Jensen didn't invent system,
but took it to new heights
Charlie Sykes has big news. Scott Jensen was not the first Assembly speaker to do political work or use his caucus staff to help in campaigns. Tom Loftus, a Democrat, did it too, Sykes reports in excruciating detail on his blog, Sykes Writes.
He accuses me of having a selective memory, of pretending Tom Loftus or Wally Kunicki or Shirley Krug or others in the Democratic leadership never did political work or used their staffs for campaign help.
I don't dispute that. It was an open secret for years, to anyone working in or covering the Capitol for the news media, that the caucuses did political work, especially at campaign time.
So, Charlie asks, what is the big deal now all of a sudden?
The caucus scandal became a scandal because the leadership in both houses took it to the extreme.
There is a difference between shaking down lobbyists, as some legislators are accused of, and helping some candidate in the hinterlands run for office.
And there is a huge difference between a legislator raising money, or a caucus staffer helping plan a fundraiser or prepare a list for the legislator to call, and putting someone on the state payroll to the tune of $65,000 a year to do nothing but raise political money full-time. That's what Scott Jensen, Steve Foti, and Sherry Schultz are accused of. They don't even deny it; they just say that was part of their jobs.
I can tell the difference between that and whatever Tom Loftus did.
If he levels with himself, Sykes can, too.
Jensen didn't invent the system, but he took it to new heights.
Here's my earlier post on the subject, which set Sykes off.
posted by xoff @ 6:26 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Somehow, as a taxpayer burdened by the "sum sufficient" language in Budgets for Legislative Activity, the Jensen et al imbroglio smells.
The fact that some report or other states that 'this is the business' of Legislators does not cut the mustard with me.
It should stop, completely.
Given that, I also think that the prosecutor would be well-advised to simply drop the case--under the following circumstances (not finely-honed)
1) New legislation will be passed which strictly forbids ANY political fundraising activity by ANY staffers (including those in executive branch.)
2) An ethics panel will both pro-actively and re-actively examine the activities of all staffers; such panel to be composed of Wisconsin citizens, NONE of which are either elected to any office, nor appointed to any office outside of this panel, BEFORE OR AFTER such service. The panel will be provided with CPA and legal support chosen for their junkyard-dog reputation. Violations of the above law, on discovery, will result in immediate termination of the staffers and passed to prosecutors who shall prosecute both the staffers AND the officeholder in whose office the violator worked;
4) On discovery and referral, the Legislator (or office-holder) will be dismissed from State duty and payroll and a special election will be called or the Executive Branch will appoint a replacement immediately.
Refine as you like.
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