I think he meant this as a threat to Republican legislators, but I say huzzah, huzzah!

Gov. Scott Walker suggested in an interview Thursday the state could simply spend less on roadwork in his next budget considering his pledge to not raise taxes or fees without an offset and the reluctance of lawmakers to continue bonding.

After a difficult transportation budget earlier this year, budget watchers have suggested the state could hope for an influx of general purpose revenue to pay for a tax cut that would meet Walker’s pledge or to continue transfers to the transportation fund. But barring a surprise uptick in the economy, that appears unlikely.

Continuing to bond is also an option, though lawmakers rejected Walker’s request this year to borrow $1.3 billion for roads. Instead, they approved $500 million with another $350 million in contingency borrowing the Joint Finance Committee has already approved releasing.

Walker said there is another option.

“Or you adjust what you spend it on, just like everything else in life,” he said during an interview with WisPolitics.com at the executive residence.

Walker noted his 2017-19 budget is still more than a year out, and revenues could pick up by then. But he said his bottom line on transportation is he won’t support a gas tax or registration fee increase unless there is a tax cut elsewhere, vowing to stick to a pledge he made during his 2014 re-election campaign.