Does Green live in a news-free bubble?Major GOP donor likes business climate

You have to wonder sometimes whether Rep. Mark Green reads and watched the news about the same amount as George Bush, and lives in a news vacuum under the same kind of protective bubble.

How else to explain this release:

Given the recent reports of businesses either moving out, not moving in or having to make the gut-wrenching decision to lay-off employees, Green firmly believes these are clear indicators we need to change our way of doing business in Wisconsin.

on the same day this story appears?

If he doesn't read the papers, he might have heard about the story from the president of Direct Supply, Robert Hillis, who appeared with Gov. Jim Doyle and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett at an upbeat news conference on Friday to announce 1,000-to 1,500 new jobs.

"We are deeply grateful to both the City of Milwaukee and the State of Wisconsin for helping us keep our expansion here where we can continue our 21 year history of creating great new jobs," said Bob Hillis, Direct Supply President and CEO.

Hillis is a major Republican donor and fund-raiser who has given $2,250 to Scott Walker and $1,000 to Green in this election cycle, and who gave $2,500 each to Barrett and Scott McCallum in 2002 (but nothing to Doyle, in case anyone's wondering.) He and his wife, Jennifer, also have written a lot of checks to State Sen. Alberta Darling, the suburban Republican, totaling more than $2,000 in the last several years.

He gives more at the federal level -- $25,000 to the Republican National Committee and $2000 to Bush-Cheney in 2004, $2000 to Russ Darrow for Senate in 2004, and quite a few $1,000 contributions to Congressional candidates, not all Republicans.

Hillis and Green will probably rub elbows when Bush comes to Milwaukee July 11 to raise money for Green. Maybe Hillis can clue him in about the business climate in Wisconsin.