Sunday, October 30, 2005

BagManJim Doyle a National Visionary?

Those Spice Boys have a lot of fun with BagManJim. The latest: BagMan's trip to Connecticut (of all places) to pick up a few thousand from the Mohegans. (Evidently the "last" Mohican was not really the last one...)

In any case, when the SpiceBoyzzz asked BagManJim's mouthpiece 'why Connecticut?' the response was downright hilarious:

"The Governor is recognized as a national leader on many issues (stem cell research, re-importation of drugs from Canada, etc) and he is certainly highly regarded in the various tribal communities for the leadership and respect that he has shown on issues of tribal sovereignty,"

Yeah. Cha-Ching!!!---about $12K into the BagMan's bag.

But Connecticut is hardly the Big Prize.

On Tuesday, Doyle, who will face either U.S. Rep. Mark Green or County Executive Scott Walker next year, attended a Green Bay fund-raiser sponsored by the Oneida tribe at its hotel near its profitable casino.

Oneida officials said the tribe played host to about a half-dozen Wisconsin tribes, including officials from the Ho-Chunk, Stockbridge-Munsee, St. Croix Chippewa and Potawatomi, a vehement opponent of the Kenosha casino proposal.

Judge declined to say how much was raised at the one-hour event, but he said, "We were very pleased."

Kevin Cornelius, the Oneidas' political honcho, played down the fund-raising aspect, but acknowledged that Doyle brought along his campaign finance chief to bag the checks.

"It was a private reception," Cornelius said. "But I understand that in the normal process of business, people will give checks, and they were given to the campaign (aide)."

Even so, you can't help but wonder: Should the Democratic governor be collecting cash from tribal types while his team is in the midst of contentious compact negotiations with the tribes? The new compacts - only the Potawatomi have a signed deal - will lay out the rules for Indian gaming for years to come.

"The governor doesn't negotiate the compacts," Judge said.

But his staff does, and he signs them.

Following which, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has to nullify them because they are blatantly illegal, cutting the Legislature out of the process.

At some point in time, it will be recognized that BagManJim is perhaps more corrupt than Inmate Chuck Chvala.

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