Wisconsin politics as usual

The Milwauke Journal Sentinel Editorial Boardis none too happywith the goings on related to Mark Green, Jim Doyle and legislature uniwlling to do anything about it.

Members of the public are free to contact board members, of course, but the e-mails from attorney Michael Maistelman reveal a coziness that should cause discomfort for anyone who believes the board should be independent of partisan pressure.

"We need to accomplish the following," reads one e-mail to two Democratic board members. Another said, "Even if this ends up in Court, it is a PR victory for us since it makes Green spend money and have to defend the use of his Washington DC dirty money."

We? Us?

The Elections Board counsel is probably correct in saying that no laws were broken. Nonetheless, the ruling in the Green case does not deserve one iota of public confidence.

Doyle's campaign says the governor had no knowledge of the hiring of the attorney, who met with the campaign chairman. So who's in charge?

We'll wait to see if today's outrage over this translates into resurrected ethics legislation. If it doesn't, then it will be clear that today's howls of protest are every bit as partisan as the Elections Board ruling so obviously was in the Green case.