Business group applauds Wis. gov.

The new Republican governor of Wisconsin drew standing ovations yesterday when he addressed a meeting of one of the state’s largest business groups just two blocks from the Capitol building.

In a defiant 20-minute speech interrupted several times by ovations, Gov. Scott Walker told the Wisconsin Manufacturing and Commerce trade group that his proposed budget repair bill, which has drawn tens of thousands of protesters here, was about more than just balancing the state’s next two-year budget.

“This battle is about our commitment to the future,” Walker said.