Saturday, September 7, 2013

Robin Vos Runs!






By Jeff Simpson

NO...Robin Vos is not running from his oath as a married man that he swore before God twice(at least) - He already has done that twice(at least)!  Nor is he looking to run for Governor....he knows he has no chance!

No Robin Vos is running from responsibility, again.  He is trying very hard to distance himself(and his party) from the debacle that is the United Sportsmen Scandal.

However, it is not working.  As typical, when Robin Vos speaks, ethics go flying out the window

First some background on United Sportsmen.

Scott Suder wrote a grant of WI taxpayer money into the last budget.  This money was written specifically for one group, a bunch of old Suder Staffers and republican donors.  It was for the sum of $500,000 and it was also written to give this group a sum of $250,000 annually for as far as we could see.

The problem was, that as is typical for the WI republicans, the former Suder staffers were not qualified in any sort of useful talent to actually justify such a payment, so Suder disguised it as a fishing and hunting grant.  Then Suder resigned his position to take another government position to double dip and help pad his WI taxpayer provided pension by joining the Walker Administration.  

Almost from the minute he wrote this horrendous piece of WI taxpayer theft, (it was debated all of 7 minutes then quickly passed by the Joint Finance Committee),  there were major problems.

First, as is par for the course for Wisconsin republicans, they lied from the start.  First about their tax exempt status

 - A sportsmen's group is apologizing for misleading lawmakers and the public about its federal nonprofit status in winning a controversial $500,000 grant to promote hunting and fishing. 

The Journal Sentinel reported on Friday that the United Sportsmen of Wisconsin Foundation Inc. appeared to be improperly claiming a federal tax-exempt status during the process of receiving a grant to promote hunting and fishing in the state.
 OOPS....But whats a little lying to the legislature amongst friends, because there is more.   Then Suder said the legislation was incredibly important for the future of hunting in WISCONSIN.

In an interview, Suder said the grant would help to avert a "looming crisis" for hunting and fishing and ensure the future of those pastimes in the state.
 The problem here?  His good friend, the former head of AFP-WI and former Suder staffer Luke Hilgemann does not EVEN LIVE IN WISCONSIN!

Hard to ward off a "looming crisis" in WI when you live in Burke, Virginia.

Not ones to be deterred by minor details such as this, they plodded on.  As regular readers know, there is ALWAYS more. 

The head of United Wisconsin, the hunting training experts, Andy Pantzlaff, was cited for illegal hunting AND lied to the DNR about it

OOPS. 

This turned out to be the final straw, as hard as he tried to give his friends $500,000 of OUR money, after this latest guffaw, the 2016 pretend presidential contender had to draw a line somewhere.   The final straw was probably main cheerleader the JSONLINE editorial board even asked their boy Scott Walker to rescind the money.

 As the saying goes, when you lose the JSONLINE editorial board....

So finally Cathy Stepp had to be drug, kicking and screaming, to stop the ridiculous payment. 

In a statement, Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp said she spoke with Walker on Thursday and he canceled the grant to United Sportsmen, which had been aimed at promoting the state's sporting heritage. Instead, Walker ordered the DNR to find other means to achieve that goal.

"We also agreed that it is essential for any organization that receives financial support from the state to have the trust of the public in its capabilities to produce concrete results. Even though United Sportsmen of Wisconsin Foundation Inc. did and does still meet the statutory criteria established by the Legislature for the grant award, the governor asked me to not finalize the grant award. I will honor this request and fully support this decision," Stepp said.
DNR Secretary Stepp, really really wanted to give them the money.  I get it though, they are all friends and im sure her friends at United Sportsmen already had that money spent!   

Its a tough thing for people like Hilgemann, havin to tell his wife the vacation to Hawaii this winter has to be called off for now.  

Now back to Robin Vos, who took time away from his paramour and attacking the UW  System to weigh in( Those paying attention will notice, that the longer Robin Vos has power the more arrogant he gets, but thats another blog).

What did Robin Vos have to say?  Exactly what you would think he had to say.   It was not his fault!

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said former Rep. Scott Suder, who recently stepped down as majority leader to take a job with the Public Service Commission, took the lead in adding the grant to the 2013-15 state budget.
Gov. Scott Walker asked DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp late Thursday to rescind the grant.
Vos said he “was not directly involved” in adding the language, which resulted in only one group, which has political connections to Suder, applying for the grant.
 
Vos is only the leader of the party and the head of the power joint finance committee that passed the amendment allowing this theft of WI taxpayer money but he was "not involved".   I'm guessing the party tries to cut him out of as many decisions as possible.    The party of "personal responsibility" is trying desperately to shirk the blame.   I am surprised in the article that Vos did not find a way to blame Obamacare.  

The light shone on the cockroachs and everyone went scrambling and two people who deserved much scorn and have escaped all scrutiny are Neil Kedzie and Al Ott.  

The five-member Sporting Heritage Committee is scheduled to meet Thursday in Madison to review the application.

The committee is composed of Gunderson, DNR executive assistant; Sen. Neal Kedzie (R-Elkhorn), chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee; Rep. Al Ott (R-Forest Junction), chairman of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee; and Mark LaBarbera of Hazel Green and Bill Torhorst of Oregon, both appointed to the committee by the DNR.
 Both of these "fiscal conservatives" could not give our money to their friends fast enough, no questions asked!  

