribe owes the state from last year and committed to paying Friday, or an additional $25 million that can now be expected from the tribe this summer.

Keep in mind, the transportation fund used lots of general revenue dollars last time. With the shortfall…well, this will be fun to watch:

The estimated shortfalls don't reflect the added financial pressures in the state's separate transportation account nor does the report include any tax cuts that Walker may include in the 2015-'17 budget bill that he'll deliver on Feb. 3. 

And yet, former secretary of state candidate and Republican Party operative Julian Bradley thinks Walker's record is enough to catapult Walker into the White House. Try not to laugh:

Bradley: "The reason people are talking about Gov. Walker for president is because how well he's governed our state. That's can't be denied. You just can't manufacture a candidate with broad national appeal. The governor has earned the right to be in this conversation...he survived a recall...the caller was asking about Act 10, and how nobody liked it and this was all part of plan to try and run for president but really it was part of a plan to bring our state political, or rather financial system back in order." 

Yea, this is what our "system back in order" looks like. What is about GOP candidates running on really bad jobs and economic records? This is almost surreal. Audio from WPR: