Amid all the strange, right-wing snark and snort going on in Wisconsin politics these days, the Republican Party's growing, conspiratorially flavored guns/knives/concealment fetish is the most jarring.
On the main stages of this discordant GOP rock festival, Gov. Scott Walker and his Republican legislative majorities have been banging away loudly and at high tempo, weakening or destroying labor unions, neutering civil service rules, dismantling the state's campaign finance regulatory agency, trimming open records and open meetings laws, diluting environmental protection and land conservation and even absolving themselves of past crimes by rewriting the laws after the fact and getting conservative courts to agree.
But amid all that crazy, the GOP weapons fetish is straight out of Alice in Wonderland. And while Republicans in Wisconsin these days often seem to know no bottom when it comes to bad-policy blitzkriegs, they may be close to hitting that bottom after diving headlong into this particular rabbit hole. It came right after GOP lawmakers introduced a measure to allow statewide concealed carry of swords, machetes and other long knives. Because you never know when Crocodile Dundee might need a helping hand.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this morning reported on an incident in which constituents favoring more gun control visited their state legislators. In one such meeting in his official office, described as otherwise civil, State Rep. Michael Schraa (R-Oshkosh) reportedly pulled out a concealed 9mm pistol and showed it to the couple sitting with him. Schraa later denied pulling out the gun, although he said he may have patted his clothing where it was concealed.
Here's the really odd fact underlying this strange moment: Carrying concealed weapons in the majestic Wisconsin state Capitol building is legal, thanks to a recent Republican-enacted law. Hey, why the Capitol Police? Open a saloon in the lobby, lock 'n load, and make sure to sit at the card table with your back to the wall. And try not to Earp over everything you find distasteful. A friend and former colleague -- an accomplished communicator by profession -- shared with me among others how he was at the Capitol with the organized constituent group when Schraa's personal gun-show incident happened. My friend said he spoke with the couple mentioned in the Journal Sentinel article shortly afterward. "They had no reason to make it up and I can tell you the woman was genuinely shaken by the incident," my friend said.
This is not who we in Wisconsin are, or who we have been or should have been since the American Civil War. I guess if you're one of those End Times honchos who not only hate government but expect another civil war, this all might make sense. It's either that, or it's some virulent mass hysteria that's infected 25 percent or more of this gun-heavy country. Which leads us to the natural question: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON AROUND HERE, ANYWAY? For more background and possible answers, join me below the fold.
