WI Legislating, Policy Access Repeatedly Tied To Special Interests, GOP Donors

State Rep. Joel Kleefisch, (R-Oconomwoc) let a major, upscale donor help write a self-serving bill.

In fact, Kleefisch had earlier gone to bat legislatively for the same donor, on the same issues the donor found so compelling.

That's getting him, along with his Lt. Gov. wife Rebecca Kleefisch and her boss, Gov. Scott Walker, statewide media - - and some national attention, too.

Even a local Milwaukee right-wing talk show host gave Joel Kleefisch a scolding, getting the talker out ahead of the policy and partisan implications of the story even if it meant throwing the legislator under the bus.

After all, bad PR for Joel can wash over his spouse, a leading light in the party: When his home-county media platform including the Waukesha Freeman carried the story, Rebecca Kleefisch's image popped up, too:

MADISON — Assembly Republicans on Tuesday canceled a hearing on a bill that would reduce child support payments for wealthy parents when its chief sponsor pulled it back after a newspaper revealed a campaign donor essentially wrote the measure. The bill would exempt income above $150,000 annually from support calculations and require judges to reduce existing support orders if they exceed the amounts in the bill.

But Joel Kleefisch's behavior is not an isolated matter, as big money and powerful special interests have been linked to other Walker/GOP initiatives:

Iron mining.

Frac sand mining.

Faux 'Sportsmens' Activities.

Wetlands filling by one donor.

Wetlands fillings benefiting an entire industry.

That's not surprising, as Walker said he was installing a person atop the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources who had a "chamber-of-commerce mentality."

So when he said the state was "Open for Business," with billboards announcing it at Wisconsin's borders, he actually meant the state was "For Sale."