Polls indicated that Wisconsin voters didn’t know much about Brad Schimel. But a majority of them voted for the Republican Waukesha County district attorney in the Republican wave midterm election, so he’ll become the state attorney general in January.
Those who did know Schimel’s record knew that he seemed to be a carbon copy of the current Republican attorney general, J.B. Van Hollen. And Van Hollen just seemed to be doing the same thing that Republican attorneys general around the country did.
But who, exactly, was calling the shots for the Republican AGs? Thanks to an in-depth investigation in The New York Times, we now know that the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) was coordinating efforts of their members. That’s not unusual, of course. What is unprecedented is that RAGA and the Republican AGs, according to the Times, are secretly working with corporations—especially in the mining and energy sector—to fight federal regulations. That’s contrary to the traditional role of the AG, which is to take on corporations that fail to adhere to regulations. In effect, RAGA appears to be actually encouraging their state attorneys general to privatize the office by allowing corporations to secretly back legislation and support lawsuits in their interests.
RAGA is currently taking aim against proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules that would limit coal-fired power plants’ air pollution. Schimel, during the campaign, admitted that he would fight on behalf of polluting coal plants. Now we know why. In addition, the lawsuit filed last week by Van Hollen and other GOP AGs against President Obama’s immigration executive order appears to be part of RAGA’s effort, the Times found. AG-elect Schimel has also signed on, according to RAGA’s website.
Unfortunately these Republican attorneys general are not looking out for the welfare of the residents of their states, but are doing the bidding of the corporate interests who have the hefty checkbooks. There’s a lot of money at stake for everyone involved. Campaign donations from allied corporations flowed freely to RAGA, the Times found. And according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign’s database, AG-elect Schimel also picked up his share of cash from RAGA’s Wisconsin committee. In addition, the person Schimel hired as his top aide is leaving his job as a lobbyist for the same industries and companies Schimel is supposed to regulate—including the coal industry.
Even before taking the oath of office, AG-elect Schimel is showing that he isn’t going to be an independent voice for truth and justice who is fighting to protect the health and safety of the citizens of Wisconsin. Instead, he’s going to be a useful tool for the international energy companies and their CEOs who don’t even live in Wisconsin and who are not concerned about what is good for Wisconsin or its citizens if it interferes with their profit margins.
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