I AM THE FORCE

So former uber-senator Chuck Chvala finally cut his best deal and pled to two felonies in the caucus scandal. Could Scott Jensen be far behind? It's interesting to speculate on how the two most powerful men in state government, excepting miscellaneous Governors, ended up charged with felonies and fighting for their very freedom. I seldom believe in conspiracy theories, but a movement of some kind is responsible for these guys going down. I'm convinced it has most to do with the "everything it takes" approach that these guys brought to the table. First Scott, and then Chuck, set out to consolidate power and use all of the tools at their disposal t keep winning and stay in charge. No other WI leaders, before or since, have led their majorities with with such chutzpah and hubris. Now, Chuck took this all to much higher unethical heights than did Scott. But they both were ruthless in winning the wars of both the campaign and the legislature. Those who wanted something from the Legislature in this era had to go through Jensen and Chvala to get it done. And as many of you may recall, that began to be exceedingly difficult for all. Chuck blocked anything on the WMC wish-list and Scott smashed WEAC's hopes. If Scott liked you, usually Chuck hated you and vice versa. The pressure cooker of the Wisconsin State Legislature wasn't working for too many of the powers that be. Then Chuck and Scott got indicted. Insiders were relieved. Weaker types took power.
Interestingly, the other caucus leaders at the time, Shirley Krug and Mary Panzer, escaped prosecution for their state employee campaign operations. They ran caucuses that broke the same rules, if a bit more ineffectively. But they weren't charged with felonies despite wide evidence of similar wrongdoing in the John Doe archives. It's all very curious. Scott and Chuck were a problem for many, and now they are not.