Common Cause blames the Capitolculture for Burke's bad decisions

The case of Brian Burke is nearer a close, after his guilty plea Wednesday to a felony charge and a misdemeanor for misuing his public office for political purposes. (Plea agreement.)

All that remains is the sentencing, and for Burke and his family to try to put their lives back together after he has served that sentence and made required restitution. It has undoubtedly been an incredibly difficult, stressful three years for the Burkes.

I do not want to pile on after the whistle. But there is one thing that struck me as I read the coverage.

Politicians in both parties were strangely quiet about the case. Nary a news release from any Republican or Democrat that I could see. The silence was deafening.

That is probably because there are more cases to come, on both sides of the aisle, with Democrat Chuck Chvala and three Republicans -- Scott Jensen, Steven Foti and Bonnie Ladwig -- still facing charges from the caucus investigation. So legislative reaction to Burke's conviction was not just muted but non-existent.

The strangest and most inexplicable reaction came in a statement from Common Cause, the good government/campaign reform group. It said, in part:

This is a sad day for Brian Burke and for Wisconsin politics and state government and Common Cause in Wisconsin takes no joy in what has transpired. Brian Burke was a very intelligent, articulate and able member of the Wisconsin Legislature with a seemingly bright political future. He was a dependable friend and ally of reform and had been considered one of the "good" guys in the fight to clean up Wisonsin politics. The tragedy is that his ethical compass and good common sense seemed to have been compromised and overcome by his perceived need to raise large sums of political money in order to run for and obtain higher political office. Burke made bad choices and ultimately, was caught and must now pay the price.

But while Burke is now being held accountable, the political environment in which he operated has not changed for the better. Indeed, it has become worse and the money chase has accelerated in the years since 2002. Common Cause in Wisconsin calls on the Governor and the Wisconsin Legislature to move now to clean up Wisconsin politics and state government in order to begin the long and overdue process of restoring citizen trust in our democratic institutions. The alternative is more scandal and disgrace in the future.

Burke was a lead sponsor, when he was in the State Senate, of a Common Cause-backed campaign finance reform bill. In their eyes, that made him "one of the good guys."

But at the same time, Burke was abusing his office to raise money for his campaign for attorney general. He was breaking the law, and later compounded the mistake by trying to destroy evidence to cover it up.

Common Cause wants to indict the system, seeming to rationalize Burke's behavior because he "perceived" the need to raise large amounts of money to run for AG. At the time, there was a culture in the State Capitol that looked the other way because "everybody's doing it."

But Burke, not the system, made the bad decisions that led to his downfall. Many other candidates, in both parties, have successfully raised the money required to run a statewide race without violating campaign laws.

I would be the first to admit that fund-raising takes too much of a candidate's and campaign's time, but would never agree that it justifies illegal behavior.

There are many good reasons to enact campaign finance reform, but reform isn't needed to prevent what Burke did. What he did is already illegal under the present law.

Burke may be a good guy. But that does not excuse his behavior. Common Cause should apply the same standards to its friends and champions as it does to those who oppose its agenda.

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UPDATE: Fighting Ed Garvey, another champion of campaign finance reform, also seems to justify Burke's illegal activity. Says Garvey on his Fighting Bob blog:

Okay, but how long has it been since a lobbyist has been charged with misconduct? Was Burke a lone scofflaw in a pure system, or was he simply part of the atmosphere of corruption in the Capitol?

Why would he raise money in his Capitol office? You hunt for ducks where the ducks are. You raise money where the lobbyists with nice imported suits and cell phones call in donations to those who deliver the bacon.