In the latest round of Wisconsin recall elections and so-called "fake" candidates inserted into the Democratic Party primary by the Republican Party, a very large elephant stands in the room, and its name is Rank Hypocrisy.
In not-so guarded moments, Republican leaders admit they're running their fake Democratic candidates to task actual Democrats, making them spend more effort in their quest to win against recalled Republicans. Essentially, Republicans are giving themselves two chances to defeat each legitimate Democratic office-seeker.
In total, six fake Democrats -- it would be more accurate and revealing to call them "stealth Republicans" -- are running in the recall races for governor, lieutenant governor and state Senate. The GOP's official explanation is that these fake candidates are meant to guarantee a clear and certain primary date, guaranteeing that no Republican will face a general election on May 8, when Democrats are expected to turn out in large numbers for the gubernatorial recall primary.
Recall primaries are scheduled for May 8 and general elections for June 5 -- unless there are no primaries for a particular post, in which case the general election for that post would take place on May 8.
But here's the thing: Multiple Democrats are running for their party's gubernatorial nomination on May 8, yet the GOP nevertheless is putting up a fake Democrat. So much for GOP claims it just wants to ensure the primary. The Democrats already have done that.
So what's the real reason the Republican Party's fake candidate will appear on that Democratic primary ballot? Without a doubt, it's because Republicans hope to somehow damage Democratic chances by getting GOP voters to cross over (which in itself is lawful in Wisconsin) and then unethically choose their fake Democratic candidate en masse while Democratic voters split their choice four ways among real Democrat candidates. Their hoped-for result: A Republican would be nominated in the Democratic primary, and then would not mount a serious campaign against incumbent Scott Walker, thus thwarting the will of a large plurality if not majority of voters.
And that's all the Government Accountability Board needs to know when considering formal complaints that the Republicans are violating the spirit and the intent of state election laws.
Scott Walker destroyed public employee unions in his drive to interfere with the American right to freely associate. And now Walker's party is likewise trying to destroy the right of Democrats to freely associate by infiltrating the party's primary elections.
Today's Wisconsin GOP politicians and tacticians know no bottom.