Try and find a Governor who is more hated by public sector unions than Scott Walker. I dare you.
Remember those out-of-control “protests” against him – which were, in reality, a succession of mini-riots the police (also public sector union members) seemed to be pretty much ok with? Remember the ugly, sick rhetoric? Remember the recall election – which also had plenty of ugly and sick, but which Mr. Walker won anyway?
Well, Mr. Walker is up for re-election. Polls say the contest between him and Democrat challenger Mary Burke is razor-close…
…and now we have this, excerpted from George Will\’s latest commentary at National Review:
Wisconsin,which to its chagrin produced Republican senator Joe McCarthy, hasbeen embarrassed by Milwaukee County\’s Democratic districtattorney, John Chisholm. He has used Wisconsin\’s uniquely odious”John Doe” process to launch sweeping and virtually unsupervisedinvestigations while imposing gag orders to prevent investigatedpersons from defending themselves or rebutting politically motivatedleaks, which have occurred.
Accordingto several published reports, Chisholm told members of his staffsubordinates that his wife, a teachers\’-union shop steward at herschool, is anguished by her detestation of Walker\’s restrictions ongovernment employees\’ unions, so Chisholm considers it his duty tohelp defeat Walker.
Incollaboration with Wisconsin\’s misbegotten GovernmentAccountability Board, which exists to regulate political speech,Chisholm has misinterpreted Wisconsin campaign law in a way thatlooks willful. He has done so to justify a “John Doe” processthat has searched for evidence of “coordination” between Walker\’scampaign and conservative issue-advocacy groups.
OnOctober 14, much too late in the campaign season to rescue thepolitical participation rights of conservative groups, a federaljudge affirmed what Chisholm surely has known all along: Since a U.S.Supreme Court ruling 38 years ago, the only coordination that isforbidden is between candidates and independent groups that go beyondissue advocacy to “express advocacy” – explicitly advocatingthe election or defeat of a particular candidate.
ButChisholm\’s aim – to have a chilling effect on conservative speech- has been achieved by bombarding Walker supporters with raids andsubpoenas: Instead of raising funds to disseminate their politicalspeech, conservative individuals and groups, harassed andintimidated, have gone into a defensive crouch, raising little moneyand spending much money on defensive litigation. Liberal groups havenot been targeted for their activities that are indistinguishablefrom those of their conservative counterparts.
Translation: Milwaukee\’s District Attorney – a hardline Democrat whose wife, a teachers\’ union flak, hates Walker\’s guts, has engaged in an intense effort to harass, intimidate, and otherwise scare Walker supporters from speaking up and/or contributing to him.
The ghost of hugo chavez is, no doubt, smiling broadly.
But will it work? Or will it backfire?
The voters of Wisconsin will let us know for sure on November 4th. However, for the crystal-ball gazers in the house, there is a precedent we can look at; the recall vote.
As I remember, the polls showed Governor Walker and Democrat opponent Tom Barrett in a dead heat until election day. The result, however, was that Wisconsin voters gave Walker a victory with room to spare: 53% – 46%.
Are enough of these voters sufficiently repulsed by John Chisolm\’s actions, and the unions\’ unconditional hatred, to do it again? We\’ll soon find out.
Personally, I hope so.
