Sleazy Scott Suder; No Class in or Out of Office.

Let’s be adults here, and admit, what former Rep. Scott Suder did with his remaining campaign money was illegal. It’s not ambiguous, so it’s not hard to say he got caught, it’s that simple.

jsonline-Jason Stein: After announcing he was leaving the Legislature last fall, then Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder splurged and spent the remaining $5,700 in his campaign account on items like a new Apple computer, $2,000 in mileage money to himself and a steakhouse dinner, a review of candidate filings shows.

By law, spending from a state campaign account must be for a political purpose and not for a candidate's personal benefit, though the lines between those ends can be blurry. Hardware such as the computer, Suder bought it a month and a half after leaving the Legislature, must be used primarily for political purposes. 

So why did he buy a computer so long after he was already out of office? 

Suder told the website WisPolitics in case he decided to run for office again or needed it to help a former colleague seeking campaign help. 

Yea, that's the ticket. And unlike most every other retiring politician, Suder showed his true colors:

Suder didn't give any of his $5,721 in leftover funds to charity or other candidates. Suder used the campaign account to pay cellphone charges through late October, including a $580 charge from Verizon on Sept. 23 that didn't match other regular bills from that carrier. $106 on Sept. 25 at Fleming's, a high-end steakhouse in Madison. $291 at Sam's Club for office supplies on Sept. 13.

And don't forget about his now exposed deal with a group of lobbyists disguised as United Sportsmen of Wisconsin:

$194 to the Kewaunee Inn for a hotel stay on Aug. 23. That last stay was part of a Lake Michigan fishing trip taken by Suder and officials from United Sportsmen of Wisconsin.

No really, did you hear the one about United Sportsmen...again?

Bare naked handouts to donors and cronies of the Walker administration and legislature was a ballsy move, no doubt about it. It was a $500,000 taxpayer giveaway that would repeat every two years. 

Now both Walker and former Rep. Scott Suder-who pulled a guilt ridden disappearing act, have been fingered for putting taxpayers on the hook, endangering federal tax dollars, and secretly slipping this one by their own fellow Republican joint committee members.

Remember the John Doe investigation, or Walker's failed student president campaign at Marquette University:

According to the university's student paper, the Marquette Tribune, Walker violated campaign guidelines on numerous occasions when running for the student body presidency. The student paper called Walker unfit because he had distributed a mudslinging brochure about his opponent, and several of his campaign workers, upset with the endorsement of his opponent, took piles of the paper and threw them away.

What we're seeing here is a repeat offender. I wonder what it would be like if Walker had ultimate power? I guess we now know the whole ugly story:

jsonline-Patrick Marley and Jason Stein: GOP lawmakers plunged ahead with a controversial $500,000 grant to a politically connected sportsmen's group even though federal officials had warned Gov. Scott Walker's administration that the grant endangered $28 million a year in federal money for protecting state wildlife, records show … It also ultimately ended up putting state taxpayers entirely on the hook for the grant, when federal taxpayers could have potentially covered a large share of the cost.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service sent two sharply worded letters to the Walker administration after lawmakers on the budget committee hastily slipped the grant into the state budget. The letters said the proposal would cost the state $28 million in annual federal money. Lawmakers worked on the budget for more than two weeks after the state received the first letter, but didn't fix the provision to guard the federal money.

Sen. Luther Olsen (R-Ripon), who sits on the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee, said he was stunned that the administration didn't tell him about them. "I'm relatively speechless," Olsen said. Aides to the four Democratic lawmakers on the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee said that none of their offices had been contacted by the DNR or the governor's office … Walker spokeswoman Jocelyn Webster said "It seems a little ridiculous (some lawmakers) want to push this off on the governor. The Legislature is the one that added it."

What a gutsy cowardly thing to say and do, Webster is real work of art:

The grant would have given a group $225,000 in federal money and $275,000 in state money…Walker used his vast partial veto powers to rewrite the measure so that only state money was used for the grant. That meant that state taxpayers were going to have to pay for the entire grant. Walker's veto also locked in place the likelihood the money would go to United Sportsmen, a group that has promoted the governor's agenda and endorsed him during his 2012 recall campaign.

