Blog pranks Wisconsin governor (audio)

On a prank call that quickly spread across the Internet, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was duped into discussing his strategy to cripple public employee unions, promising never to give in and joking that he would use a baseball bat in his office to go after political opponents.

Walker believed the caller was a conservative billionaire named David Koch, but it was actually a blogger from the online news site Buffalo Beast. The two talked for at least 20 minutes -– a conversation in which the governor described several ways to pressure Democrats to return to the Statehouse and revealed that his supporters had considered secretly planting people in pro-union protest crowds to stir up trouble.

The call also revealed Walker's cozy relationship with two billionaire brothers who have poured millions of dollars into conservative political causes, including Walker's campaign last year.

Listen to a copy of the call uploaded to YouTube:

Part 2:

The GOP "Pledge to America"

On Thursday, Republicans in the House of Representatives plan to offer a blueprint for how they’d dramatically change what they term an "arrogant and out of touch government of self-appointed elites" by pledging to repeal the Obama health care law, continue all Bush-era tax cuts and significantly cut spending.

The agenda, scheduled to be unveiled by GOP leaders at a Virginia lumber and hardware store on Thursday, tries to give voters a clear, pointed choice in November. McClatchy Newspapers obtained a copy Wednesday evening.

Read the "Pledge to America" here PDF.

Further reading:

• House Republicans on Democratic economic plan.
• 1994’s Contract With America (PDF).
• Democratic "recipe for recovery."
• Health care law summary (PDF).