Jim Villa - VP of Scott Walker's Campaigns

By Jeff Simpson 

Scott Walker recently pointed out that even though he planned on cutting $300 Million(later trimmed to $250 million) from the University of Wisconsin system budget, they could easily make up the difference if each professor taught one more class.

Walker said UW campuses might be able to tap into their reserves to offset the cuts, but he emphasized “it will make them do things that they have not traditionally done.”
“They might be able to make savings just by asking faculty and staff to consider teaching one more class per semester,” Walker told reporters Wednesday in Madison. “Things like that could have a tremendous impact on making sure that we preserve an affordable education for all of our UW campuses, and at the same time we maintain a high-quality education.”

Even though that showed a complete lack of understanding what the UW System does(he did drop out of Marquette after all), logic, common sense and economic sense, Scott Walker was unbowed and went forward with his cuts.  

Some thing that only got a little bit of press at the time, and none during the time of cuts, is that Walker got his good friend Jim Villa hired to a VP position at UW Madison, making well over $200,000/yr of taxpayer money.   

Jim Villa, who was almost arrested, was tapped to be VP of Office of University Relations, despite the fact that everyone on the interview committee said specifically - DO NOT HIRE JIM VILLA!

Jim Villa, as most incompetent ass kissers are want to do, has kind of stayed under the radar and not so outwardly political.

Thanks to his bosses blind ambitions, that all was about to change. 

 It was a painful turn for Walker, who had quickly vaulted to the top of the Iowa polls, powered by a fiery January speech in Des Moines, only to drop precipitously in the summer amid Donald Trump’s rise. He had gone from front-runner to also-ran in a matter of months.So on Monday morning, the group of advisers — including veteran Walker hands John Hiller, Bill Eisner, Ed Goeas, and Jim Villa — huddled with Scott and Tonette Walker. The top of the agenda, according to campaign sources: polling and fundraising. And the numbers were bad.

 There it is in black and white. 

 Jim Villa, VP of University Relations(at taxpayer funded UW-Madison) dropped what he was doing(on a Monday morning) to head to the publicly funded Governors Mansion to discuss Scott Walker's plan for his next phase in the Presidential election.   

This brings up many questions:

Is that what WE pay him over $200,000/yr for? To help Scott Walker campaign?  Did Ray Cross know?  Will Scott Walker ever learn to stop campaigning on the taxpayer dime?  Does Jim Villa really represent the UW at this time or is he eyes and ear for Scott Walker in the liberal institution. What was discussed at this meeting that the public should know about?  How many other of these meetings has Jim Villa attended?  How many during the work day?  Is Jim Villa also a paid adviser on the campaign?   How would you feel if a Democratic administration member tapped into an Administrator or Professor at UW-Madison, to actually step up and help during business hours? Do you think taxpayer resources should be used to help Scott Walker keep his job? Will anyone even question him? 

Unfortunately, the guy ahead of University Relations, has not found the time to answer my questions I emailed him directly, but I do not expect an answer.  

However if you think that it is OK for the Governor is telling Doctorate Level Professors to "teach another class" to save money, but he can have his crony, the $200,000/yr Vice President, on call to help him where ever and whenever he needs help campaigning, then our priorities are shot.   

If you think this is wrong then voice your displeasure at how these people are spending/wasting our valuable tax dollars!  If you are an alumni, is this really who you want representing your great University?  

Your voice matters!   

James Villa

Vice President for University Relations

Contact

1760 Van Hise Hall
1220 Linden Dr.
Madison, WI 53706
Telephone: (608) 262-4464
jvilla@uwsa.edu

@Jim_Villa 

Or else contact his Boss at UW Ray Cross(or both):

Ray Cross, President
1720 Van Hise Hall
1220 Linden Dr.
Madison, WI 53706
Call: (608) 262-2321
Email: president@uwsa.edu

Yet Another Long Time Walker Crony Implicated In John Doe

Just when Scott Walker thought his no good, rotten, absolutely horrible, miserable week couldn't get any worse, it does.

In a Friday afternoon news drop, it was revealed that another one of Walker's long time political/governmental aides and crony was being investigated in the John Doe investigation commonly referred to as Walkergate:

No charges were filed against Jim Villa, the UW System’s vice president of university relations. But sworn statements released this week show investigators sought a search warrant for Villa’s home and office. At the time, he was president of the Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin, and he was previously Walker’s chief of staff.