Sen. Rob Cowles (R-Allouez) expressed outrage that his fellow lawmakers and Walker didn't halt the budget measure … Suder, who has since left the Legislature for a job with the state Public Service Commission, has not returned repeated calls from the Journal Sentinel this week.

Walker, Republican crony Capitalism just Amazing. Taxpayer money encourages campaign contributors and employs former tea party state senator!

The following story is something you might find hard to believe, or maybe not. Sure you’ll hear about the $70 million in added tax revenue that will get eaten up quickly by other unexpected cost in the current budget, but will you hear much about another last minute addition that hands money to donors? It literally just gives them money, period:

Journal Sentinel-Jason Stein: A $500,000 sportsmen's grant slipped into the state … is set to go to a group with ties to Republican insiders that has praised GOP politicians and lobbied for legislation such as lowering regulations on iron mining and development in wetlands. The United Sportsmen of Wisconsin Foundation Inc., a group formed in January with no record of its own in outdoors training, is the only applicant for the scantly noticed two-year grant to promote hunting, fishing and trapping in Wisconsin that is being reviewed Thursday by a special panel. If the grant is approved, the state could end up paying it every two years to United Sportsmen…

Wait for it….

…which has said in its application that it would use most of the money to pay its staff and consultants.

Ah, taxpayer money well spent. Are you sensing a little bit of arrogance and entitlement yet? Guess who drafted the payoff?

…unanimously voted into the state budget in May after just seven minutes of discussion by the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee, which acted on a motion drafted by outgoing Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder.

Open to every applicant (favored by Republicans that is) who knew about it:

George Meyer, executive director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation (said the) wording of the budget motion prevented Meyer's federation from applying for the award. "We think its purpose is important. But clearly it looks like it was put together for one group."

It gets worse too; claim total ignorance when caught:

In an interview, Suder said (he) wasn't aware that United Sportsmen would include his former chief of staff, Luke Hilgemann, in the application as one of its educators. Hilgemann recently left his job overseeing and lobbying for the Wisconsin chapter of Americans for Prosperity to take a job in Washington as the No. 2 executive for the group favoring conservative economic policies.

Business and government...fascism, now in control. But that's not all folks:

Suder said United Sportsmen was "eminently qualified" to receive the grant but when asked did not offer any specific qualifications.

One of the least qualified former tea party state senators who quit gets a job:

One of the educators listed in United Wisconsin's application was Pam Galloway, a former GOP state senator from Wausau who last session helped pass a concealed-carry law — also a big priority for Suder, and later stepped down from the Legislature.

Rammed down our throats? Does a 7 minute discussion period qualify, versus the outrageous one year debate for ObamaCare?

And due to the lack of public notice, several eligible groups weren't aware of the grant until after application deadline. Don Kirby, executive director of the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association, said he had no knowledge of the grant. "Our organization would have been interested to pursue this," Kirby said. "I'm more than a little disappointed to find out now." The Wisconsin Waterfowl Association has a long history of running Learn To Hunt and other training events.

Rep. Scott Suder passed this handout to United Sportsmen knowing almost all the money went into pockets of former politicians and campaign contributors, and not to promote fishing and hunting. 

According to the group's application, United Sportsmen would use $370,00 on salaries and $20,000 on employee benefits over the first two years, plus $56,000 more on unidentified consultants. The grant will provide $200,000 this year and $300,000 in 2014. Thereafter, it will provide $450,000 in each two-year budget. The grantee will have to provide $150,000 of its own funds in matching dollars in each future two-year budget.

Republicans as usual have not even come up with a way to fund the grant in the future:

The state money in the first year will be from general tax revenue; the DNR said it was still clarifying how the grant would be funded beyond 2013.

Outgoing Rep. Scott Suder compares new job on PSC to legislating: "...won't be based on politics...!"

If you ever needed proof Republicans don't give a damn about science or the facts, this is the moment you've been waiting for. It's all about political power and ideology.

Thank you (former) Rep. Scott Suder, for letting your guard down. Here's Suder on taking the job in the Walker administration:

"It will be a professional role, that won't be based on politics, it'll be based on science and decision that are made in a joint effort for everyone, not just for Republicans, not just for Democrats."

