Bill Lueders

As Wisconsin braces for a new round of recalls, including what will likely be the costliest race for governor in state history, it’s worth remembering that what matters most is not the money but the message. Money is really just the means for delivering messages. And Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s messaging machine is already revved up, especially on the critical issue of education. Consider the 30-second television ad that began airing in mid-November, as Walker’s foes launched their recall drive. “We were worried when the state budget meant there was going to be less money for our school district, and…

In four critical Wisconsin state Senate races last year, groups making independent campaign expenditures actually spent more than the candidates themselves. That jaw-dropping finding is from a report released this month by the National Institute on Money in State Politics, a Montana-based nonprofit group. The report, “Independent Spending in Wisconsin, 2010,” is part of a state-by-state series analyzing the impact of Citizens United v. FEC, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling which expanded the ability of corporations and unions to pour money into elections. In Wisconsin’s statewide elections last fall, the report found, 29 interest groups made independent expenditures totaling $9.8…

Asked to describe the connection between money and politics, Kelda Helen Roys (at left) drops one adjective, then another: “Inseparable.” “Insufferable.” As the Democratic state Assembly rep from Madison sees it, money has infiltrated every nook and cranny of politics. It keeps good people from seeking office, and it drives the agenda of those who are there. Roys even feels sorry for the donors: “I think everyone who gives money in politics wishes that they didn’t have to.” But there’s another adjective she could add to her list: Unavoidable. Roys, who is not seeking reelection to a third term next…

As Darcy Haber sees it, being a member of the Wisconsin Realtors Association is not an option; it’s a professional necessity. Otherwise, the Madison Realtor would not have access to the Multiple Listing Service, a critical industry tool for tracking properties. “I would argue that we can’t practice real estate in accordance with our ethics without it,” says Haber, a former lawyer, citing professional rules requiring licensees to stay abreast of “current market conditions.”  That’s why she’s upset that part of her past dues to the WRA have gone to groups she does not wish to support, as will an…

    Matthew Banaszynksi During the first six months of this year, the Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin reported spending $36,377 on lobbying, twice as much as during the entire previous two-year period. Much of its effort was in support of a bill to tweak insurance coverage limits and policy provisions. “We were more active than we’ve ever been because of that issue,” says Matthew Banaszynski, vice president of IIAW, which represents 4,500 workers at more than 500 independent insurance agencies and branches. Banaszynski says things have tapered off since then, but he expects the association to maintain a higher…

Some Wisconsin residents are still reeling from this summer’s recall elections, in which spending on nine state Senate races was estimated at $44 million, or about $57 per vote. But, as a wise man once said, you ain’t seen nothing yet. The campaign to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker is about to begin, and a little-known quirk in the state’s campaign finance law that played a minor role in the recent recalls could play a major role here. Normal individual contribution limits, set at $10,000 for a gubernatorial race, are suspended from the time a recall drive is launched until…

It’s hard not to like Glenn Grothman, though some people find a way. The Republican state senator from West Bend is what legislative insiders call a “true believer.” He’s also a straight shooter. Ask him an honest question, you’ll get an honest answer. So there’s no reason to doubt the sincerity of Grothman’s belief that Wisconsin’s political process would work better if people had access to less information. He has introduced a bill to end the requirement that those who give more than $100 a year to state political campaigns disclose their principal place of employment. Grothman, in a press…

  Michael Richards. Michael Richards sometimes finds himself telling people, “I’m not your typical lobbyist.” But in fact, that’s exactly what he is. Richards, the executive director of government relations and external affairs for Gundersen Lutheran Health System of La Crosse, isn’t trying to mislead anyone when he denies being typical. He’s just countering a popular misconception — that lobbyists are hired guns for well-heeled special interests. “I think the general public sees lobbyists the same way as they see trial attorneys,” says Richards, naming another profession that deserves a better reputation than it has. Jonathan Becker, the ethics division…

Democrats reacted sharply to Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s decision to call the Legislature into special session to take up a slate of measures meant to put Wisconsin “back to work.” Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, the Assembly’s minority leader, told reporters on Sept. 28 that the governor’s list included a few worthy bills, backed by Democrats. But he pegged most as “payoffs to special interests” that do nothing to create jobs. According to an email sent by Barca’s office to reporters, 16 of the roughly two dozen measures “appear to qualify as special interest giveaways.” His staff says this list is…

The other day a journalism professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison asked me if I knew where the Center for Equal Opportunity gets its funding. It’s a good question. The Virginia-based center, which opposes affirmative action and bilingual education, recently released a pair of reports accusing the UW-Madison of rampant discrimination  — against white people and Asians. The beneficiaries of this alleged bias are African-Americans and Latinos. Center chairman Linda Chavez, a prominent conservative, called it “the most severe undergraduate admissions discrimination” her group has found over the past 15 years. She said hundreds of applicants to the university and…