To justify the warrants, investigators wrote that they suspected Villa had broken several laws, including misconduct in public office and solicitation of public employees to commit misconduct. They presented evidence of Villa’s involvement in both an alleged bid-rigging scheme and a political action committee that Walker aide Tim Russell was suspected of doing work for while on county time.

Russell was convicted of embezzling money from a veterans fund. Kelly Rindfleisch, a Walker aide convicted of campaigning on taxpayer time, was staying at Villa’s home and previously disclosed that it had been searched. The records released don’t include warrants or the results of any search that was conducted of Villa’s property.

The September 2011 affidavit were previously sealed under a John Doe secrecy order but were released with the permission of John Doe Judge Neal Nettesheim by the defendants in a lawsuit brought by Cindy Archer, another former Walker aide who was also under investigation but never charged.

The alleged bid-rigging that the article refers to involves an incident that happened while Walker was still Milwaukee County Executive. There were some shenanigans going on between Villa, then Walker campaign treasurer John Hiller and Walker regarding a bidding process for where the county's Department of Aging was going to be housed (emphasis mine):

The Reuss building had been taken over in late 2004 by its lender, Philadelphia-based RAIT Investment Trust, which hired Boerke Co. as the local leasing agent.

Walker campaign adviser Hiller lobbied on the 2005 deal, according to Dennik, who said at the time he viewed Hiller as speaking for Boerke.

Hiller, one of Walker's closest confidantes, served as treasurer of Walker's county and gubernatorial campaigns, a position he left in May 2011. He also led Walker's transition team after his 2010 election. He was familiar with Dennik, who had served as director of Walker's 2002 campaign for county executive.

Hiller, himself a real estate broker and developer, said he "probably" pointed the Reuss owners to the county opportunity, and discussed the situation with Dennik. Hiller told the newspaper in 2005 he was hired by the Reuss owners to develop strategies to fill empty offices there.

Hiller at the time downplayed his own role, but said he advised Boerke Co. on which county supervisors to approach to prompt a rebidding of the deal. Hiller said he called Rice, another of Walker's close allies, to urge him to talk to Boerke Co. about doing a "best and final offer" round.

Records show Jensen wrote a letter to key supervisors, including Rice, who later made the motion to reopen the bidding, citing potential savings.

Meanwhile, the Markesan Group - a lobbying firm set up by former Walker chief of staff Jim Villa - lobbied on the 2005 deal, according to Dennik. It couldn't be determined if Villa personally lobbied for it.

Villa left the firm in December 2003 to do Walker campaign work, but in August 2005 - in the midst of the Aging Department bid process - returned to the county executive's office.

Hiller said he did not talk to Villa about the process at that point; Villa felt that ethically he should stay out of it, Hiller said. Villa declined to comment for this story.

The Markesan Group was the main consultant behind Walker's 2004 county re-election effort and helped him launch his 2006 gubernatorial bid. Records show it was paid $126,000 in 2005 by Walker's campaign fund. Hiller said he used to work for Markesan Group, but not in this case.

And if the gentle reader was wondering, Walker has continued to be good friends and tight cronies with Villa, making sure Villa was rewarded for his loyalty to Walker by giving him a cushy, good paying job - at taxpayers' expense of course:

Jim Villa is leaving his post as president of the Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin after landing a job as vice president for university relations at the University of Wisconsin System.

Villa will earn $178,000 in his new position and will start May 5, according to a UW announcement.

They say crime doesn't pay but that's not necessarily true in Walker's Wisconsin.

Jim Villa InAction

By Jeff Simpson 

 

Remember a few months back, when despite the strong opposition of the hiring committee, the University of Wisconsin hired Scott Walkers good friend, Jim Villa to be a political "strategist". Being so tight with Scott Walker, they even had to make Villa a Vice President and pay him over $200,000 taxpayer dollars a year.   

See not everyone struggles in Walker's Wisconsin.  

Even though Jim Villa was vastly unqualified for this job, and by hiring him it took some of the shine off our great University System, it was accepted because he could deliver results with his good friends at the Capitol.  

Now the University of Wisconsin has found out what so many others have, its not about competence its about cronyism.  

In Villa's first chance to lobby for the UW System, he delivered,  

An out of nowhere, massive $300 MILLION cut that will devastate Wisconsin's key economic driver and force layoffs, and campus closings.  

Good job Jimmy, as if the Bigotry wasn't enough!  

See the important thing is that people that actually "like" Scott Walker get paid for their efforts.   It is unfortunate that we have to pay so dearly for that reward.   

Competence in work is so last administration.   

