Here is the gist:
Republicans managed to get their hands on the Democratic's proposals on how they planned on taking over the State Senate in this November's election.
State Senate Republicans put their hands on the campaign plans of Democrats in June - strategic help they say they lucked into after a legislative aide found the political documents in a Capitol copier five months before the Nov. 7 election.
Democrats are now accusing the Republicans of stealing that plan from them.
But Senate Democratic Leader Judy Robson of Beloit on Wednesday accused Republicans of stealing the material from Sen. Mark Miller (D-Monona) and said she was contemplating referring the matter to Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard.
Republicans are stating that they found the document on a copier in the state capital building.
Keith Gilkes, executive director of the Committee to Elect a Republican Senate, said Wednesday that an aide to a Republican senator found copies of the political plans in the copier early this summer after duplicates had been made.
Here is what we do know- it is a violation of state law to do campaign work at the state capital. It is also a violation of state law for candidates to be coordinating with the so-called "independent" special interest groups.
It is almost laughable that the Democrats are blaming the Republicans for this.
According to Democratic Senator Miller, this is what happened:
Miller said Wednesday that he inadvertently brought the materials into the Capitol in late spring or early summer after picking up a similar binder that belonged to Matt Swentkofske, director of the State Senate Democratic Committee. He then left that binder in a copy room next to his Capitol office where he hangs his coat and leaves his lunch.
Miller said he did not make any copies of the documents, and he was confident that members of his staff had not done so. Using state resources for campaign purposes is illegal. Five former legislative leaders were convicted in the past year for developing a campaign structure that relied heavily on the use of state staff and office equipment.
I am just not buying Senator Miller's innocence in all of this. He "accidently" picked up someone else's binder. He then "accidently" took it into the state capital building. He then "accidently" left it in the copier room.
Alot of "accidents" have happened to the little ole binder.
More later...
8 comments:
Hoooray! Some Republican STOLE something which did not belong to him, and then the state party decided to hang onto it for a few months before spinning it into a phony controversy shortly before the election. Yeah! Way to go!
You Republicans really represent the "values" voters, don't you?
Stole is such an ugly word especially since the article reads,
According to Democratic Senator Miller, this is what happened:
Miller said Wednesday that he inadvertently brought the materials into the Capitol in late spring or early summer after picking up a similar binder that belonged to Matt Swentkofske, director of the State Senate Democratic Committee. He then left that binder in a copy room next to his Capitol office where he hangs his coat and leaves his lunch.
If a private document is left in a public building where anyone can find it, it aint stealing. It is stupidity on the part of the person leaving it where it can be found.
Jeff--you have got to be kiding me. If your private car is left on a public street, can I have it?
You're running for School Board? Do the voters know about your, um, unconventional views on personal property? Is this what Kenosha students are taught?
You can have it if I am dumb enought to leave the keys in the ignition and the doors open.
If you break in to take my car, that's theft. If I leave the keys in the car and the doors open then I deserve losing the car for being so stupid.
That is the case here with the Democratic playbook. The gentlemen left it for anyone to find and use. So he and his fellow Democrats have to live with consequences of the stupid act.
As far as running for School Board, stay tuned. I am a big fan of teaching people about personal responsibility for their actions.
Thank goodness you're not running for district attorney.
Thank goodness you dont define crimes. If you have evidence the binder was stolen, please present it for all to see. If embarassing information got out because of a stupid mistake, admit it.
Exposing election law violations when you find evidence of it is not wrong. The people have a right to know when their elected officials are breaking the law.
It is no different if a Democratic staff person had a episode of respect for the public and leaked the info to the press or an employee released company documents which showed his employer was committing crimes.
My biggest problem with the whole situation is that the Democrats had no problem breaking one election law while chastising Mark Green for supposedly breaking another.
If you want the person who released the info to the press charged with theft, publicly state so. let a jury decide who the bigger criminals are.
"Honey, remember when Daddy told you that it was wrong to steal? Well, there's an exception to that. You see, when the Republicans have to win an election, it's okay to steal. I know, what the Bible says, honey, but winning is everything to the Republicans. Even if we have to steal to win, we will. You'll understand when you're older."
Like I said, put up or shut up. Where is the evidence of theft as opposed to stupidly left out in public?
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