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August 12, 2009

The Wednesday Update

August 12, 2009  Volume 3, Number 31  IN THIS ISSUE: Ethanol End Run, Undocumented Attorney

August 12, 2009 Vol 3, Number 31	Wednesday Update
In This Issue: 1. Ethanol End Run 2. Undocumented      Attorney 3. Complaints Fly 4. Doyle's Rough      Week	Ethanol End Run In recent years, we have watched Governor Doyle seize more and more power to serve a handful of well-heeled special interests. During his tenure, the Governor has repeatedly usurped the power of the legislature, using his veto pen to raid the segregated transportation fund and increase spending, expand off reservation Indian gaming, and create a new, unaccountable state agency to appropriate billions of dollars in federal stimulus money. State Senator Alberta Darling recently hit the airwaves to warn us of the Governor’s latest end run around representative government. As Congress pushes to make sweeping changes in environmental and energy policy, Governor Doyle and other Midwestern Governors are asking the Obama Administration to impose a 15% ethanol mandate on the Midwest. The Wisconsin legislature has rejected previous attempts to increase the 10% ethanol mandate because of strong public opposition. Some people oppose ethanol mandates because blended fuel can be harmful to boats, snowmobiles, ATVs, motorcycles and outdoor power equipment like lawn mowers and snow blowers. Others believe that ethanol burns faster than regular gasoline and is less energy efficient and more costly for consumers. Many people simply object to government mandates which interfere with a consumer’s right to choose. Wisconsn Club for Growth objects to politicians meddling with our economy in the name of the environment, particularly when their real objective is to pick the winners and losers in a troubled economy. The July 8th letter from Governor Doyle to the EPA leaves no doubt that he is willing to throw Wisconsin manufacturers like Harley Davidson, Mercury Marine and Briggs and Stratton under the bus for the promise of new green jobs that can’t possibly survive without government mandates and taxpayer subsidies: While the ability to increase the federal blending limits to 20% is still undergoing final testing, blends of up to 15% have been shown to be safe and would not have an adverse affect. In addition to a waiver, we would ask you to work with the manufacturers of gasoline powered products, such as tools, equipment, and vehicles, to clarify the feasibility of expanding their warranties to include increased ethanol blend levels approved by the EPA of up to 15%. At the same time Governor Doyle and his colleagues are willing to risk your motorcycle, your boat and your lawnmower on a 15% ethanol blend, they are asking the federal government to work with manufacturers to expand their product warranties to cover the new mandate. Given the serious warning issued by the Outdoor Equipment Institute earlier this year, short of government coercion, expanded product warranties for consumers seem unlikely. Call Governor Doyle. Tell him to take his hands off your Harley and get out of your garage.   Doyle’s Undocumented Attorney When it comes to making sure that all ‘i’s are dotted and all ‘t’s are crossed, important people like Governor Jim Doyle rely on their legal counsel to get the job done. They also like to hide behind these highly paid mouthpieces when the press or public question their conduct or the process by which they make important policy decisions. As it turns out, Doyle’s top dot and crosser was operating without a license, and in the cut throat, dog-eat-dog legal profession, that is considered illegal and unethical, not to mention really, really stupid. Chandra Miller-Fienen served as Governor Jim Doyle’s Chief Legal Counsel from July of last year until her abrupt resignation Friday. The daughter of Democratic State Senator Mark Miller, Miller-Fienen received her law degree in California where she practiced law briefly before returning to Wisconsin in 2007. Miller Fienen served as Executive Assistance to Doyle’s disgraced former Commerce Secretary Jack Fischer, and was often quoted defending Fischer’s indefensible actions.  Did Miller-Fienen’s appointment as Chief Legal Counsel amount to combat pay for her days in the Commerce bunker, or did Senator Miller insist that his daughter be taken more seriously by an Administration which would rely on his powerful committee to push its agenda through? This is just one of many questions the media and countless other organizations will attempt to answer in the weeks and months ahead. One thing is clear: there will be no shortage of work for Doyle’s next Chief Legal Counsel.   