Let’s begin with an example from Wisconsin, where Teabagger Scott Walker is the Gubernator. Via the Journal Sentinel’s political watchdog columnist, Daniel Bice:
Just in his mid-20s, Brian Deschane has no college degree, very little management experience and two drunken-driving convictions.
Yet he has landed an $81,500-per-year job in Gov. Scott Walker’s administration overseeing environmental and regulatory matters and dozens of employees at the Department of Commerce. Even though Walker says the state is broke and public employees are overpaid, Deschane already has earned a promotion and a 26% pay raise in just two months with the state.
How does a college drop-out with a couple of DUIs and no environmental or management experience pull off a sweet deal like that?
Obviously, it’s because his father put in a good word for him:
“I put in good words for every one of my children in their jobs,” said the elder Deschane. “But that would be the extent of it.”
That and a lot of money.
Brian’s father is a lobbyist for Wisconsin Builders Association (WBA). (The WBA is roughly equivalent of our Building Industry Association of Washington.) The WBA’s PAC was one of the top five contributers to Gov. Walker’s campaign. Contributions from the WBA and its members totaled $121,652.
I’m sure it is totally a coincidence that Scott Walker’s campaign manager (and currently Walker’s chief of staff) personally recommended young Brian Deschane for the job.
And about that promotion cum raise (my emphasis):
…Secretary David Ross, a Walker cabinet member, named [Brian] Deschane the bureau director of board services, a job that paid $64,728 a year.
Not long after, lawmakers approved the governor’s plan to convert the Department of Commerce to a public-private hybrid in charge of attracting and retaining businesses, with its regulatory and environmental functions being moved to other agencies.
Commerce Secretary Paul Jadin then appointed Deschane to his new post there to oversee the changes.
“It was felt that he would be helpful in working through the transition issues,” said Commerce Department spokesman Tony Hozeny.
The move meant a pay raise of more than $16,500 a year for Deschane, even though he had put in only a couple of months with the state.
Ahhh, yes. Here we have all of the elements of Today’s Republicans at their “best”.
First, one needs an emergency. The projected budget shortfall made a great excuse for Walker and his cronies.
First course of action: Give tax breaks to businesses to the tune of $117 million. At the same time, eliminate $16 million in tax credits for the poorest of workers.
Follow this up by slashing services for the poor, disabled, and elderly.
Next, attack labor. Say…strip workers of their collective bargaining rights, even after state unionized employees were willing to make concessions.
And, for good measure, pass the bill through using either illegal or, at best, highly questionable, legislative manurers manuvers.
Next, fill political appointment positions with utterly unqualified cronies (and college-drop-out, DUI racking, unqualified children of cronies).
Add to this, privatization of some government services (like converting the Department of Commerce to a public-private hybrid) to “save money.” And then “save money” by giving crony appointees big fat raises.
The whole scam is a recipe for a sort of public-private hybrid campaign financing: (1) Patron donates, (2) Governor hires patron, (3) Patron gets big fat raise, and back to step 1.
The only thing refreshing about all this is how these Republicans have given up all pretenses.
Now, they openly flaunt being crooks.