Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen Slams Judiciary Branch

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen's (R-Madison) public News and Media piece at the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DoJ) webpage is typical of Van Hollen's corrupt dealings for the Republican and Tea Party.

In his news item about filing a motion to stay the decision in Madison Teachers, Inc., et al. v. Scott Walker, et al., Van Hollen makes no mention, not one word, of the Equal Protection and Wisconsin Constitution Article One violations that resulted in a summary judgement for the plaintiffs against Act 10 by Judge Juan B. Colas.

Act 10 was passed with all GOP support and no Democratic Party support.

Van Hollen is a Republican who has been caught publically lying before in his capacity as Wisconsin Attorney General on behalf of the Republican Party.

Would not such found violations—Equal Protection and Wisconsin Constitution, Article One— be of news value, putting aside that our AG is corrupt?

Of course, these violations are of news value, and a summary judgement is a high legal hurdle to reach.

But the DoJ's piece is just another propaganda sheet intended to advance a narrow partisan interest.

As Edward Fallone writes:

The conservative 'noise machine'– consisting of ersatz news media, think tank “experts,” and political campaign consultants — will no doubt seek to mold public opinion in this case. They will ignore the merits of the legal claims at issue and try to convince the public that any adverse ruling is the result of one partisan judge acting without legal authority. Of course, the consequence of such a strategy is to intimidate judges who might otherwise give legal claims against the State a fair hearing, and also to steadily undermine the public’s confidence in the legal system.

Members of the State Bar should refuse to play along with this game.

If Van Hollen were honest, he would, as in the DOJ's legal brief, present the issues at hand instead of inserting just one hyperlink on the word "decision" in the DoJ news item.

Wisconsin is treated to the GOP's spin that "real and significant financial problems faced by local governments" are victims of the Court's decision, and are being "force(d) a return to a broken system," even as national Republicans and Tea Partiers have obstructed "much-needed aid to state and local governments ... ." (Krugman. NYT)

Walker has already blasted Judge Colas as a "liberal activist judge," with no facts or evidence presented.

Of course, the print media picks up the press release and news items and repeats the spin in the first two grafs and headline, knowing fully well most readers won't go much further.