With Big Puppy Eyes, GOP Says They Aren't Influenced by Anything, Like Corp. Ownership, Board Positions, Vested interests, Lobbyists, Campaign Money

What was I thinking? I guess I've seen too many movies and read too many stories about the corrupting influence of money. I started believing the prevailing wisdom cranked out by the jealous underclass. Take for instance this summary on madison.com of a Milwaukee Journal Sentinal story titled "Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson is working to influence the national health care debate."

Critics say the former U.S. health and human services secretary is using his public profile to benefit his private interests.

As a partner in Akin Gump of Washington, Thompson advises health care companies. The former governor is also is president of Logistics Health of La Crosse and serves on a number of medical company boards, including AGA Medical Corp. of Plymouth, Minn.

Thompson says he sees no conflict with his public and private roles in health care reform.

Whew, that's good enough for me. Heck, we heard the same thing from our conservative activist Supreme Court Justices only a few weeks ago…

Voting 4-3, the court approved rules saying donations by groups and individuals to judges and independent spending to help them get elected do not by themselves require judges to step aside from cases. Justices Patience Roggensack and Annette Ziegler said the rules would prevent litigants from trying to force judges off cases simply because they received legal donations. Justice David Prosser said it would protect justices from attacks by those who unfairly suggest campaign money influences decisions.

Justice Prosser, a former legislator, shined brightly through when he blamed "outsiders," like the public, for thinking there might be an appearance of bias: "I've gone through the experience of members of the court being subjected to attacks without any justification," Prosser said. "I'm sorry, I've had it. It is time to address a true crisis that has been created, not by people on the court but people outside the court."

Wow, guess we had it wrong…or…someone is rewriting human nature and history all at the same time. Fancy that.