At least UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank has recognized incompetence and moved on.   When looking for help in stopping these disastrous cuts, she no longer looks to the person being paid so handsomely to do so, she is going over his head!

UW-Madison will tap influential alumni and the parents of students in a campaign to convince state legislators that Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed $300 million budget cut to the University of Wisconsin System is too much to bear.

Since he is bad at his job, let's hope at the very least, that he is as big a hit at office parties as he is at ALEC conventions and that he used his taxpayer funded healthcare to get his personal problems cleaned up! 

The Scott Walker Degree

BY Jeff Simpson 

Scott Walker, who likes to campaign Al Dente, has changed his line about not having a college degree once again.   

What about not having a college degree?"I say I’m like the majority of people in America. I’m someone who went to college, had the opportunity in my senior year to go and take a job full-time, which was not the only reason I went to college, but one of the biggest reasons was to get a job. And the American Red Cross offered me a job my senior year, and I took it, thinking someday, maybe, I’d go back. But a few years later, I met my wonderful wife, Tonette, a year after that, we had Matthew, the year after that, we had Alex. And now like a lot of folks in America, you know, your family and your job take the time away from you from finishing it up. But I don’t think anybody -- and I’ve got a master’s degree in taking on the big-government special interests, and I think that is worth more than anything else that anybody can point to."

Once you get past the fact that he changes his life story more than Robert Van Winkle ever did, one interesting line stands out.  

and I’ve got a master’s degree in taking on the big-government special interests - Scott Walker

Well we at CogDis did some digging and we found a partial course listing of classes that Mr. Walker Had to take to earn his imaginary Master's degree.  

 How to please your boss, yet look independent 202:  This course we will teach you how to say one thing to the general public while spilling your true strategy to people who pay for that privilege. By the end of this class, you will learn how to soak millions out of rich widows.  

Kiss the right rings(there is lots of money in Las Vegas) 300:  This course will show you, how to fund raise nationally while traveling secretly.  The more advanced learners in this class, will learn how you can phone reporters in your home state, while traveling, to complain about "out of state special interests".



You have access to unlimited money, use it 220:   This class will show you how to do whatever you want in office because you have unlimited access to taxpayer money to hire lawyers.  If time allows, the student will also learn how to hire consultants to keep from having to make a decision on your own.



Meet the right people - 100:  This is a refresher course to help the student understand that the person you are nice to today, could grow up to become a Supreme Court Justice, who will not only suspend ethics rules to do your bidding but be willing to choke anyone who gets in the way!



You are always, always, always on - no one is bigger than your ambition 400 :  This is an upper level graduate course for those who are willing to do anything to become President of the United States.   This course will teach you to hire felons, snakes, and loons.  You will also learn the importance of hiring your donors to major positions within the Government and the equal importance of throwing them to the wolves the second you need a scapegoat.  Students will also learn that the more taxpayer money you can give to your friends, the more money they will give you.  



You can see with five classes last semester, Mr. Walker had a full course load but it allowed him to attain his imaginary masters degree.

Congrats to you Scott Walker,

Let's hope the walk you take to get this degree involves handcuffs and disgrace!

An Admission About Our University System

By Jeff Simpson - Cross posted at Purple Wisconsin.

 As anyone with even a passing interest in The Wisconson Badgers football program knows, Coach Gary Anderson resigned this week for  a chance to live a life of obscurity, coaching at Oregon State.  

This move appears to be a step down,which leaves much speculation as to why he would do that.  One of the main possibilities that people have been bandying about, is that Coach Anderson was frustrated that Wisconsin's Academic Standards are too high.  

BadgerBlitz.com @McNamaraRivals: I can confirm that Mohamed Barry and #Wisconsin have parted ways. Academic standards at Wisconsin were an issue.

Let's get real, that was so 2010.  Wisconsin's current Governor and gerrymandered State Legislature have had the University of WIsconsin System on their radar to attack since they have been in power.   There is no other reason that they would appoint Rep. Steve Nass to be chair of the Assembly's Colleges and University committee.   

Scott Walker and the Republicans in charge, did not just stop there, they also made sure to cheapen the reputation of the University of Wisconsin system and diminisht he accomplishment of the college degree.   They implemented a "flexible option" degree.   

Madison – Governor Scott Walker released the following statement today after the University of Wisconsin (UW) System announced that UW-Milwaukee and UW Colleges received approval to begin providing Flexible Option degrees:

Our budget included $2 million to fund start-up costs for this first-in-the-nation approach, and I’m pleased to see this come to fruition because we’re making it easier for people to pursue higher education. This is great news for students and workers, and I thank UW System faculty and staff and the UW System Board of Regents for their hard work on this bold and innovative improvement.

