Scott Walker isn’t anybody’s idea of a champion of campaign finance reform. But, in a recent interview, he touted donor transparency and called for ending the ability of recall targets to accept unlimited sums.

Asked what he thought of Justice Roggensack, considered the leader of the court’s conservative majority, Megna replied, “I don’t really view her as my opponent. I view David Koch as my opponent.”

The $78 million total adds up to more than $20 per vote, and more than doubles the previous record for a Wisconsin federal election.

State Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, incoming Majority Leader, has been suggesting that the Government Accountability Board should be governed by partisan appointees, rather than the six retired judges who now do the job. “I just don’t think they’re an independent voice at all,” the Republican from Juneau told the Associated Press.
If Republicans are united on that, [...]

Many voters insisted these ads had no impact on them. And some avowed that, when it came to them, the ads backfired. But Mike McCabe suspects these airwave-borne toxins are infecting the body politic “more than people realize or are willing to acknowledge.”

Many states’ ethics agencies aren’t provided with the resources and independence needed to carry out their responsibilities, according to a new report that casts Wisconsin’s efforts in a favorable light.

In preparing for a recent interview in which he knew he’d be asked about tilting at windmills, Mike McCabe crafted a T-shirt-worthy reply: “To me, there’s always reason for hope, and never much reason for optimism.” McCabe leads the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which joined with the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group in drafting a July 10 letter calling for legislative hearings and possibly a special session to tweak state elections law.

By now, it’s well known that massive sums were poured into Wisconsin’s recall elections, from the candidates, parties and outside groups. But little attention has been paid to where this money went.