The Wisconsin Democratic Party today responded to reports that Attorney General JB Van Hollen stood down and did not join the John Doe investigation into Scott Walker appointees from his tenure as Milwaukee County Executive. Here’s the Wisconsin Democratic Party line:
Following is the statement of Democratic Party of Wisconsin Black Caucus Chair Stephanie Findley following news that Scott Walker ally J.B. Van Hollen declined to assist Milwaukee prosecutors in a corruption probe of Scott Walker, after jumping at the opportunity to help in investigating former Milwaukee Ald. Michael McGee.
“J..B. Van Hollen owes citizens, African-Americans in particular, an answer to questions why he and his office leapt at the opportunity to help in the prosecution of former Ald. Michael McGee Jr., even while his hyper-partisan office declined the request for aid in the investigation of his close “Tea Party” ally Scott Walker.
Hey, there’s no need to go for the race card there, though it may actually be racial reasons behind Van Hollen jumping to help investigate an African American Aldreman. There’s no need to look further than that Van Hollen’s office is defending one of the targets of the John Doe probe. We’ve got a conflict here!
In her role as deputy administration secretary, Archer submitted a court affidavit in June as the governor and others were sued in federal court over collective bargaining limits. Archer stated state officials were in no position to cover for police officers and state patrolmen if they went on strike in protest of any bargaining limits. Those law enforcement officers were excluded from the bargaining limits.
This week, acting as the defendants’ attorney, Van Hollen asked the court to withdraw Archer’s affidavit. The motion states the plaintiff’s desire to discover more information about Archer’s claims and possibly subject her to deposition should not be part of the case. Van Hollen offered no other comment.
Still, Van Hollen is defending himself, claiming his office’s non-involvement in the John Doe probe was a mutual decision between the AG’s office and the prosecutors in Milwaukee. I’m betting the Milwaukee prosecutors don’t want Van Hollen’s involvement, and maybe even that Van Hollen’s office is mentioned heavily in the evidence already collected from targets of that probe.
Perhaps we can call JB Van Hollen “John Doe” from now on, to save on typing.
though it may actually be racial reasons behind Van Hollen jumping to help investigate an African American Alderman
I’d put it this way:
– The Milwaukee collar counties were essentially born from white flight, and are committed to maintaining defacto segregation.
– The Wisconsin GOP is a creature of those counties.
– The Van Hollen Wisconsin Department of Justice is a creature of the Wisconsin GOP.
∴ The Van Hollen Wisconsin Department of Justice is far more likely to prosecute African Americans.
That describes almost every collar county in the nation. But I take your point and agree.
Most definitely, and it extrapolates to the national party. But the lines are especially stark here.
And this is not to say it’s all motivated by overt, bald-faced racism the way the Solid South was for Democrats. It’s more that Joe Suburb sees MKE as a foreign, barbaric territory that drains resources from Real Wisconsin (and Madison as enabler of the draining). That’s pretty much Walkerism in a nutshell, and it’s what’s implied in all the talk about fiscal responsibility, election “reform” and whatsuch.
Exactly. Which is why it’s so ironic that they spend most of their summer free time in the city enjoying all the wonderful things we have that can’t be found in the suburban wastelands.
JB Van Hollen has been aware for three years that the elderly in Wisconsin nursing homes are being poisoned by anti-psychotics that are not approved by the FDA for use on that population. He has also been aware that the taxpayers of this state are paying for that privilege by having these drugs be illegally billed to State Medicaid for “off label” use. Other states have sued Big Pharma for millions upon millions but not JB. He has done nothing to help prevent these deaths or get the taxpayers money back. Google Lakeland Times and Risperdal together and the series should appear. Three years and nothing. How many more have died in those three years?