Counsel-Gate Complaints Fly   For more than a year, Governor Jim Doyle hid behind the skirt of advice he received from a six-figure salaried lawyer who isn’t licensed to practice law in the state of Wisconsin. What’s even more remarkable is that it took WISN talk radio show host Mark Belling to break the story. It’s not as though this information is difficult to access. In fact, the mainstream media often uses the State Bar of Wisconsin website to source embarrassing stories about prominent lawyers and politicians who fall out of good standing with the Bar. The site also provides information regarding the education, employment history, disciplinary actions and status of members’ licenses. Given that Doyle’s appointee was the daughter of a prominent State Senator who was leaving a scandal-ridden state agency to take the job, a little curiosity regarding her credentials was clearly in order.   At first Doyle’s office dismissed the story as much ado about nothing. They even trotted out veteran legal hack Mike Maistelman who suggested that Republican Attorney General JB Van Hollen is Doyle’s real lawyer. JB Van Hollen is his lawyer. The last time Maistelman publicly advised lawyers and judges on the code of conduct, the U.S. Court of Appeals was forced to issue an emergency opinion and the Judge ended up being investigated.   Lest we forget Attorney Maistelman’s role in coercing the State Elections Board to steal $467,844 from Congressman Mark Green’s campaign fund. That clever move cost taxpayers a bundle when Green appealed the decision to the Wisconsin Supreme Court and won. It was an outcome Maistelman himself predicted: "Even if this ends up in Court it is a PR victory for us since it makes Green spend money and have to defend the use of his Washington DC dirty money," Maistelman said in a 9:31 a.m. e-mail one day before the vote. He sent the message to Carl Holborn and Kerry Dwyer, board members appointed by Democratic leaders of the Legislature. Still, once word got out that Doyle’s Chief Legal Counsel, Chandra Miller-Fienen was practicing law without a license, would-be colleagues on both sides of the political aisle circled the East Wing like a pool of sharks. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quoted veteran Democratic Attorney and long-time Doyle supporter John Finerty: "In my opinion, if he's going to have an office of legal counsel, that calls for a lawyer," John Finerty said. "The things that the legal counsel for the governor does - that probably is the practice of law. You're not fooling anyone …saying it's not legal advice.” This reaction should not surprise Jim Doyle or his Chief of Staff, Susan Goodwin. Both lawyers, Doyle and Goodwin have bent over backwards in recent years to ensure that the privileges of bar membership include increased payouts, additional funding for pro-bono services and an expansion of the definition of legal services in Wisconsin. At the end of the day, it is the taxpayers who will foot the bill for Doyle’s recklessness as media outlets and other organizations file suit against the state because his un-licensed attorney withheld public records and issued faulty legal advice regarding vetoes and other Executive actions. The Governor might want to send a big old fruit basket to Attorney General Van Hollen. _____________________________________________________ Doyle's Rough Week Governor Doyle had a really bad week and the Sheboygan Press has the details below. Cheer up Governor. You’ll be back in China before you know it. Editorial: Doyle's missteps hurting Wisconsin AUGUST 10, 2009 Last week was a rough one for Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle. First, Doyle was roasted in editorials around the state for pushing a no-bid contract to spend $47.5 million on two sets of high-speed trains. The deal only needed an OK from the Joint Finance Committee, which it got on a party-line vote. Though legal under an exemption to bidding, the deal for the trains is rightfully being criticized. Doyle claims the Spanish company that makes the trains was the only company interested in Wisconsin. But how can the taxpayers really know unless the high-speed trains, which still have some serious questions surrounding them, were put up for competitive bids? Then on Friday, a top member of Doyle's legal team, Chandra Miller Fienen, abruptly resigned when it was pointed out that she is not licensed to practice law in Wisconsin. Miller Fienen, the daughter of state Sen. Mark Miller, co-chairman of the powerful Join Finance Committee, is listed as a member of Doyle's Office of Legal Council . Though she does not represent the governor or the state in court, she still gives legal advice to Doyle. Doyle's choice of an unlicensed lawyer so closely connected to a state lawmaker — Miller Fienen said she came back to Wisconsin to run her father's political campaign — to advise him is troubling. The no-bid contract spending $47.5 million of taxpayer money on high-speed trains is much more troubling because the state should not be spending that kind of money without competitive bids. Miller-Fienen made it easy for Doyle to put this blunder behind him by resigning last week. But the cost is confidence in the state's top executive. We can only hope that the deal Doyle and the Joint Finance Committee made on high-speed trains won't end up costing taxpayers more than it should.  Reprinted from the Sheboygan Press, August 10, 2009