This is actually not too surprising considering everything else that's gone down in Fitzwalkerstan over the course of the last six months... (Gee, is that it? It feels like six years.)
According to a report by Bill Lueders, Republican Gov. Scott Walker has agreed to pay a private law firm up to $500,000 for legal services regarding his controversial budget repair bill curbing public employees’ collective bargaining rights. Gov. Walker signed the special counsel contract, which authorized payment to the Madison office of Michael Best & Friedrich at the rate of $300 per hour, a rate characterized as being “unusually high.”
The contract was signed on February 7, 2011, four days before Gov. Walker “dropped the bomb” that was his so-called budget “repair” bill, and the contract seems to have been awarded without any competition. It’s worth noting that Michael Best & Friedrich employees donated $37,000 to Gov. Walker’s gubernatorial campaign in 2010, donations that certainly seem to have paid off, given Gov. Walker’s decision to award that firm a $300 per hour, $500,000 no-bid contract. - Source
500,000 Wisconsin Tax dollars going to Walker contributors... No wonder the state has a budget problem.
That's SOP for the GOP though, right? Of course, there's more...
Signing the contract for Michael Best & Friedrich was attorney Raymond Taffora, a month after he left his job with the state attorney general's office, which usually represents the state on legal challenges.
Werwie said the firm was hired "at the request of the attorney general's office" to review the budget-repair bill and provide other legal services the office could not.
Correspondence shows the governor on Feb. 4 requested legal assistance from the attorney general's office in anticipation of litigation on the bill. The office declined, citing a lack of sufficient non-union staff with the necessary expertise. It recommended that the governor appoint special counsel. On two later occasions, records show, the attorney general's office itself asked for special counsel to assist in litigation in state court related to the bill. Assistant Attorney General Kevin Potter said he believes these duties were performed by Michael Best & Friedrich under the existing contract. - Source
Man, I really wish that revolving door would hit someone on the ass!
And gee, you think the law firm that's getting a blank check might just tell the Governor's office what they want to hear regarding the legality of what they're trying to push through? Especially at $300 an hour of taxpayer money with ZERO oversight from the Attorney General's Office or the State Legislature?
Guess those $1,000 contributions Ray Taffora gave to J.B Van Hollen each of the last 4 years had quite the rate of return, didn't it? And the over $37,000 Michael Best & Friedrich employees gave to Walker's guv campaign had a payoff of over 14 to 1 on this contract alone. Like most privatization deals, the taxpayer gets nothing in savings, but the well-connected can make a fortune. - Source
14 to 1? Holy CRAP! Selling one's soul just keeps getting more profitable by the minute.
Let's keep working people. We've got a little over a week until the August 9th elections and then two more races a week later on the 16th. We knocked on doors for Bob Wirch yesterday and hope to do so again the weekend before the election. I hope you're all doing everything you can.