Our 'independent' AGs

My friend John Nichols at the Cap Times has had to stretch a bit in his column in order to get in some licks against both Gov. Jim Doyle and attorney general wannabe J. B. Van Hollen.

"Wisconsin has historically elected independent-minded individuals to serve as state attorney general. They are elected as Democrats or Republicans, but the best attorneys general are those who refuse to serve as rank partisans," Nichols writes.

That shaky premise gives him a launching pad to attack Doyle, for "working behind the scenes to undermine Lautenschlager's campaign for re-election in 2006" because, Nichols says, she has been too independent. Many think it is Lautenschlager who has undermined her own 2006 campaign, with a drunk driving arrest and misuse of her state car. But no matter.

Nichols also gives Van Hollen 20 lashes for a direct mail, red meat fundraising letter which tries to push all of the partisan buttons with Republicans to get them to open their checkbooks. Running as a partisan somehow "fouls the state's tradition" of independent AGs, Nichols says.

Who are those independent AGs we've elected, who haven't been partisan?

There's Doyle, who served 12 years before being elected governor, and gave fits to the Republican gov across the hall. Before that: Republican Don Hanaway, who inserted his own views on abortion into his representation of the state. Bronson LaFollette, grandson of Fighting Bob, who ran for governor as a strong Dem but later mellowed and spent much of his last term fighting with Dem Gov. Tony Earl. Robert Warren, an extremely partisan, conservative Republican who ended up on the federal bench. John Reynolds, a highly partisan Democrat who went from AG to the gov's office.

We could go back farther, but it wouldn't change much. It's safe to say that in my lifetime the only AGs who haven't been pretty partisan have been those who were appointed to fill in for short periods.

It's true that AGs work cooperatively on law enforcement issues with whoever happens to be in the gov's office and the legislature. Doyle, for example, worked with Tommy Thompson on a package of legal system reforms. If there has been that kind of cooperation from the current AG, either with the Democratic governor or with the Republican legislative leadership, I have missed it.

P.S. -- A direct mail letter from Peg arrived yesterday, and it certainly was non-partisan. She mentions "my Republican opponents" only once and never uses the word Democrat. She seems to be running against the special interests.