Gov. Walker and Wisconsin GOP retreat on open records limits - Yahoo News

Before anyone accuses me of being a liberal fanboy, I agree with Walker's commitment to not raise taxes in Wisconsin.

However last week he decided to slip in last minute legislation in the state budget to abolish Wisconsin's open record laws.  This "...would shield nearly everything created by state and local government officials from Wisconsin's open records law, including drafts of legislation and staff communications."

This proposal blocks the public and press from information about what our elected representatives have on their hands, clean or otherwise.

Which Walker described and justified (i.e. lied through his teeth) as:

"... The intended policy goal of these changes was to provide a reasonable solution to protect constituents' privacy and to encourage a deliberative process between elected officials and their staff in developing policy. It was never intended to inhibit transparent government in any way."

Right, because blocking from view the actions of the government would in no way "inhibit transparent government."  Sure, and up defined: down; left defined: right; war defined: peace, alive defined: dead, healthy defined: sick, and so on.

In other words, this proposed legislation creates a protecting blanket for bribery and corporate corruption (or in softer terms, quid pro quo) by hiding the origin of kickbacks and who is collecting them:

"The Wisconsin State Journal used the open records law that Republicans wanted to tighten to report in May that...

the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation [a job creation agency] made a loan to one of Walker's top donors.

That report led other media organizations, including The Associated Press, to look into the matter, and the agency also came under scrutiny from the Legislature."

Walker does not want it known who is paying him off, and this is what these Republicans are calling small government. To shield elected representatives of their actions from the public and the press is ANTI-DEMOCRATIC.

This isn't the end of the issue.  Walker hopes to keep this new law at least partially intact;  by making "significant changes to it,"  In other words, narrow and amend the language and keep intact some specific area of a public blackout of documentation.

Example:  you introduce what you know will be impossible to pass extreme legislation and when there is an outcry, pretend to be a 'compromise,' who is willing to scale back the extreme end of the proposal, while keeping the specific, narrow legislation intact.

This is not public service as an elected representative, this is self-serving politics sponsoring private business interests.  This is not government by, of and for the people.  This is greed dressed up as selfless small government patriotism.

Who are the anti-American haters, again?  Anyone?  Anyone?

 Nice job, you filthy bastard, Walker.  Nice job, indeed.



Gov. Walker and Wisconsin GOP retreat on open records limits - Yahoo News: "

http://news.yahoo.com/walker-wants-open-records-restrictions-removed-budget-181003592--politics.html