UW's Wiley can't tell friends from enemies

Tell me what I am missing in this sequence of events:

1. Gov. Jim Doyle proposes a budget for the University of Wisconsin that cuts the overall budget by $65-million over the next two years, but also spends more in some key areas, like increasing student aid and adding faculty.

2. Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee vote to cut the UW budget another $45-million, on top of Doyle's $65-million in cuts, and eliminate many of Doyle's new spending proposals.

3. Doyle reacts to the Joint Finance action: "For the first time in 10 years, my budget includes more funding for the UW System and financial aid than for Corrections. The Legislature is poised to reverse that, and they are sending a very bad signal about the direction they are moving in. I urge them to reverse these senseless cuts and make it clear that the UW System is a priority for Wisconsin."

4. UW System President Kevin Reilly says he is "troubled and puzzled" by the committee's actions, on top of reductions of $300-million in the previous two budgets and $65-million in cuts already in Doyle's budget. "This cascading series of harsh cuts seriously diminishes the university's capacity to deliver what we all know Wisconsin desperately needs -- more baccalaureate and graduate degree holders; more high-paying jobs based on university expertise, research and spinoffs; and the resulting higher per-capita income," he says.

5. UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley praises the Republicans for not cutting as much as some of their members wanted to. "We owe them our gratitude for reducing the amount of the budget cut that would be added on to the governor's already significant proposed reduction," Wiley said in a statement. Wiley's statement is more critical of Doyle 's budget than of the Republicans who piled on more cuts.

What am I missing? Have the Republicans told Wiley that if he doesn't want his campus budget cut even more he has to play ball? This is, after all, the guy who encouraged UW officials to make campaign contributions to legislators last fall, and 18 administrators wrote checks, mostly to Republicans in key positions. Apparently those $100 checks weren't big enough; the GOP wants Wiley to do some public butt-kissing, too. Unfortunately, he seems willing to pucker up.