Last week in Milwaukee, a mural containing the face of controversial Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker with the words “down with the bitches and the hoes” was erected on the city’s South Side, Onmilwaukee reported last Saturday.
The Milwaukee collective OATS are behind the mural. A representative for the group told Onmilwaukee that it is “not pro-Walker nor is it anti-Walker. It is simply here to create inspired moments in the community and to make people laugh.”
Within that community, the piece has sparked mixed reactions. “Opinions range greatly. Some find it humorous, others offensive and a few have expressed confusion over the message,” Onmilwaukee reports.
Any confusion is probably due to the mural’s irreverent text, which is likely in reference to a scene in the 2003 cult film Malibu’s Most Wanted, starring Jamie Kennedy and Taye Diggs. In the scene, a politician running for office unveils a new campaign slogan to disastrous ends, the result of less-than-ideal advice from Kennedy (who is decked out in a pink Kangol bucket hat, among other cool turn-of-the-Millennium fashion choices).
Walker is perhaps best known for his 2011 budget plan that limited the collective bargaining power of most Wisconsin public employees and was met with widespread protest and eventually a failed recall attempt on the behalf of state democrats. He’s also a republican presidential candidate.