Obviously, I find yesterday's raid of one of Scott Walker's biggest crony advisors quite juicy, and the fact that it was 5 blocks away is an extra-special pump for me. But there's a secondary part of the story that might be even more intriguing and enlightening, because it illustrates the pattern of Scott Walker's duplicity and weasel nature, as well as how badly the average Republican hack is willing to sell themselves out for a few bucks.
If you read Blue Cheddar's report on the raid, you'll notice a couple of paragraphs down that there are references to Cindy Archer and her girlfriend. That's right, Archer is gay, which may strike you as odd when you realize Walker and his family lended their portrait for the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage earlier this year, and vetoed a measure from the Milwaukee County Board in 2009 that would have legalized domestic partner benefits for county workers. And he's kept up the gay bashing as governor, removing Lester Pines as the state attorney fighting the state's anti-gay marriage amendment, and denying gay couples hospital visitation rights. But then you turn around and notice that Walker hired not only Archer as his second-in-command in Milwaukee County, but also hired openly gay Sue Black to head the Parks Department.
So what gives? The answer is sick and obvious: Walker will take any position to kiss up to the right GOP power players and snooker rubes into helping him, even if he doesn't live those values. It probably makes hi worse than the hateful fundies that buy into gay bashing, and it's the worst type of politics, where people take positions they know are wrong because getting elected and getting paid is more important than serving the public. It's the same reasoning behind the WisGOPs putting the anti-gay marriage on the ballot here in 2006, and the same cynical reasoning Minnesota Republicans are thinking of trying now. It's also the reason he decided to take away union bargaining rights and extend those moves to the local governments- because just getting concessions and balancing the budget wouldn't get the headlines and talk-show piublicity an Koch money that busting the unions would. So what if the economy goes into a nosedive and it divides the state in a way that it hasn't in my lifetime? As usual in GOP world, it's all narrow-minded short-term politics without a care for the results of such damaging legislation.
And what do we make of someone like Cindy Archer, who decides to work for someone that would deny her basic human rights for a few extra dollars and votes? (Black gets a pass here, the Parks Department is providing a service and is not a political advisor-type position) It tells you she'll sell herself out for any position that's there, much like her boss, Scotty. I don't care if she's conservative or even Republican (why you'd be a gay Republican is beyond me, but whatever), but I do care that someone would have such low morals to work with someone so willing to allow your group to be treated as second-class citizens. And she's still covering for Scotty after the FBI has carried her computers and papers away, claiming she's "done nothing wrong." Because hey, the FBI just casually drops by and raids east-side Madison homes on a regular basis (I'll get my eyes unrolled now).
Seriously, what makes Republicans turn into Stevie in "Eastbound and Down", blindly clinging to someone else no matter how far that guy drops them down? Is it because the paycheck and power is just that important to them? Is it because they don't have the ability and strength to do the right thing on their own? Is it because they think politics is a goddamn sporting event and not real life? Whatever it is, it's pathetic, and the fact that Cindy Archer would sell out her lifestyle and Scott Walker would sell out his closest advisors for a little money shows how petty and destructive these people are. And why they have to go very far away, sooner than later.
H/T Blue Cheddar
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