YES!  You too can get your college degree and even skip the actual college part of it!   As Yakov Smirnoff might say --- "What a State!"

But Wait, there's more!   As if attacking the University System from the outside was not enough, they decided to plant a proverbial virus on the inside.   They created a new position for the University System called Vice President of Political Cronyism and, despite the fact that the interview committee begged not to hire him, hired Scott Walker's good friend Jim Villa.

Qualifications be dammed!  

The University of WIsconsin is still, for the time being, a World Class Institution but our politicians are working on that.  

While I too want to know Coach Anderson's thinking in leaving Wisconsin after two years, lets get real about our Academic Standards.   If you are one, who thinks we absolutely should not lower ourselves to help certain people get into our Universities, you have had your chance to speak up three times now.   

That ship has sailed and it does not appear to be coming back.

 

The Future of UW-Madison

By Jeff Simpson

Indisputably, one of the key economic drivers in Wisconsin is the University of Wisconsin and the University system.  UW-Madison, is a world renowned university that has produced superstar alumnus in all aspects of life from musicians, to actors to businessmen to scientists and everything in between.

While the stories are endless, one recent one specifically stood out to me.

A prominent UW-Madison scientist is studying the Ebola virus on campus.Yoshihiro Kawaoka, who is better known for flu research, is conducting two types of Ebola studies, said Rebecca Moritz, a campus biosafety manager.One project uses genetic material from Ebola, and the other uses a strain of the virus that is missing a key protein, Moritz said. The strain can grow only in a particular cell line containing the protein and is not infectious in animals or humans, she said.Kawaoka is testing potential drug therapies for the virus and “understanding how Ebola does what it does,” she said. “There’s really not a lot known about this virus.”

Ebola is a nasty, deadly disease where the people who do die from it, die a horrible death.  It is understudied, underfunded and on the verge of being a global problem.   Imagine if you will, the economic boom, long lasting residual effects and humanitarian good that would come with Mr. Kawaoka finding a cure?

Now lets get back to reality.  It appears, thanks to unethical, bitter partisan redistricting, that the republicans will continue as the majority party in the legislature.

What is the Republican Party stance on the UW-Madison?

They think so little of the University and its benefits to WIsconsin that they put the buffoon Steve nASS in charge of the Colleges and Universities Committee and have cut well in excess of $300 Million from their budget.

When your priorities are split between running for the next job and pushing a far right extreme ideology,  the people of Wisconsin suffer.  And suffer long term!

We have two fixes for this.  1.  Mr. Kawaoka can start donating tens of thousands of dollars to the Republican Party and spend his time lobbying(or get newly appointed ALEC stooge Jim Villa to do it for him) or we can vote the current group of republicans out.

Do we really want the future of UW-Madison in Steve nASS's hands?

Vote as if the future of our Great State depends on it, because it does!!

Jim Villa Lives Up To His Reputation

By Jeff Simpson

Readers of CogDis remember the name Jim Villa, he is the Walker Crony who was a hit at ALEC conventions.    Villa was also just appointed to a job that was created just for him within the University of Wisconsin system - Vice President for university relations.  

While there were numerous actually qualified candidates, and the interview team was adamant that Villa NOT be hired,  Jim Villa was hired anyway(surprise, surprise). 

In one email, university official Vicki Keegan, who sat in on the interviews with all five finalists, offered her thoughts to Aaron Brower, the interim chancellor at UW Colleges and UW-Extension. Keegan, the executive director of marketing and enrollment at UW Colleges, listed Villa, along with one other finalist, as unacceptable picks.
"I have other thoughts on this but prefer not to put it in an email," she wrote Brower on March 21. She encouraged Brower to call her back on her cellphone.
Keegan did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Monday.
Patricia Wanninger, an alumna from Milwaukee, also wrote Cross about her concerns over Villa's hiring.
"The corruption of the once-great University of Wisconsin system is complete, with the appointment of Jim Villa to a disgustingly highly paid, obviously partisan political post," Wanninger wrote. "You will have to put Jim Villa to work grubbing money out of corrupt politicians in Madison, because you won't be getting any more from me."

The Alec superstar Villa, has been handed a job where he is paid well in excess of $200,000/yr(with no experience).  

 

Villa has barely been in the job a month and his first official action proves Ms. Keeganknew exactly what she was talking about! 

