Evidence of lost WI citizen rights is piling up

Matt Rothschild at Wisconsin Democracy Campaign wrote this op-ed about Republican attacks on home rule to serve special interests:

Wisconsin Assault on Local Government

...Walker and Fitzgerald and Vos have taken the assault on local democracy to new and dangerous heights. 

They’ve passed more than 160 bills that interfere with local self-government: And this from the political party that championed local control! 

A few days later, without coordination or collusion, I wrote this blog post about Walker's disregard for fair environmental hearings and the rule of law to serve special interests:

Wisconsin democracy is eroding in plain sight

Why should citizens burn up their time and money and energy showing up at a public hearing on something as important as air and water quality (what goes up, comes down in the Lake Michigan watershed) being subjected to more than 700 tons of pollutants annually if such a speedy [permit approval] ruling indicates that decisions had already been made behind closed doors by public officials carrying out Walker's "chamber of commerce mentality" marching orders?

And this kind of sham hearing-and-decision-making in the Walker era is par for the course - - and no pun intended - - as the robotic support by Walker-leg agencies - - the DNR, the Department of Administration, the Natural Resources Board - - for a major Walker donor's bid to fill wetlands and obtain state park acreage to accommodate golf course construction continues to elevate privilege and access over citizen rights and the public interest. 

Similar findings and themes, regrettably, about the corrosive reach of money and one-party GOP rule in Wisconsin.