Liberals try to criminalize political disputes with Gov. Scott Walker

Phillip Klein:

On the night of June 5, 2012, as it became apparent that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker would fend off a $22 million recall effort lodged against him, dejected MSNBC host Ed Schultz found a silver lining for liberals: “Scott Walker could very well be indicted in the coming days.”

The following March, a nearly three-year secretive investigation was closed, without any charges filed against Walker.

Walker became a leading hate figure among the American left for having the temerity to challenge public sector unions as part of his efforts to avert a budget crisis. Over time, his reforms gained popularity, and liberal efforts to stop him failed in the courtroom and at the ballot box.

This year, Walker faces re-election, and should he win, his clout with the conservative base, coupled with his successes in a traditionally Democratic state, could make him a formidable presidential candidate in 2016. Thus, it’s even more imperative for liberals that he be stopped.

On Feb. 19 there was collective euphoria amid the release of 28,000 emails and other documents related to the expired secretive investigation, which had led to the indictment and conviction of six former aides and allies to Walker when he served as Milwaukee County executive.

Given that investigators who had access to these documents for years and heard testimony from hundreds of witnesses found no wrongdoing by Walker, it was unsurprising that the document release turned out to be a dud.

Of course, this didn’t prevent headlines attempting to create the specter of scandal surrounding Walker where there is no evidence of one.

“Scott Walker, eyeing 2016, faces fallout from probes as ex-aide's e-mails are released,” read theWashington Post headline. The Huffington Post reported on an email finding that as county executive he had ordered the firing of a government-paid doctor who had worked as a thong model. And BuzzFeed wrote about racist emails forwarded by former Walker staffers even though there was no evidence that Walker even was aware of the emails. But hey, it allowed BuzzFeed to get the keywords “Scott Walker” and “racist” in a single headline.

Others tried to connect the old Walker emails to the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal engulfing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. John Nichols, longtime Walker foe at the Nation, ran with the absurdly desperate “A therefore Z” headline: “E-mails, Charges, Probes! Chris Christie? No, Scott Walker.”

In reality, if any scandal is likely to emerge from the state of Wisconsin, it’s one of politically motivated abuse by prosecutors.
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It is unlikely that the Democrat DA will ever launch a "John Doe" investigation of coordination between union groups and Democrats who are trying to defeat Walker.  Liberal DA's tend to create these kind of examinations in places like Austin, Texas too.  It looks like an abuse of power.  The State legislatures should investigate these investigators.