Of course that's ridiculous, after all, we're talking about Scott Suder. From Capitol City Sunday:

Hey Democrats, We're all Terrorist Now...

Gee, remember when Scott Walker and the Republican majority called the massive protests in Madison mob rule, not to mention union thuggery. They even made wild claims about Capitol vandalism? These lies worked wonders then, so why not now, but kicking it up a notch about the mining site.

Protesters are Terrorists: Conservatives don’t care about protesting because they have forced change through corrupting the political process with lots of money. Right now, their marketing efforts are focused on vilifying protesters as terrorists. From now until Walker’s reelection, the people of our state will need to be protected liberal terrorists.

Here's Rep. Scott Suder on Capitol City Sunday spreading rampant right wing rumors, speculating where the terrorism might go, and fabricating complete nonsense. He claims there's a terrorist camp training protesters...Ashland City Council member Kelly Westlund corrects Suder constantly. Westlund's edited comments are below as well, but here, I'm focusing on Suder's lunacy:

Walker Chimes right in: Democrats, liberals and progressives are all now considered outsiders, and have “no place in Wisconsin.” A small group of loud protesters at the iron mine site are getting pummeled in the media. That fact alone is stunning. But Scott Walker made it clear, protesting (extremists) in Wisconsin will not be tolerated:

Green Bay Gazette: Gov. Scott Walker says activities of protesters at the site of proposed iron ore mine near Lake Superior “has no place in Wisconsin.” Walker did not comment on the guards in his written statement. Walker decried protesters at the site as “extremists” who “should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” It’s the protesters, not the camo dressed soldiers of fortune we should fear.

The old Fox News ploy “people say” gets the Walker treatment:

WRN: Governor Scott Walker (said), “I haven’t said this; others have called them ‘eco-terrorists’, but I think it’s not too far removed from that. These are people who came in and their intent was to cause fear. The irony is, the angst seems to be focused at the company and not at the people who came in masked like ninjas on personal property violating the law by trespassing in a place they have no right of being and physically accosting people … I can certainly understand the concern that a private business would have when you see the video of their employees not only being verbally abused, but in one case being physically attacked. There’s no place for that in the state of Wisconsin.”

The verbally abused need paramilitary protection? Not to mention the continued claim the constitution protects property. Death to those who damage property I guess. Here's Ashland City Council member Kelly Westlund's great response to Suder. Must see:

State Republicans played by lobbyist’s “conflict of interest,” and mining business sleight of hand to game system. What goes around comes around?

I love this story.

The Walker authority, along with his legislative pirates, couldn't wait to shower big business with praise and legislative gifts.

Now they’re finding out the old saying is true, “there’s no honor among thieves.” I guess I’m really surprised that our conservative lackey’s are surprised.

Journal Sentinel’s Dan Bice explains:

Tim Sullivan, the head of the Wisconsin Mining Association, is coming under fire for taking a paid position with a firm that would compete directly with the proposed $1.5 billion iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin. Sullivan was elected this week to the board of Cliffs Natural Resources, a post that could pay Sullivan as much as $200,000 per year. Sullivan officially joins the board on Jan. 14, according to a company spokeswoman.

"It's absolutely a conflict of interest," said Bob Seitz, chief lobbyist for Gogebic Taconite, the firm hoping to open the large mine in Ashland and Iron counties. Seitz described Cliffs as Gogebic's "main competition" in the production of taconite pellets. 

It took a while, but even slow thinkers like Rep. Scott Suder eventually catch on:

Rep. Scott Suder, the incoming Assembly majority leader, criticized Sullivan for not disclosing his ties to Cliffs when he testified before a Senate committee last week on the mining legislation. "I find this very disturbing," Suder said of Sullivan's work for Cliffs. "This raises some pretty serious red flags about Tim Sullivan's personal ethics and all of his comments about mining over the last six months."

No, really? Sullivan by the way trashed the original assembly bill, one of the reasons Scott "dim bulb" Suder is throwing a temper tantrum. And he said something that made sense a few days ago:

Sullivan has expressed private concerns that the Assembly measure would lead to lawsuits and even scare away investors from future projects. Calling the criticism of him "strange," Sullivan declined to say whether he believes he is coming under attack because he is recommending changes in the Assembly-backed legislation.