Money & Politics Column
State overlooks past, hires Accenture
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Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has drawn flak lately over his refusal to grant pardons. But, it turns out, his administration does believe in second chances.
Drones
No smooth sailing for drone bill
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At a legislative committee hearing last May, state Rep. Tyler August began his testimony on AB 203, a bill to restrict the use of drones in Wisconsin, with an interesting boast.
Americans for Campaign Reform
Lawton takes aim at campaign cash
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For Barbara Lawton, the intersection of money and politics is not just distasteful; it’s downright dangerous.
OpenBook Wisconsin
State spending now an open book
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Critics were quick to carp that OpenBook Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker’s new website tracking state spending, was delayed for a year and is still not fully functional. One Democratic lawmaker said “it’s had more problems than the Obamacare website.”
Scott Walker
Walker’s no-pardon stance risky
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A recent article on a decorated military veteran seeking a pardon from Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker drew a cheap shot from an online commenter: “If he is serious (about) getting special treatment from Walker, he simply needs a lot of cash to donate.”
Campaign Finance
Walker talks talk on campaign cash
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Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, asked if he thinks politicians including himself are as susceptible to the corrupting influence of money as the labor unions he bashes in his new book, has plenty to say — about the labor unions.
Money & Politics Column
Beat was busy in 2013
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In some newsrooms, reporters and editors fondly welcome odd-numbered years.
That’s because these are election-lite: No races for president, governor, attorney general or the state Legislature. No glut of partisan candidates trying to open new orifices in each other’s anatomies. Hooray.
But in covering a beat like money and politics, there is no break in the action. A glance back through a year’s worth of weekly columns confirms it.
1913 massacre
1913 tragedy still resonates
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On Dec. 24, 1913, striking mine workers gathered with their families for a Christmas party at Italian Hall in Calumet, Mich. A man wearing a pin for a citizens group aligned with the mining companies entered the crowded second-floor room and shouted “Fire!”
John Doe investigation
Talk is cheap in John Doe probe
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A lot of folks — perhaps too many — are spouting off about the John Doe probe launched by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office into the campaign of Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and more than two dozen conservative groups, among others.
Money & Politics Column
The Legislature’s unfinished business
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So far this legislative session, nearly 1,000 bills have been introduced in the GOP-controlled state Assembly and Senate, including some identical bills in both houses. As the first year of the two-year session draws to a close, about 100 bills have passed. Just over half of these have been signed into law; the rest await Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s approval or veto.
Money & Politics Column
State rehab breaks could prove costly
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Areas of broad agreement in the Wisconsin Legislature are hard to find. One exception: a bill to expand state tax credits for restoring old buildings.
Money & Politics Column
Public wants action on redistricting
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Recently the Wisconsin State Journal asked Dennis Dresang, political science professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, about state Republicans’ push to bar local governments from regulating everything from the sale of large sugary drinks to the use of explosives by sand mining companies. Negative reaction to these curbs on local control, mused the veteran political observer, might hurt Gov. Scott Walker at the polls. But he doubted the GOP would lose seats in the Legislature, given how voter boundaries have been redrawn to the party’s advantage.