Open Government? Forget it. Walker and Republican Legislators lied when they campaigned on transparency and accountability.

Conservatives are so self-important they actually think they deserve to work under a different set of rules than the ones they demanded of the Democrats, especially when it comes to open government. 

Do you really think state conservative radio talk hosts are going to complain about their elected officials deep sixing open government? Not a chance.

Do you think those same talk hosts will belly laugh over the reason why Rep. Robin Vos gave for covering up conflicts of interests by our top elected officials? Of course not, because they’re as paranoid and “picked on” as most closeted conservatives.

The fact that this little known measure was slipped into the budget bill without a breath of discussion should infuriate Republican voters everywhere as well. Will they be allowed to get away with this?

Residents who want to know if top state officials have conflicts of interest could only view disclosure forms by visiting the Government Accountability Board office in Downtown Madison, under a measure passed by the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee.

Open-government groups cried foul, saying the measure, tucked into the massive state budget, would severely restrict public access to the statements of economic interests filed by about 2,400 state officials each year.

Playing on the paranoia and fear most conservatives live with daily, the ones too afraid admit their political leanings in public, Rep. Robin Vos actually thinks were really this dumb:

WSJ: Rep. Robin Vos, who owns businesses including a popcorn distribution company, defended the measure through his aide, Kit Beyer … said the measure is meant to discourage those who merely want to snoop on officials' private lives or steal their business clients while continuing to make the statements available to "people who want to have it for a true reason rather than people just fishing around."

Those damn peeping tom liberal reporters stealing away "their business clients." This is nothing new. It's just more of the rights paranoid ranting’s advancing the indefensible practice of cronyism and back room deals.  These are the actions of a purely elitist Republican majority, determined to avoid accountability, until the next time their bounced out of office for fouling up the joint.