GOP panders to police union, as usual

Another week, another reminder of how outstate Republicans are willing to pile costs onto Milwaukee taxpayers. When Tommy Thompson, talking about the stadium, urged people to "Stick it to 'em" in Milwaukee, he knew exactly what he was doing. (Whether he meant to say it out loud is another question. He didn't mean to say it, but he meant what he said.)

The latest outrage is the refusal of the GOP to repeal an onerous law requiring Milwaukee -- but no other community in the state -- to pay the salaries of fired police officers while their firings are being appealed, which can take years.

The Republicans have been willing to give Milwaukee cops anything they want, at the expense of local taxpayers, ever since the Milwaukee Police Assn. began endorsing Republicans, contributing political action money to their campaigns, and putting members on the street to help them.

Paying fired cops is just the latest. There is also a state law requiring Milwaukee property taxpayers to pay the salaries of the union officers, who spend much of their time lobbying for things like getting fired cops paid.

The vote on the fired cops was along party lines, the Journal Sentinel reported. But it was also along geographic lines. None of the six Republicans lives in Milwaukee or represents anyone who has to pay property taxes there.

Mayor Tom Barrett said the city could hire a new class of 60 officers with the $2.5 million it has paid to fired officers since 1990. There are more than 200 officer vacancies in Milwaukee. Instead of putting more cops on the street, the city's taxpayers will be paying cops who aren't working because they were fired, and most of them will never work as cops again when the appeals are over.

Next time a Republican talks tough about cracking down on crime, ask him to justify this "law and order" policy.