I AM THE FORCE

Feeling schadenfreude as you read about the sentencing of Chvala and Burke? Anyone forced to deal with either of these two gentlemen when they were in power could hardly be blamed for enjoying their misfortune. They kicked sand in everyone's faces and genuinely enjoyed themselves while doing it. But I have to discourage any glee. The casualties of the caucus scandal are not much better or worse than the state legislators they leave behind. It's this imbalance in justice that makes it hard to enjoy their misfortune.

At least half of current Wisconsin state legislators utilized taxpayer-funded state employees to do campaign work on state time. If you don't believe me, find a way to read the thousands of pages of sealed John Doe testimony. People like Mike Ellis, Mark Pettis, Julie Lassa, Dave Hanson, Dave Travis, Judy Krawczyk, Roger Breske, Judy Robson, Gene Hahn, and on and on and on. They know it. Blanchard's John Doe investigators know it. The lazy media even knows it. But only Chuck, Scott, Mickey, Brian, and Bonnie have to pay the piper. That hardly seems fair, and is the most compelling reason why this scandal should have ended with the ethics/elections board settlement that eliminated the caucuses. Another fair option would have been to prosecute everyone who benefited from state employees campaigning on state time. That would have been ridiculous, but significantly more righteous.

We're left with a situation where former Speakers and leaders like Tom Loftus are treated as saints, while the more recent guys have to go to jail? Loftus did it. Kunicki did it. Betty Jo did it. Brancel did it. And countless other former leaders did it. They created taxpayer-funded campaign machines and then utilized them to get or maintain power. Should bad timing really be the major reason that some people end up in jail and others end up as Ambassador to Norway?

The caucus system was indeed a bad idea, especially for Republicans who claim to be the party of the taxpayers and morality. It was a system built on cheating, and we are all the better for its disappearance. But prosecutors never should have gone after only the hated few for the sins of the many. Instead of schadenfreude, Wisconsin state legislators past and present should feel both lucky and embarrassed. The poster boys cheated, but so did the rest of you. You should all share in the embarrassment of these sentencings.