The old double standard at work for Roberts and Lautenschlager

Let me get this straight:

Conservatives say John Roberts was just representing his client and doing his job as solicitor when he made arguments against abortion rights and said Roe v. Wade was not decided properly. That doesn't reflect his personal beliefs, they assure us. He was just being a lawyer and doing his job.

But, they argue, if Atty. Gen. Peg Lautenschlager personally favors civil rights for gays, she can't fairly defend the state of Wisconsin against a lawsuit asking the state to grant benefits to domestic partners of state employees. Worse yet, the Republicans say, she attended a Madison rally in support of gay rights in July.

The Journal Sentinel reports:

Lautenschlager said her appearance at the rally was "absolutely appropriate," and that she is able to separate her personal feelings about an issue from her duties. Suggestions that she can't do that are overly political and restricted to the issue of same-sex marriage, she added.

"What my point of view is on those cases - my personal point of view or political point of view - is often diametrically opposed to the position we take as a department," Lautenschlager said. "That's what lawyers do."

That is exactly what lawyers do, especially government lawyers, who represent the government's interests even when they disagree with it.

For some reason, the GOP can't seem to grasp that concept. When Jim Doyle was AG, they weren't satisfied to have him defend the state on school choice because he opposed choice, so they brought in Kenneth Starr, the special persecutor of Bill Clinton. In the domestic partner case, the legislature wants to use a wingnut evangelical law firm that will do a thorough job of gay-bashing.

But when it comes to Bush's Supreme Court nominee, John Roberts, we are supposed to believe that no position he took as a lawyer reflects his personal beliefs.

They can't have it both ways. Or maybe they can. Let's watch and see.

UPDATE: BUCHER CHIMES IN. Paul Bucher, the Waukesha DA who wants Lautenschlager's job, piles on and says Peg should step aside. Are we to assume that if he were elected AG that Bucher would only defend the state in cases where his personal opinion happened to coincide with the state's position? He may want to rethink where this is all headed before just chiming in to score political points. Bucher column.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Surprise! Lautenschlager does her job and files a strong argument for dismissing the case.