A newly hired top-level communications director for the University of Wisconsin System was fired last year as University of Arkansas spokesman following a disagreement over that school's handling of an open records request filed by a newspaper.
The UW System announced Friday that John Diamond had been selected as interim associate vice president for external relations and strategic communications. Diamond was fired in August 2013 by the University of Arkansas from a similar position for insubordination after a confrontation with his direct supervisor.

BUT WAIT, there's more:

 Diamond also claimed that his supervisor at Arkansas, vice chancellor Chris Wyrick, made inappropriate remarks about religion and race and created a hostile and threatening work environment.

Yes, if you are upset over inappropriate racist remarks, the one place you do not want to be is working for Scott Walker!   

In July 2010, then-Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s then-chief of staff, Thomas Nardelli, sent an email to his deputy, Kelly Rindfleisch, and other unknown recipients that consisted of an email forward recounting the story of a “nightmare,” involving waking up black, gay, Jewish, and disabled.

 

A Matter Of Degrees

Scott Walker has always  been a forward-thinking man.  And by that, I mean he always is looking for a way to advance his own political aspirations and doesn't do a thing or make a decision until he's looked at it from all angles and has determined whether it would help or hinder his political advancement.

From the very day that Walker was elected as Milwaukee County Executive, his objective wasn't to do what was in the county's best interest, but to do what was in his political best interest.  Hence we saw acts of austerity, diminishing services and his first salvos at the unions, all in the interest of trying to sell himself as a gubernatorial candidate.

The same could be said for when Walker became from governor. From day one, every move he made was based on how it would help him in a future presidential campaign.  That he has been fairly successful in appeasing the money brokers like the Koch Brothers is evidenced by the way he was able to raise enough money to buy his way out of Walkergate - so far.

One of the many obstacles that Walker would need to overcome - besides his horribly bad jobs record, Walkergate, and all of the really bad legislation he signed off on - was the fact that he does not have a college degree.

So, two years ago, when the Teapublican legislature came out with their Flex Option degree scheme, one knew the fix was in.  The Flex Option is a scheme that basically would allow a person to skip actually learning things at school and getting a degree based on experience.  

Thus Walker could point to his eight years as county executive and three years as governor and claim he is now an expert in political science and/or management and - poof - instant degree!

If one wasn't sure that the fix was in with the introduction of the Flex Option plan, they should have been when it was recently announced that Walker appointed long-time aide/political advisor, Jim Villa, to a position in the UW system.  

The gentle reader would recognize Villa's name from Walkergate.  Villa has worked for Walker while he was a state legislator and as county executive as well as worked on many of Walker's political campaigns.  Villa was one of Kelly Rindfleisch's favorite chat buddies while she was campaigning from the Milwaukee County Courthouse.  He also provided the address that Rindfleisch used to defraud the county, claiming she was a citizen of Milwaukee County.  Villa and Rindfleisch were so close that they were even vacation buddies.

Villa was sort of like Tim Russell, but slightly smarter.

It's pretty obvious that Walker appointed Villa to this position so that Villa could have access to almost every part and every person in the UW system to ensure that when Walker does take his assessment/exam - most likely later this summer or fall at the latest - there won't be any unexpected hitches in Walker being given his unearned degree,  And at a pay rate of $178,000, Walker can feel assured that Villa will be properly motivated to do all the troubleshooting and strong-arming that needs to be done.

Sure enough, almost on cue, Walker has come out and announced that he would like to take advantage of the Flex Option plan he had crafted and passed so that he too might get a degree without really earning it.

How convenient!  Now he can run for president and show off his degree!

This scheme is an insult to everyone that is working or has worked hard to earn their degrees by, y'know, actually learning things.  It's an insult to those still paying off student loans while Walker was the one being paid off while politicking around the country.

While Walker is making a joke of the UW system, the final joke might be on him.  While the local press might be willing to give him a pass or even help cover up some of his misdeeds, the national press will be able to sniff out the fake degree in a heartbeat.  And they will not be as lenient as the local corporate media about this.

Walker's lack of education will become painfully obvious as he tries to explain this one away.

On a final note, I would hope that the gentle reader agrees with me in thinking that when Walker does get his doctored degree, whatever the major is, he should get a Bachelor of Science degree.

Because this plan of Walker's is nothing but pure B.S.

Alleigh "pro-choice" Marre!

