Monday, July 20, 2015

Common Cause in Wisconsin Statement on Governor Walker's Call to Dismantle the non-partisan Government Accountability Board



For Release: Monday - July 20, 2015

Governor Scott Walker's call today to eliminate the non-partisan Government Accountability Board (GAB) is completely misguided, self-serving and counter to the interests of all Wisconsinites who value a fair and independent state agency overseeing our elections, campaign finance laws, lobbying and ethics.

The GAB is a model for the nation and the only such entity in the country not under the control of partisan politicians. It was established to be that way in 2007, following the most serious political scandal in Wisconsin in the last century – the Legislative Caucus Scandal of 2001-2002 – after the partisan State Elections Board completely failed to identify and ferret out ongoing corruption in the State Capitol and which ultimately led to the removal from office of top five legislative leaders of both political parties.

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Thursday, July 16, 2015

Statement of Jay Heck of Common Cause in Wisconsin on Wisconsin Supreme Court Decision Ending Walker John Doe Investigation



For Release: Thursday - July 16, 2015

As expected, a highly compromised Wisconsin Supreme Court majority has issued a highly flawed decision today ending the John Doe investigation of possible illegal coordination between Governor Scott Walker and his 2011-2012 recall campaign with outside special interest groups. The decision should be appealed to the United States Supreme Court.

Unless it is successfully appealed, the decision could conceivably now lead to unlimited coordination between outside spending groups with candidate committees and effectively render contribution limits meaningless in Wisconsin. Unlimited money, much or most of it secret and from outside of Wisconsin, could now flow into Wisconsin and be coordinated by candidates with outside groups to influence the outcome of our elections. Wisconsinites would be relegated to the sidelines watching helplessly as unlimited, secret special interest money dictates the outcome of our elections and seizes complete control of our state government.

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Monday, July 13, 2015

Another Unwarranted Attack on Clean Government in Wisconsin




Common Cause in Wisconsin Reform Update
Monday July 13, 2015


1.   Wisconsin GOP Attempts to Divert Attention from their Open Records Fiasco by       Launching an Unsubstantiated Assault on the Non-Partisan GAB and its long-time
      Director

2.   New Hope and Opportunity for Ending Partisan Gerrymandering in Wisconsin Before
      2021

3.   CC/WI's Effort to Postpone Campaign Fundraising During Consideration of the State
      Budget Meets with Considerable Success



1. This past Friday afternoon, less than eight full days after trying – and failing – to destroy Wisconsin's Open Records laws, the very same Republican legislative leaders who perpetrated that assault, launched a second, completely unfounded attack on Wisconsin's non-partisan Government Accountability Board (GAB), the nation's only non-partisan state agency that oversees elections, campaign finance law, ethics and lobbying law, and a model that other states aspire to emulate.

This latest attack is based on an opinion piece (not a news account) in The Wall Street Journal, which has long attacked Wisconsin's non-partisan GAB and our longstanding law that bars candidates for statewide and legislative office from coordinating campaign activities (including phony issue advocacy) with outside special interest groups.

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Monday, July 6, 2015

Tell Your Legislators and the Governor What You Think of Their Attempt to Blind You Last Week



For Release: Monday July 6, 2015


Odious Open Records-Destroying Provision is Gone,
But Not Forgotten

The brazen, vicious Pearl Harbor-like surprise attack on your right to know what the heck is happening in your state government, by legislative Republicans and Governor Scott Walker last Thursday night, has been repulsed.

But it should not be forgotten or forgiven.

These editorials from the Wisconsin State Journal and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel have it exactly right.

Numerous groups on the political right and left joined together on this one to help stem the tide. Late Thursday evening, CC/WI was active on social media telling citizens what was happening in the Joint Finance Committee and urging them to contact their legislators.

There simply cannot be anyone stupid enough to believe that this open records-destroying provision did not have the prior approval of Governor Walker, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald. Otherwise, it simply would not have been included in the 999 motion made and passed by all 12 Republican legislators in the Joint Finance Committee.

Nothing like this happens by chance.

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Wednesday, July 1, 2015

In the News - July 2015