"Ethics Reform" Bill Intentionally Misses The Mark

Anyone following the "Ethics Reform Bill" shenanigans in the last few weeks could smell a rat. Former state legislator Louis Fortis has an excellent piece in the latest Milwaukee Shepherd-Express. Fortis, who as a former state rep understands the self-preservation tendencies of politicians better than most, says this:

While the legislators and Gov. Jim Doyle are congratulating each other on the quick passage of the “ethics bill,” virtually everyone around the Capitol who understands the process will tell you in private that the new legislation is a joke, since it avoids the real reform issues. The bill merely gives the legislators and the governor political cover to boast that they voted for ethics reform . . .

The real reason for the quick bipartisan passage of this bill is that the governor and legislators from both parties knew that the public wanted reform and this bill could be packaged as sweeping reform while not really changing the cancerous parts of the system. Since most voters in the state do not know what either the Ethics Board or Elections Board currently does, passing the bill provided a painless way to look like a reformer while avoiding genuine reforms.

Fortis argues that the real problem in Madison is the influence of special interest money. The "Ethics Reform" Bill does nothing to address that issue.

Probably the best that could be said about the new "Government Accountability Board" is that it won't be as easily subject to Republicrat influence as the State Elections Board and State Ethics Board that it will replace. On the other hand, the key prosecutors of the caucus scandal crooks claim that the GAB is actually a step backward.