By Jeff Simpson


H/t Dan Bice:

We know that Scott Walker's hiring practices have been abhorrent, where the ONLY disqualification is "did you sign the recall".    Now it appears as Scott Walker has finally hired someone with an actual open mind.   

Walker's campaign brought on Alleigh Marre, 25, last month as the press secretary for his high-stakes re-election effort. Marre had previously worked for the National Republican Congressional Committee and former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, a Massachusetts Republican who is an abortion-rights advocate.
On her now-defunct blog, Marre wrote a piece in defense of Planned Parenthood after the GOP-backed U.S. House of Representatives voted to end funding for the organization.
"I'm a Republican, and I support Planned Parenthood, a woman's right to choose, access to STD testing, birth control, etc.," Marre wrote Sept. 21, 2011. "Did I mention I'm a Republican?"

Hey Julainne Appling and Barbara Lyons - Put  that in your "pro-life" pipe and smoke it.  By the way if you express concern over this and yet remain silent when the republicans stand with cancer and against treatment for cancer victims - you might want to re-think what "pro-life' stand for! 

 


PS: Tell us in the comments what day and when Ms. Marre gets jettisoned to the curb by Scott Walker.  Winner gets a shiny new no-prize!  

 

Walker's Travel Crony

By Jeff Simpson

We already know with people like Brian DeSchane and Dennis Smith that of all of Scott Walker's flaws, his hiring ability might be his biggest weakness.  

Now they are at it again in Fitzwalkerstan.  

The University of Wisconsin System named five finalists for the position of vice president for university relations, including the president of a Milwaukee real estate group who is closely allied with Gov. Scott Walker.

Who is the finalist that is closely allied with Scott Walker?   Our old friend Jim Villa:

Villa’s name appears throughout recently released emails from the governor’s former aide, Kelly Rindfleisch, while Walker was Milwaukee County executive and while he was running for governor in 2010. He’s identified as follows in a 2012 criminal complaint against Rindfleisch:
“Mr. Villa was a former chief of staff to then (Milwaukee) county executive Scott Walker. Mr. Villa served as an informal adviser to the Friends of Scott Walker. He is and was a personal friend to Gov. Scott Walker.”
Rindfleisch was convicted of felony misconduct in office for campaigning on taxpayer time. She is appealing.
In a Feb. 8, 2010, email from Rindfleisch to Brett Davis, Walker’s preferred candidate for lieutenant governor, Rindfleisch wrote:
“I am also working on Villa to get him to agree to host an event. The money guys know him and associate him with Walker, so they would respond to him. That’s the same reason John Hiller is on the list. He’s known as a Walker guy.”

Readers of CogDis remember the name Jim Villa, as the life of the party at the ALEC conventions:

  Jim Villa and Jim Emerson, two state Senate staffers who led the fact finding mission for the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), are expected to testify.
"Arrrgh! God, it hurts when I pee," shouted Villa from a ground floor state Capitol restroom. "I thought Clymedia was a flower!"
Emerson is expected to report that legalized prostitution can have a hug upside, including being a tourism attraction for the Wisconsin Dells to take the place of Tommy Bartlett's Robot World, and an employment opportunity in the form of W-2 transition
jobs.
"By the end of the trip it felt like I was hooked up to one of those milking machines," Emerson said. "I will never be able to look at ping pong balls and uneven parallel bars the same way again."
Villa said that the success of the fact-finding mission was the result of NCSL's commitment to research.
"NCSL completely kicks ass," Villa said. "I went to an ALEC conference on blowjobs and it took a week for me to get the taste out of my mouth."

 What better person to represent the University of Wisconsin in an executive position?   Do we still have to pay for his attendance at ALEC conventions or has he earned enough loyalty rewards points?


 

John J. Schulze, Jr.

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Walkergate: Can I Get A Witness?

Eight months ago, I introduced you to Kelly Rindfleisch. I pointed out at the time how I thought Rindfleisch could become a pivotal character in the ongoing investigation into Scott Walker, his campaign and his staff, commonly referred to as Walkergate.

Sure enough, five days later, Rindfleisch was arrested and charged with four counts of illegal campaigning.

Now after eight months of some of the juiciest tidbits and some of the most frustrating attempts by Rindfleisch to stall or even derail the slow wheels of justice, we are just a few weeks from her jury trial.

And even though the trial is still some three weeks away, savory pieces of information keep coming out.

One of the most savory came out on Friday. The District Attorney filed their pretrial documents, including the state's requested jury instructions, their proposed Voire Dire Questionnaire, their witness list and their proposed verdict forms.

It is the witness list that has generated the most buzz.

