Republican lawmakers in the State Capitol know their politics.
Take the conceal-and-carry legislation, for example. They used
majorities in both the Assembly and the Senate to pass a bill to
let an average Joe pocket a Glock as he strolls down State
Street.

I am sure their contributors were happy. The gun lobby poured
upwards of $100,000 into legislative campaigns throughout Wisconsin
since the mid-’90s in one form or another, according to the
Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (WDC), a nonprofit group that tracks
campaign contributions. Many of these contributions were designed
to benefit — either indirectly or directly — Republican
candidates.

Thankfully, the legislation has received the governor’s veto,
though it will likely receive an override in the Senate this
week.

With their gun cronies temporarily satisfied, the Republican
leadership in the Legislature has begun to help their pals in the
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC). Last Tuesday,
Assembly Speaker John Gard, (R-Peshtigo), and Senate Majority
Leader Mary Panzer, (R-West Bend), introduced the “Jobs Creation
Act” (AB 655/SB 313), stating their intention to pass the
legislation that week. (Fortunately, it has been put off until Dec.
1.)

According to the WDC, the WMC spent more than $15,000 on radio
ads alone to help its Republican man in the 21st Assembly District,
Mark Honadel, defeat Democrat Al Foeckler. It went on to couple
these ads with mailings. And that’s just on an Assembly race!

During the 1996 elections, the WMC spent more than $400,000 on
issue ads supporting mostly Republican candidates. It continues to
be one of the top, if not the top, contributor (either directly or
indirectly) to Republicans throughout Wisconsin.

It comes as no surprise, then, that the WMC’s lobbyists sat in
on legislative negotiations for the new “jobs” bill. According to a
Capital Times report, a review of memos and meetings between
Republican legislators, the attorneys responsible for drafting the
bill and WMC lobbyists show that the lobbyists “were heavily
involved in the drafting of the bill, which would dramatically ease
state regulations.”

When the Republican leadership introduced their buddies’
legislation at a press conference, media offices immediately
received faxes from multiple trade organizations supporting the
bill. According to the same report, all of those faxes came from
the Madison headquarters of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce.
What a coincidence.

Just what are these proposals for “eased” state regulations?
Environmental rollbacks.

The bill would remove authority to require controls on toxic air
emissions, allow small streams to be dredged or diverted without
any oversight by government regulators, repeal shoreline protection
measures and limit the ability of judges to make rulings protecting
threatened resources. According to the nonprofit group 1,000
Friends of Wisconsin, the water deregulation alone would affect 80
percent of Wisconsin’s waterways.

So as the future of Wisconsin goes to class, gearing up for that
second round of exams before Thanksgiving, its Legislature gets
ready to roll back environmental regulations at the behest of top
campaign contributors. Only the students will be the ones drinking
the dirty water and breathing the polluted air. Too bad we cannot
all be Republican state legislators.

Better yet, we should have half a million to drop on an election
cycle. That way we could buy ourselves a political party, write an
important law or two, get leaders of the party to pass them as
quickly as possible, convince media outlets it is all a good idea
and affect the future of Wisconsin in any way we wanted.

Now if you will excuse me, I have to buy a Powerball ticket.

Paul Temple ([email protected]) is a
senior majoring in political science and philosophy.