Prompting widespread Republican skepticism, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin announced Wednesday its "Democratic Difference," a plan outlining the party's key 2006 values.

DPW Chair Joe Wineke unveiled the plan, which he said will focus on helping Wisconsin's middle class by promoting freedom, family and fairness in policymaking.

But Republican leaders view the "Democratic Difference" as a shallow publicity stunt with ulterior motives.

"Pretty much, if they have to put out a press release saying what they believe, they've sort of lost it," Republican Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Bob Delaporte said.

According to Delaporte, the DPW's timing indicates the party's effort to distract the public from the real problems at hand.

"They are trying to distract from the ethical problems that the governor has," Delaporte said, and additionally warned citizens to not be fooled about the timing of the announcement.

Gov. Jim Doyle faced controversy last week when it was revealed Burger Boat executives were awarded a state grant after making donations to the governor's campaign.

Though Doyle returned the questionable donations, he continues to keep campaign donations from Adelman Travel Group, which was awarded a state contract that was later rescinded.

The new DPW plan, Delaporte said, is merely a "pathetic attempt" to disguise the governor's "ethical lapse."

But Wineke argued the Republicans' charges fail to fairly reflect the state and also ignore the people's call for health care reform and home heating assistance.

"That shows how far out of touch the Republican Party has come," he said. "This is a party that's lost its soul … Today's Republican Party is … a party that has lost its values."

In addition to health care reform and home heating assistance, the "Democratic Difference" calls for education funding, job creation and environmental protection standards — key issues the RPW is forgetting, Wineke said.

"We're taking a fairly bold offense to define them as what they truly are, and use hope and not the politics of fear," he said. "We're going to talk about the issues."

The DPW plans to travel around the state discussing the "Democratic Difference" with families throughout the month of February, beginning with roundtable talks in Eau Claire and La Crosse today.