My dream is that maybe one day, a reporter in the state will point out how truly not conservative, the Wisconsin "conservatives" are!

The Wisconsin republican party are NOT "fiscal conservatives", they are fiscal opportunists and its costing us all dearly! 



 











19 comments:

  1. It was the JS Editorial Board's position juxtaposed alongside WiDNR's decision to reject funding for the MacKenzie Center due to a different set of partisan political machinations - to punish WWF for not supporting WiGOP's dismantling of our state's proud conservation history IMO

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  2. Vos was "not directly involved". What kind of weasel word BS is that.

    And it's remarkable how many times Kedzie finds himself in sleaziness and cover-ups, like how he tried last October to imply his kid was beaten up for political reasons when it's apparent his boy was just being a drunken a-hole.

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    1. That is a statement with a different meaning inside baseball...he is trying to sell his partisan Assembly caucus on the idea that the kerfuffle Suder's stunt has caused for Ott and the rest of his cadre as the spectre of the whole deal became obviously despicable in the public eye. The decision to rescind the grant has everything to do with not selling off the assembly by hanging its WiGOP membership out to dry. When what Walker and Stepp thought they could get away with via a couple hazy August news dumps came to light and the legislative rubberstamps started to take heat, the optics converged upon a bone deal for the rank and file.

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    2. the kerfuffle has caused for Ott and the rest of his cadre *was not due to Vos' lack of leadership*, that is...

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  3. Yeah. We all know that Robin Vos was indirectly involved in the corrupt gifting of $500,000 of taxpayer money to United Sportsmen. It was Vos who told legislators to change the requirements to eliminate the need for charitable 501(c)(3) status when it became apparent that they would not qualify for this status. It was Vos who reviews and approves all legislation that is voted on and approved by WisGOP. He CAN'T disassociate himself from this stink...because the stink ALWAYS begins with Robin Vos. Always.

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  4. Until Peter Barca and the Assembly Dems make Robin Vos their number one target in the 2014 elections, I fear nothing will change.

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    1. No kidding. Come on, Rep Barca. DO something about Robin "Pops-the-Corn" Vos, would ya?

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  5. Vos is evil. That is all.

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  6. Stop your complaining and join the repug goose-stepping. Once you fully-immerse yourself in corporate-cronyism and facism, it is not as bad as you libtards proclaim.

    Sieg heil mein fuhrer -- HEIL WALKER!

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  7. Kedzie is a water boy at best. He lied about being a member of ALEC and lied when he said he didn't sign the secret redistricting document. He refuses to answer e-mails or letters if they are of a different political flavor than he. As DNR chair all these environmental attacks have come under his watch with a "wink and nod." He provided us with the infamous wetlands mitigation plan in which you can kill a wetland as long as another is created somewhere else in the state. Sure doesn't sound like GOD's original plan! Plus he's killed public education and still has the balls to show at public schools for events and make his presence known. I sure hope people wake up and let Vinehout bring our state back to normalcy!!!!!!1

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  8. The WDNR & Walker administration removal of funding for the WWF MacKenzie Center is one more example of the Wisconsin BLACKLIST in action. All the WWF managers/directors at the MacKenzie Center are members of the Wisconsin BLACKLIST because they either signed the Walker recall or have donated to a democratic politician or candidate.

    This whole episode has it's basis in destroying the lives of any organization or individual that dared to sign the Walker recall petitions or supported a Democrat for statewide office.

    $500,000 up front is but a small amount to give towards the achievement of ideological purity in Wisconsin. Our new motto will soon be: Wisconsin: Vote Republican or Get the Hell Out!

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    1. No doubt.

      If this is true, it would make one hell of a story. Holy hell.

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  9. Kedzie is deathly afraid of WALKER'S LIEUTENANTS. Fitzgerald threw him under the bus and disbanded his chairmanship when Kedzie was trying write somewhat fair environmental mining regulations last year. He's seen what they did to Dale Schultz for stepping otta line so he sees nothing and says nothing .... like a "GOOD OL BOY" should. He will no longer stand up for anything and for those of us he's supposed to represent he has become a non entity just collecting a taxpayer check. Sadly Republicans in Walworth county have a job for life. Our only hope is that he begins testosterone therapy and grows a pair.

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  10. Anyone know if the PSC is corrupt, there is some broadband survey being pushed by my State Senator, but knowing former Rep. Scott Suder, who recently stepped down as majority leader to take a job with the Public Service Commission, well, you get the idea, right?


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  11. Vos speaks the truth- always. He is well known as a true Christian Catholic conservative who will someday occupy the Governor's mansion with his current Christian concubine. Breaking up her family and confusing her two children probably wasn't his fault either.

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    1. Vos needs a "front". After all, he's already got two failed marriages and I think we all know why... *wink* *wink*

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    2. ...not that there's anything wrong with that. ;-)

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  12. Any wonder why people want to throw their beer on that little P.O.S. Robin Vos?

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  13. This is an urgent request for people in Democratic districts in Wisconsin to let us know who their senator and representative are and their WI county.

    (If you are on Facebook friend Green Consciousness; ask to be her friend so you can contact her on chat and volunteer to be a contact for your state reps).

    Please understand we ARE moving to request our Dem state representatives to appoint a special prosecutor (since the attorney general is a republican) to investigate the Suder/United Sportsmen/Governor Walker and ALEC connection to that $500,000 sweetheart grant which has been kept intact through citizen taxpayer funding

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