Walker and WisGOP- follow the money here and in Cali

Couple of sick stories involving the money chasing and funneling that defines the Wisconsin GOP and Scott Walker's reign of terror over this state.

The first involves Governor Dropout and his gravy-training of the Badgers' trip to the Rose Bowl. Why you give a governor who intentionally gave huge cuts to the UW System is being allowed to travel as part of the UW's 32-person party is beyond me, when instead that spot should go to a UW worker who got their take-home pay dropped by $300 - $500 a month so that Scumbag Scotty could shovel tax breaks at his campaign contributors.

But rooting on a university he couldn't even get in to apparently isn't all Scott Walker is doing out in California, as apparently he's headlining a fundraiser in the OC tomorrow night. If the UW is paying anything toward Walker's attendance or travel to LA, they need to rescind it NOW, and make Scotty pay for his own damn tickets. Heck, Walker was more than willing to take a trip out West on someone else's dime.

Fake David Koch: [Laughs] Well, I tell you what, Scott: once you crush these bastards I’ll fly you out to Cali and really show you a good time.

Walker: All right, that would be outstanding. Thanks, thanks for all the support and helping us move the cause forward, and we appreciate it. We’re, uh, we’re doing the just and right thing for the right reasons, and it’s all about getting our freedoms back. [Editor's note: "freedoms"? Being down 34,000 jobs with lower take-home pay for hundreds of thousands more tends to get in the way of "freedom"]

Fake Koch: Absolutely. And, you know, we have a little bit of a vested interest as well. [Laughs]

Walker: Well, that’s just it. The bottom line is we’re gonna get the world moving here because it’s the right thing to do.

Fake Koch: All right then.

Walker: Thanks a million!

And it's not like going out of state to shake down right-wing greedheads is a new thing for Scotty. Seems like he's been doing it plenty in recent months, without letting the public know when he's leaving his post. "Thanks a million?" More like "thanks a $2.5 million," which is what he's taken from people who can't vote for him in this Summer's recall election. And you wonder why people think this guy is tone-deaf and out of touch with the Wisconsin public.

But it's the way WisGOP operates - take money in from selfish interests, pass bills to reward said special interests (remember the famous "this is OUR moment" line to the fake Koch?), and then funnel taxpayer dollars to contracts that go to said special interests.

The latest example includes the testimony that came out today from GOP staffers during a hearing in front of federal judge looking to overturn the GOP-led redistricting for the 2012 November elections. I'll leave the clear lies in the testimony about the redistricting not being political in basis (check out the story yourself if you want) . Here's another passage that caught my eye which shows how this REALLY worked.

An office was provided to Foltz, Ottman and Handrick at the Madison branch of Michael Best, where they worked on the maps, according to the testimony. Also involved in developing the maps were the Fitzgeralds, Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder (R-Abbotsford), Rep. Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Sen. Rich Zipperer (R-City of Pewaukee). They were assisted by attorneys Eric McLeod, Jim Troupis, Sarah Troupis, Ray Taffora and Michael Screnock, according to the testimony.

Not only did these guys get an office at taxpayer-funded partisans Michael, Best, and Friedrich (who took home a cool $400,000+ for helping the GOPs in these shenanigans), but check out who they're hanging with.

1. Eric McLeod- He's the guy who represented Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman for "free" when Gableman was accused of ethics complaints by state investigators. Now you see what that "free" service helped to buy.

2. Jim and Sarah Troupis- who pulled down $75,000 from David Prosser during the Supreme Court recount, and has pulled down $700,000 in work for the GOP for the Act 10 and redistricting suits.

3. Ray Taffora- A former DOJ lawyer who gave $4,000 to JB Van Hollen's campaign, quit his DOJ job when Walker took over to head to Michael, Best and Friedrich, and then got Van Hollen to sign MBF up with a $500,000 no-bid contract to take cases relating to Act 10 and other issues, instead of having Van Hollen keep it in-house with lower-cost DOJ lawyers. And done with Walker's complete approval.

Hmmm, you think it might be easier to have redistricting or Act 10 stand up in the Wisconsin Supreme Court if you've bailed out 2 of the 4 judges that you need to see the case your way? And you get the impression this redistrciting testimony is only the tip of the iceburg in how these backroom connections between politicians, law firms, and judges all tie together when it comes to making law in Fitzwalkerstan?

It's a nice little country club they have, isn't it? You know the only people left out in this club? The millions of Wisconsin taxpayers that allowed them to get into power (out-of-staters are fine if they pony up a few bucks). You'd be a fool to think any of these corrupt bastards would give up the good deal they seem to be pulling down at our expense, so instead it's gotta be us Wisconsin taxpayers that take em out, and shut down their backroom mob rule.