McIlheran Reaches Hypocrisy Zenith

Patrick McIlheran, the rabid small government advocate, has taken himself a government job:

Patrick McIlheran, a columnist for the Journal Sentinel's op-ed page since 2004, is leaving the newspaper this week to take a job with Republican Sen. Ron Johnson's staff.

McIlheran, who will work out of Johnson's Washington, D.C., office, will research issues and write about them for the senator. McIlheran also will work for the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, of which Johnson is the ranking member.

It also proves the old adage of rats leaving a sinking ship.

I reckon that the first bit of research that old Paddy will need to do is show that sunspots are really the cause of all the world's ills.

But this leads to an interesting question: Who will the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel hire to become their new propagandist?

The most logical answer would be Rick Esenberg, who already is a frequent columnist for the paper, and their  go to guy for legal spin.

But like I said, that would be logical, so it's not going to happen.

So who do you think it will be? One of the Badger Blogger Boyzzz? Daddio? Maybe Peter DiGaudio?

Give your guesses in the comments.

Wise Judgement

Patrick McIlheran pontificates on some of the editorials in Sunday's paper.

He proudly crows about the paper's endorsement of Scott Walker. I've already pointed out that what they consider to be Walker's strengths are actually failures.

Also, Paddy touts his buddy's, Rick Esenberg's, opinion piece on why RoJo would make a better choice. Paddy selects this phrase "a gem":

“It is the peculiar conceit of the chattering classes (of which I am certainly a member) that an unintelligent person can build a successful business. That sounds wrong, and it is. Johnson's development of his family business reflects a capacity for astute analysis, an ability to assess and react to changing circumstances and a capability for wise judgment."

Obviously, all that astute analysis, ability to assess and wise judgment was finding the right girl whose family could give him first a job, and then the whole company.

Bum Stock Tips from Sykes and Esenberg

With the right when it is a choice between prosperity and the supremacy of conservative fantasies, it is fantasyland hands down.

The day after Barack Obama's highly effective speech, Sykes and Esenberg cheered a dip in the market when it opened the next day as a sign that Wall Street isn't in favor of the proposed plan to uplift you know, you and me.

A couple of weaknesses here.

1) The right wing has never been in favor of the uplift of this country. Otherwise why would they be dishing out policies that cripple the middle class?

2) As Nate Silver points out, what's good for Wall Street is not necessarily good for Main Street.

3) What goes down, can go up. Turns out that the Obama speech had nothing to do with the markets opening down on Wednesday (unless that down market is the Jindal stock).

Maybe Rick should stick to what he knows, whatever that is.

BTW, notice the difference between 2001 and 2009?

In both cases we have a state of crisis. In 2001 the opposition pulled behind the president. In 2009 the opposition is praying for failure.

Is Charlie an economic surrender monkey?

What Is The Color Of The Sky On His Planet?

On Friday, Charlie was crowing on his show on how Palin won the VP debate. He even put up a blog post on it, citing a handful of people with no pride that stood up for her. He continued his spewing of misinformation on Sunday's Incite.

Too bad for him that the majority of the nation is smarter than that, and declared Biden to be the clear winner.

In related matters, the mighty folkbum has a treatise correcting Rick Esenberg, another inhabitant of that alternate universe.

It's Like Putting Lipstick On A Pig

The Brawler has had a series of posts pointing out the errors in the thinking of Rick Esenberg, and the double standard that Esenberg has been applying as of late. The most recent one has to do with Esenberg's take on Captain Blowhard, aka Charlie Sykes.

Brawler gives us Esenberg's generous take on Sykes, and then adds his own astute views:

I don't know ... but when I listen to Charlie Sykes I hear him:

• call people lined up at the Coggs Center for free food vouchers moochers and
  suggest they're all chiselers
• say Milwaukee voters (i.e. blacks) will vote to require private employers
  offer sick days because they're shiftless
• read a story of some teens robbing a Wauwatosa family and conclude by asking
  if people seriously believes a summer jobs program would have stopped them (this
  was some years ago)
• categorically reject any argument that economics have played a role in the
  central city's meltdown and instead blame it on the "culture" or people just not
  taking responsibility for their lives
• use the tragic drowning of a child at a family pool party at a downtown
  hotel to riff on the sickness of the "culture" yet ignore the story of a
  Waterford girl who nearly drowned at a house party

And so on.

The Brawler allows that Charlie Sykes has some compassion for inner city
crime victims. But the Brawler also suggests that he's more concerned with
trundling out right wing talking points (Charles Murray, your office is calling)
or stoking the flames of self-righteous indignation among his listeners in
Oconomowoc. You know: entertainment.

The Lawyer Is Teh Funny

Rick Esenberg has been riding Paul Soglin pretty hard for the last week or so because of the Mayor's work on behalf of WMC Watch. The Rickster, who if memory serves has cashed at least one WMC check for his own self, wants Soglin to share the names of his clients.

In his latest howler, Goose and gander: WMC and Soglin, Esenberg makes a funny. Although speaking of a generic candidate he inadvertantly reminds us of the foibles of Michael Gableman, WMC's latest, greatest patsy.

Although there is arguably not as great a possibility for quid pro quo type
corruption, i.e., a candidate deciding that she owes a funder favors

In Gableman's case, of course, this worked both ways. Not only is Gableman beholden to his benefactors but he owes his career to his fundraising work on behalf of others.

I'll let you go now. I just wanted to let Rick know that I got his little wink at reality there. Carry on.

Condolences...

Our sympathies and well wishes go out to Rick Esenberg and his family. Mr. Esenberg recently lost his mother.

Asking The Impossible

Marquette professor Rick Esenberg, writing about the State Supreme Court race, included the following challenge (emphasis mine):

6. But Jessica McBride says that she has with the "against" and "for" numbers. Let's take her at her word. Do we doubt that the relative numbers that she generates constitute actual differences?

Forgive him, for he knows not what he asks of us.

H/T: iT