To Protect Walker And Party, GOP Needs One More 'Reform'

Wisconsin Republican legislators have set in motion a slew of behaviors and measures to help Gov. Scott Walker and their party attain permanent rule, but I can see a gap among all their 'reforms' and self-serving activity.

First, their work to date:

*  There's talk of restricting the use of John Doe probes by District Attorneys in Wisconsin. Enough said.

*  Furious that voters exercised their right under the State Constitution to recall Walker and several legislators after the union-busting Act 10 bomb was suddenly dropped, the GOP-controlled Legislature has begun the process to narrow Wisconsin citizens' Constitutional right of recall.

*  Similarly, Republicans are so intent on punishing long-time State Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson for her dissent on Act 10 that they have also begun a Constitutional amending process to make sure reliable right-wingers can replace her as Chief Justice.

The State Constitution now designates the high court's most most senior member as Chief Justice, so Abrahmson, continually winning statewide elections, remains Chief. 

*  Republicans carried out lopsided redistricting gerrymandering after the 2010 census so secretive that signed confidentially statements were required of legislators before they were allowed to see the public policy bill-and-district-map work being being done behind closed doors in private offices near the State Capitol.

*  Democrats in cities turn out big majorities in Presidential and other elections in Wisconsin, so Republicans are pushing bills and passing laws that tamper with voting rights by mandating the display of certain Voter ID at the polls or limiting the days and hours for in local polling places for convenient absentee voting.

*  And there are more schemes afoot in the pro-Walker/GOP-run Legislature to help shield the identities of some big-dollar donors who favor Republican campaigns, or to make it easier for legislators to take money from lobbyists - - again benefiting special-interest, corporatist Republicans now controlling all three branches of state government

But I'm thinking (tounge-in-cheek) that there's one 'reform' the GOP might want to bring back and extend as a favor to incumbent Governors. (Wink-wink.)

Legislators had gotten rid of a key element in the formerly-powerful veto given to Wisconsin Governors who had been allowed to change the intent of a bill by editing out individual letters through the so-called "Vanna White Veto."

But given the lengths Republican legislators are going to protect Walker and their incumbencies statewide - - and the trouble he has ahead on that big jobs promise - - why not bring back the Vanna White Veto and extend it just to an incumbent Governor's campaign promises.

With Vanna White Editing being extended to an incumbent's campaign promises, this sentence could be rewritten by Walker's political machinery - - and, as the email dump showed, he merges the political and public payrolls and agendas - - with one little change and help Walker exceed his jobs promise and enjoy the certainties of governance which he and his party take as their entitled right:

'I will create 250,000 new private sector jobs.'