The list contains 35 names, but unfortunately, neither the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel nor WisPolitics.com has shared the full list. But what they have shared is still pretty damn interesting.

Some of the names include:

• Brett Davis, Scott Walker's first choice for Lieutenant Governor. Davis was unsuccessful in his bid, but Walker kept him around by appointing him as the state Medicaid Director, a move that even conservative pundits questioned. Rindfleisch was Davis' main fundraiser during his short-lived candidacy.
• Michael Huebsch, Walker's Director of Administration and his right hand man. The listing has Huebsch down as "an event host," which the news outlets are interpreting to mean a specific campaign fundraising event.
• Keith Gilkes, Walker's former campaign manager turned Chief of Staff turned back to campaign manager.
• Cullen Werwie, Davis' former campaign manager, currently Walker's spokesman. Werwie is one of the biggest names of the people who have been granted immunity. The fact that Walker has kept Werwie on staff has also caused criticism from his conservative supporters.
• Jim Villa, former Chief of Staff for Walker while at the county. Villa was also involved with a lot of Walker's campaigning. Villa's name has also come up in the investigation into possible bid rigging while Walker was still Milwaukee County Executive. Villa was also Rindfleisch's vacation buddy.

There are some names which are conspicuous by their absence, such as: Tim Russell, who set up the secret router system Rindfleisch was using to do her illegal campaigning and was doing her job before she replaced him; Darlene Wink, who was working under Rindfleisch and also doing illegal campaigning; Fran McLaughlin, Walker's former spokeswoman and who was granted immunity for her testimony on how Rindfleisch had her proofread campaign mailers; and Andrea Boom, Rindfleisch's BFF who sold her out for a mere $47.60. Boom is currently Walker's campaign finance director.

But the biggest name on the list is none other than Scott Walker himself.

Oh, the imagination just runs wild at the thought of what questions they might be putting forth to Walker.

But I also foresee the possibility of trouble by putting Walker on the stand. I could see it becoming a case of he said/she said on whether Walker ordered her to do the illegal campaigning or whether he even knew it was going on.

Walker's name on the witness list does explain some things though.

It reinforces my thoughts that Walker is getting extremely nervous and thus is throwing Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Tommy Thompson all under the bus as he starts raising cash again for his legal cooperation fund.

It also would explain Walker's new found interest in the Constitution. Even though he has no use for the First Amendment and has so much as called the Constitution as being backwards, I bet he has the Fifth Amendment memorized and recites it in his uneasy, nightmare ridden sleep.

Then again, Walker might not need the Fifth Amendment since he has shown that he has no qualms whatsoever about blatantly committing perjury. If I was the Milwaukee County District Attorney, I'd have that complaint already drawn up, simply needing to insert the actual words used when Walker perjures himself and the date.

It should be noted that the final pretrial hearing is coming up Monday, but I don't expect much to come out of that except another request of delay by the defense. I don't expect that request to be granted given all the time they have been given already.

But as we wait to see what indeed comes on Monday and at the trial, I just want to give the gentle reader, and Kelly Rindfleisch, an appropriate musical interlude:

Up early in the morning with her on my mind

After finding out all night that I been cryin'

But I believe a woman's a man's best friend

And I'm gonna stick by her till the bitter end

Well she causes so much misery how's a gal supposed to be

Somebody somewhere tell her it ain't fair

Heh. Even Walker must be appreciating that verse.

Walkergate: The Rindfleisch Transcripts

As I mention in Walkergate: Trouble In Paradise, Part 1 and Part 2, I referred to a set of transcripts that the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office had entered as evidence in the case against Kelly Rindfleisch.

Rindfleisch is fighting the charges she is facing by asking to have her case dismissed outright and by seeking a change of venue to Colombia County.  The purpose of these partial transcripts are presumably to show that Rindfleisch was fully aware of the residency requirements for being employed by Milwaukee County and to strengthen the already strong case that she committed the crimes she is accused of.

Until Dan Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel posted the transcripts online for all to read, people were limited to to what the paper was reporting.

Steve Schultze, also of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did a bang up job reporting on part of the transcripts, including how Kelly Rindfleisch and Jim Villa had great expectations for the roles they would play in Scott Walker's administration when he became governor.  He also told us how these two thought that Tim Russell was on Walker's bad side, although I'm not sure that's the correct interpretation of events.

But there are some interesting tidbits that either Schultze or his editors felt weren't newsworthy.

