Proposing political welfare

My column for the West Bend Daily News is online.  In it, I take on the governor’s special session to take up campaign finance reform.  It’s called, “Proposing political welfare.”

Here’s a little slice:

Governor Doyle has never been a strict adherent to his past statements, so he flip- flopped and decided to call the special session. But he did not present a comprehensive campaign finance reform plan as he said he would. Instead, he merely urged the Legislature to pass some pending campaign finance reform bills and made a few suggestions. Given the fact that the Legislature is currently divided, it is unlikely that anything of any substance will pass. Doyle knows this, but at least he can claim to be a leader on campaign finance reform at cocktail parties. Results matter less than appearances in the Doyle camp.

In the end, it is likely that nobody will be satisfied with the results of the special session. Perhaps Senator Fitzgerald got it right when he said about the special session, “This is nothing more than an insincere political stunt masquerading as reform.”