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“Good
Government” (my eye!)
By Kate Burch
The so-called “liberals” who are outraged by the Citizens United
Supreme Court decision have received a major smackdown in the Wisconsin
Supreme Court. These same people insist that there is no problem
with heavy governmental regulation on political speech; that free
speech in general is not thereby imperiled; that they only seek “good
government.” They also were, some of them, responsible for
shocking and outrageous persecution of supporters of Wisconsin Governor
Scott Walker. The Democrat District Attorney of Milwaukee, one
John Chisholm, “investigated” the Governor’s supporters by such tactics
as email surveillance and seizure of personal and financial documents;
SWAT-style raids of their homes, armed with battering rams and
subpoenas; and threats of reprisal should they speak about what was
being done to them. It turns out that the wife of Mr. Chisholm, a
teachers’ union shop steward, was upset by proposed reforms of public
unions, and Mr. Chisholm “felt it was his personal duty” to stop those
responsible.
The justification offered for the tactics used by Governor Walker’s
political opponents against his activist supporters was that his
supporters violated campaign finance rules that forbid coordination
between independent groups and candidates. This theory was found
by the Supreme Court to be “unsupported in either reason or law.”
I think that it is worthwhile to quote here a few lines from the
decision: “The special prosecutor has disregarded the vital
principle that in our nation and our state political speech is a
fundamental right and is afforded the highest level of
protection. The special prosecutor’s theories…instead would
assure that such political speech will be investigated with
paramilitary-style home invasions conducted in the pre-dawn hours and
then prosecuted and punished…It is fortunate…that the special
prosecutor chose as his targets innocent citizens who had both the will
and the means to fight the unlimited resources of an unjust
prosecution.”
The “John Doe” investigations started in 2011, and they have finally
been completely shut down by the high court. The mainstream
media, of course, has reacted with studied blindness, deafness, and
muteness. Spread the word. It was a good day for
liberty.
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