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The ironically namedCitizens for Responsible Government Advocates is attempting to strikedown Wisconsin’s campaign coordination prohibitions.
They want to do inthe open what Gov. Scott Walker, the Wisconsin Club for Growth and dozens ofother conservative groups were doing in secret.
A few things to noteabout this latest last-ditch stunt by Walker’s allies.
The CRG is known asbeing the original tea party. They blew up the pension scandal and was able toget Walker into power in Milwaukee County. The Walker-CRG alliance was sostrong that Walkerwanted to give the CRG its own office in the Milwaukee County Courthouse.
That partnershiplasted throughout Walker’s reign, even when it stepped over the line. The CRGclaimed to be neutral and didn’t take a position on elections, but it always ralliedconservatives to Walker’s causes, like slashing the county budget, sayingthat they were only advocating for issues, not Walker’s re-election. How theywere paying for expensive mailings, and who really was behind the wholeoperation, remained a mystery.
CRG hasn’t reallybeen in the spotlight since Walker became governor. It started a statewideoperation, but not much has been heard from them. They must have outsourcedtheir communications to Wisconsin Club for Growth.
Indeed. According tothe Journal Sentinel, their newlawsuit is being under written by the Alliance for Self-Governance.
Um, who?
If you’ve been payingattention to my reporting, it’s one of those phony shell groups run byWisconsin Club for Growth’s Eric O’Keefe.
He’s on their boardof directors.
And Wisconsin Clubfor Growth gave this shell of a group $450,000, according to the Club’s2012 tax filings, the most recent information I’ve been able to find.
The CRG’s lawsuit isbeing heard by none other than this week’s Shepherdcover boy, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa. You know, the guy who goes on junkets subsidized by the Bradley Foundation, which is helmed by Walker's campaign chair, Michael Grebe. Grebe just happened to chair the campaign that's under investigation.
Why is this guygetting all of the cases involving members of his right-wing network?
So, let’s break thisdown. Wisconsin Club for Growth is under investigation for allegedly breakingcampaign coordination laws. It tried suing to shut it down based on theinvestigation allegedly violating its civil rights. Randa agreed, and theappellate court overturned his decision. (Rightfully so.)
Cost to taxpayers forthat stunt? Atleast $350,000.
So the Club andO’Keefe themselves can’t possibly sue to have the campaign coordination lawdeclared unconstitutional. So they turned to another group they’ve funded—theCRG—to do their dirty work instead.
Stay tuned.
They want to do inthe open what Gov. Scott Walker, the Wisconsin Club for Growth and dozens ofother conservative groups were doing in secret.
A few things to noteabout this latest last-ditch stunt by Walker’s allies.
The CRG is known asbeing the original tea party. They blew up the pension scandal and was able toget Walker into power in Milwaukee County. The Walker-CRG alliance was sostrong that Walkerwanted to give the CRG its own office in the Milwaukee County Courthouse.
That partnershiplasted throughout Walker’s reign, even when it stepped over the line. The CRGclaimed to be neutral and didn’t take a position on elections, but it always ralliedconservatives to Walker’s causes, like slashing the county budget, sayingthat they were only advocating for issues, not Walker’s re-election. How theywere paying for expensive mailings, and who really was behind the wholeoperation, remained a mystery.
CRG hasn’t reallybeen in the spotlight since Walker became governor. It started a statewideoperation, but not much has been heard from them. They must have outsourcedtheir communications to Wisconsin Club for Growth.
Indeed. According tothe Journal Sentinel, their newlawsuit is being under written by the Alliance for Self-Governance.
Um, who?
If you’ve been payingattention to my reporting, it’s one of those phony shell groups run byWisconsin Club for Growth’s Eric O’Keefe.
He’s on their boardof directors.
And Wisconsin Clubfor Growth gave this shell of a group $450,000, according to the Club’s2012 tax filings, the most recent information I’ve been able to find.
The CRG’s lawsuit isbeing heard by none other than this week’s Shepherdcover boy, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa. You know, the guy who goes on junkets subsidized by the Bradley Foundation, which is helmed by Walker's campaign chair, Michael Grebe. Grebe just happened to chair the campaign that's under investigation.
Why is this guygetting all of the cases involving members of his right-wing network?
So, let’s break thisdown. Wisconsin Club for Growth is under investigation for allegedly breakingcampaign coordination laws. It tried suing to shut it down based on theinvestigation allegedly violating its civil rights. Randa agreed, and theappellate court overturned his decision. (Rightfully so.)
Cost to taxpayers forthat stunt? Atleast $350,000.
So the Club andO’Keefe themselves can’t possibly sue to have the campaign coordination lawdeclared unconstitutional. So they turned to another group they’ve funded—theCRG—to do their dirty work instead.
Stay tuned.
