Brian Murphy, writing at Talking Points Memo, gives us a thorough exposé of Scott Walker's ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council (or ALEC, the lobbying organization responsible for so many horrible bills at the state level). You'll see the same theme, over and over again: Scott Walker breaking promises of more legislative transparency, instead springing right-wing legislative surprises on the people of Wisconsin, though they're not surprises to him or his ALEC buddies. Remember that when he tries to seem "moderate" after he gets the nomination.
And Steve Horn and Michael Aria, writing at Nation of Change, introduce us to the multitudinous lobbyists who benefited from Gov. Walker's $250 corporate welfare handout to the Milwaukee Bucks for a new stadium. Warning: a lot of these nefarious folks are Democrats, including Tom Barrett, who lost to Scott Walker in gubernatorial elections twice in a two-year period. In case you were wondering how Scott Walker keeps winning: a big part of it is that his Democrat opponents are corrupt weaklings.
Amanda Frank, writing for the Center for Effective Government's The Fine Print blog, debunks the "Texas Miracle" myth of low government regulation leading to a boom energy economy. Actual facts: not only does fracking pollute good Texans' drinking water, and not only do more than half of Texas schoolkids go to school near hazardous chemical facilities, but Texas still has a lot of poverty, a lot of uninsured, and a lot of good folks working full-time who still need taxpayer assistance to make ends meet. Come to think of it, pushing Rick Perry's "Texas Miracle" might do for Republicans in 2016 what Michael Dukakis's "Massachusetts Miracle" did for Democrats in 1988. Think they remember?
Jeff Gelles, writing at the Philadelphia Inquirer, tells the story of one Matthew J. Hartigan, who has spent nearly two decades trying to convince a multitude of creditors that he's not the Matthew J. Hartigan who's skipped out on property taxes in Northeast Philadelphia -- which he couldn't be, since he would have been 12 when the other Mr. Hartigan bought those properties. Good news? He's beaten back all comers so far. Bad news? Not everyone has the good fortune of being legally unable to purchase a property at the alleged time.
Finally, there's Jeb Bush, actually blaming Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for the rise of ISIS. Haters will of course agree with Mr. Bush, but actually ISIS, too, is all George W. Bush's fault -- we can blame Mr. Obama for launching another unconstitutional war, one that will fail to eradicate ISIS no less, but no doubt Mr. Bush just thinks the President isn't killing enough people, even if he's hesitant to say so right now.
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