First, I would have to stop and say that these partial transcripts are infuriatingly frustrating in the sense that they are Wisconsin's greatest teases.  For example, at the bottom of page 5, the DA is questioning Villa about Rindfleisch and they have this exchange:

Q: Do you know how it came to pass that she was hired in the County Executive's Office in        2010, based upon your personal knowledge? 

A: Yes. 

Q: How did it come to pass?

And that's where they end.  It's like the season finale of one of your favorite TV shows and now you have to wait an indefinite amount of time before you find out how it comes out.

A few pages later (page 11), in the questioning, there is another teaser that indicates that Cindy Archer might have had a hand in the illegal politicking, which would not be a surprise.  I've already pointed out a communication that Cory Liebmann had found in which Archer email Walker at his campaign address as well as Walker's campaign consultant R. J. Johnson.

On the top of page 12, there is another interesting exchange between Rindfleisch and Villa.  As one of Cog Dis' astute readers had already pointed out:

Something very interesting: 

1147 FRI 05MAR2010 

Rindfleisch: Quick question, is Gerry Geishart one of your members? 

Villa: Don't think so. 

Rindfleisch: Ok.Would any of your members know what a hotel would lease for? (end of chat)

Who is Gery Geishart? He is a realtor who buys and sells properties, many of which deal directly with counties. Why is a County Executive Deputy Chief of Staff asking the former County Executive Chief of Staff? Turns out, Villa is now President of the Commercial Association of Wisconsin Realtors, thus Geishart could be "one of Villa's members". What else do we know? Andrew Jensen, a different realtor, was given immunity in the John Doe investigation and later arrested for failure to comply with authorities. Anything else suspicious? The lawyers Walker hired specialize in real estate and complex criminal law.

So, I guess the real question is, why would hotel lease costs motivate Rindfleisch to ask Villa about Geishart? I suppose the county could be interested in leasing one of Geishart's properties, assuming he is the current owner. But why? The other details seem to paint a picture of the County Executive's Office being accused of engaging in some form of real estate shenanigans. These chat transcripts are the first physical documents that link the Executive's Office, Walker's Campaign, and real estate dealings.

For more information on the real estate stuff, you can see what I've already written here.

The next interesting tidbit comes on the bottom of page 13, where the last arrow is pointing:

rellyk (Rindfleisch): and then I got Fran highlighting all the mistakes in the press releases that the campaign does

Fran would be Fran McLaughlin, who was Walker's spokeswoman as county executive.  Yet another name to add to the corruption list.  What is also interesting, at least for Milwaukeeans, is that McLaughlin currently is the Public Information Officer for Sheriff David Clarke, a pompous ass that has aligned himself with the teahadists and other conservative nut jobs and is more interested in politicking than actually performing the duties of his office.  One has to wonder if McLaughlin got waived through the normal screening process and background check before Clarke gave her this political appointment.

The really curious thing about the article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article is that there is not one single mention of McLaughlin or her involvement.  Why was her name omitted?

The last item involves the last few pages of the transcripts.  It shows part of the questioning of one Andrea Boom as well as a series of online chats between Boom and Rindfleisch.  Rindfleisch and Boom knew each other for years when they worked together at Wisconsin Association of Health Plans.

Andrea Boom:
Is that Walker's web of
lies she's stuck in?

The chats included were mundane chatter about Boom's apparently troubled home life and such, but do show Rindfleisch knowingly lying on official documents (her employment papers) regarding where she lived and that Milwaukee has a residency requirement.

But in the various exchanges are some interesting things.  One being that a yet-to-be-identified former GOP female state senator had held a fund raiser for Tom Barrett, who was, of course, Walker's gubernatorial opponent.  I have the greatest minds in the kingdom working on figuring this out as I write this.

The very last page shows a series of discussions in which Rindfleisch is trying to talk her old chum into taking  a new job in Milwaukee County so they could hang together and campaign together, or something.  That didn't pan out, but what is sure to be more than pure coincidence, shortly after Walker was elected, Boom ended up getting a new job as the Finance Director for Walker's campaign.

But the thing that leaves me still chortling is that, according to the court records, is that Boom is going to get a whopping $47.60 for witness fees.

Yup, Boom sold out her good friend and benefactor for less than $50.  It goes to show you what price Republicans put on friendship and loyalty.  They'll sell you out in a heartbeat if they can make a buck doing so.

It's not unlike the way that Scott Walker and WISGOP treat Wisconsin and its citizens.

For some other thought-provoking insights into this, check out Jud Loundsbury's take on the transcripts.