Of course Sen. Scott Fitzgerald wants lawmakers to be able to accept contribution checks from lobbyists while the legislature is still in session.
As the legislative session winds down, the state Senate’s leader is putting on the fast track a bill to rewrite campaign finance law to allow lobbyists to hand off clients’ campaign checks to lawmakers and other elected officials during the legislative session.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) is promoting the bill alongside one that would address when groups running political ads must disclose their spending. Supporters say that measure would simply put existing rules in law; opponents contend it would make it easier for groups to avoid disclosure.
Fitzgerald and Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) introduced the bills late Monday and Lazich — the chairwoman of the Senate Elections and Urban Affairs Committee — held a hearing on it Wednesday. She plans a committee vote on it Thursday, prompting protests from Democrats who said the measure was moving too quickly.
Yeah, because what could possibly be shady about lobbyists being able to make campaign contributions to legislators at the very same time those legislators may be taking action on bills the lobbyists have an interest in?
This just cements what so many of us already know: Republicans care more about their campaign coffers and currying influence to their contributors than they do about doing the work their constituents elected them to do.
These Republican legislators absolutely know no shame. Now they want to make it legal to buy both legislation and legislators. We know that this has occurred since Walker and his puppets took control of the state 3 years ago. This is not government of, for and by the people. This is corporate, special interest, mercenary government in which money buys policy instead of people developing policy to meet “THEIR” needs!!!! Wisconsin better wake up their democracy is being replaced by check books.
As with Act 10, why the big hurry to ram through legislation? Precisely because they don’t want any public input, knowing that if the public really knew what they were doing, they would become quite unpopular.
Wisconsin used to be known for its’ open and honest government; it is no longer.
One wonders how these bills meet the criteria of the “comprehensive ethics package” SKW had his administration people sign shortly after Cindy Archer’s house was raided by the FBI.