Tuesday, February 7, 2012

The Secret Republican Money-Loving Voter-Haters Club

Are the state Republicans that megalomaniacal or just plain stupid?

The whole mess the Republicans made with their gerrymandering is coming back to bite them in the arse.

Now it's starting to sound like a bad movie based on the Godfather movies but starring the Marx Brothers.

This story will not bode well for them at all, and it shouldn't:
Included in the documents released Monday was a set of talking points that stressed that those who discussed the maps could eventually be called as a witness in a court case.

"Public comments on this map may be different than what you hear in this room. Ignore the public comments," the talking points also say.

[...]

An immigrant rights group contends that Republicans violated the state's open meetings law in how they developed the maps and filed a complaint Monday with Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne.

Legislative leaders sometimes ask rank-and-file legislators to keep quiet about sensitive legislation, but they do not ask them to sign pledges of secrecy.

The agreement tells each lawmaker "you agree not to disclose the fact and/or contents of such discussions or any draft documents within your possession."
And there's a part that the gone but not forgotten Illusory Tenant would have been all over (emphasis mine):
All the agreements were also signed by Eric McLeod of Michael Best & Friedrich, one of several attorneys who advised lawmakers on the maps. Legislative leaders have committed $400,000 in taxpayer money to pay Michael Best and the Troupis Law Office for their work on the maps.

McLeod has drawn attention in recent months for providing legal services to state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman under an arrangement in which Gableman did not have to pay.
That old peppercorn won't go away, will it?

When this matter hits the Supreme Court, and you know it will, Gableman will either have to recuse himself or set himself up for the third wave of recalls.

Outside of Waukesha and Washington Counties, where money rules all for those Republicans, I wonder if there will be any left in power within the next couple of years. I cannot imagine how any person with even a shred of self-respect could stand by Scott Walker or any of these other corrupt fools.

7 comments:

  1. If there is no way to put someone behind bars for this kind of behavior, the law should be changed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I thought this was a federal court. I don't think this will go to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Am I wrong about that?

    Also, explain in plain English what is the big threat implied in telling them they might be called as witnesses? I don't get that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Who would want to testify that what they did was illegal?

      Delete
  3. I don't know why they would get bothered with going to court and testifying either. I'm sure Walker's county exec staff are having a grand old time these days.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Spice, you can't pass laws about poor behavior. You're supposed to let them serve their elected term to get the full effect of their poor behaviour, even if they decide to pass new laws explicitly approving poor behavior.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This doesn't look good for Michael Best & Friedrich either. What a pity.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anybody miss Jim Doyle yet?

    ReplyDelete