You know as a conservative you are hitting bottom when Charlie Sykes' "Right Wisconsin" platform says you are "The Loser of the Day," and that's the virtual award AM 620 WTMJ's lead right talker just handed Joel Kleefisch for having let a wealthy donor help write a self-serving divorce settlement reform' bill.
Unleashing multiple investigative stories in the state's leading newspapers and a pounding across the blogosphere over the appearance of jaw-dropping State Capitol pay to play.
Kleefisch called in to the Sykes show to apologize - - the words and familiar sound bites tumbled out - - he was human, he says yes more than he says no, he didn't monitor the process well enough, I'm sorry, the buck stops at his desk, etc. etc. - - but Sykes' questions and comments cut through the rhetoric and hit pretty hard.
"You understand how bad this looks?," Sykes asked, to which Kleefisch said, "yes."
Sykes surely understands that a scandal in the office of Joel Kleefisch, Assemblyman from Oconomowoc, is uncomfortably close to the office of Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch - - Joel's spouse and also a recipient of major campaign funding from Joel's favored donor.
As is another major donation recipient, Scott Walker - - so Joel's FUBAR could fry some bigger fish.
And though Joel Kleefisch kept saying to Sykes that the issues were important, and the measure would probably come back in a different form with the involvement of additional parties, Sykes wrapped up by opining that while the issues were important, Joel Kleefisch's actions probably "set the cause back, significantly."
We'll see what happens next, and whether Joel Kleefisch is out of the legal and ethical thicket his actions have created.
I'll post the podcast when it is available.
None of these care about being bad. They only care about getting caught.
ReplyDeleteJoe just got caught up in all the excitment the way Suder did just a few months ago.
You nailed the real reason Kleefisch got spanked.
"As is another major donation recipient, Scott Walker - - so Joel's FUBAR could fry some bigger fish."
How bad this looks? No.
How this ties the money trail to them in their incestuous, buddy-buddy, money laundering schemes. Yes.
It will be interesting to listen to the scripted follow-up interview CS gives to the Governor in upcoming days.
"You understand how bad this looks?," Sykes asked
ReplyDeleteHow bad it looks. Not how bad this is.
"Setting the cause back"?
ReplyDeleteI'll bite- What's "the cause", Charlie?
Poor Joel, he must be so confused. Forced to apologize to the kingmaker, when he thought he'd hit the jackpot with a bill that punishes children and single parents, written by someone with real experience at screwing over a family.
ReplyDeleteWhy this, thinks Joel. Why now? I put other interests before children's needs when I pushed for the bill allowing bowhunting near schools. I ignored my own constituents by weaseling around to help take the heat off my pals at Herr Environmental. And for crying out loud, now I'm taking heat for allowing outside interests to write my legislation in a state whose elected officials love ALEC so much that Leah Vukmir serves on the board. And it's not like this is so much more ham-handed than the other stuff everyone's doing. They're not covering their tracks either; who would have thought that in Wisconsin a reporter would start reading legislation and then be allowed to write about it?
It's so unfair to poor Joel. He's just a lonely footsoldier for the cause.