Dishonesty is WI GOP leaders' reflex. Dysfunction is their goal.

OK, GOP leaders, we get your sore loser funk. Scott Walker isn't Governor anymore. No more loyalty sessions in the Capitol's East wing; you have to follow his Bad Food and Pity Pot Tour on Twitter, like the rest of us.

But your repeated distortions and dishonesty - - whether through 'bad information,' partisan mendaciousness or plain stupidity - - in the wake of his defeat only reinforce dysfunction, guaranteee gridlock and drag politics to a toxic level.

So we see what you're doing, and good government requires you to knock it off.

* State GOP Senate President Roger Roth got things started after the election when he lit his pants on fire by claiming his party's the lame-duck power grabs were not intended to do exactly what they were crafted to accomplish:

Roger Roth incorrectly says lame duck bills didn’t take any power from governor or attorney general 

Roth said lame-duck laws didn’t take any power away from the incoming governor or attorney general, contradicting even the explanation from other leaders in his party... 

The lame-duck bills transparently limited Evers’ and Kaul’s power on numerous fronts, including appointments, spending and rule-making. 

Roth’s claim is not only wrong, it’s ridiculous. We rate it Pants on Fire.

* Today's example from the Journal Sentinel shows the GOP is still at it:

GOP leader Robin Vos falsely claims Gov. Tony Evers made troops wait for greeting

Vos later said 

he'd gotten bad information; in other words, he passed on something he found in the muck between breathless gossip and flat-out b.s - - but unrepentently managed to repeat the heart of the lie in his 'apology.'

Vos abandoned the claim Friday after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported his statement was false."It appears what was reported to us was wrong," Vos wrote in a Friday tweet. "Glad that @GovEvers did the right thing and didn't make them wait as we were told he would." 

Of course Evers did the right thing: you were the one who didn't.

* The only thing that separates this garbage from what then-GOP Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch did to Mandala Barnes, the Democratic who beat her in the November election, was the timetable. Vos' 'apology' came after one day because of media scrutiny, while Kleefisch's ear-splitting dog whistle alert to her base that there was an African-American on a statewide ticket festered for two weeks: 

Lt. Gov. Kleefisch apologizes to opponent over flag flap

Republican Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch has apologized to her Democratic opponent for repeatedly claiming that he kneeled during the national anthem despite his denials...

Kleefisch tweeted two weeks ago and said again on Monday that someone had told her they saw Barnes kneel during opening ceremonies of the Wisconsin State Fair this summer. But she offered no proof.

* But back to Vos, who, with sidekick and partner is manure-spreading Scott Fitzgerald, worked hard to poison their relationship with voters, business and Gov. Evers with this blatant falsehood in January, fact checkers reported:

Pants on Fire: Robin Vos, Scott Fitzgerald blame Tony Evers for Foxconn changes

Months later, and undaunted, Vos and Fitzgerald were still at it:

Foxconn initiated steps to change state contract, Gov. Tony Evers says

Like Vos, Fitzgerald has pilloried Evers for wanting to make changes to the Foxconn contract without mentioning his talks with Woo. Last week, Fitzgerald accused Evers of seeking "a one-sided attempt to reopen the contract." He did not say why he viewed the move as one-sided in light of Evers' claim that Foxconn is the one seeking changes.