Van Hollen

In God and Krispy Kreme we trust

The right wing continues to complain that their new attorney general, J. B. Van Hollen, isn't enough of an activist. (They wanted a new attorney general, they claimed, because the last one, a liberal Dem, was too much of an activist.) Just because he's the attorney general doesn't mean he should be hamstrung by little things like the law or the Constitution, they say.

The latest flap is over a ceremony to honor and commemorate murder victims, held at the State Capitol and sponsored by the State Dept. of Justice, which Van Hollen heads. After some militant atheists, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, complained about some religious content in the event, a hymn and a prayer were eliminated.

It's just coincidence, probably, that the two wingnuts complaining the loudest about JBVH are people who wanted the AG job -- Jeff Wagner, a failed candidate in 1994, and Jessica McBride, who wanted it for her husband, Paul Bucher, an even bigger failure in 2006, losing to JBVH in the primary. (One conservative blogging lawyer, Rick Esenberg, demurs.)

McBride has now taken second swing at it, wondering why JBVH can't be more like Scott Walker and include "God Bless America" and "Thank You to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts" on the program, and apparently even Charlie Sykes, who has not run for AG (and isn't a lawyer) has joined the list of whiners.

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Quote, unquote

“Presenting inaccurate information to legislators does not violate state law.” -- Atty. Gen. J. B. Van Hollen.

Fortunately for leggies, that's reciprocal, or a whole lot of them would be doing time.

Right-wing complains that Republican AG follows the law

Fresh from their fierce defense of US Attorney Steven Biskupic against claims that politics affected his prosecutions, Wisconsin wingnuts are complaining that their new Republican attorney general isn't putting politics ahead of the law.

J.B. Van Hollen, who took office in January, has come under fire for failing to prosecute -- or at least dirty up --the Democratic governor, Jim Doyle. The wingnuts are also unhappy about opinions he's issued on abortion and affirmative action issues.

Van Hollen was praised by the conservative Madison newspaper, the Wisconsin State Journal, for his even-handedness. In an editorial, it said:

He also has shown he's not the far-right ideologue or partisan opportunist that some had feared.

And that's his problem with the right. Jessica McBride, an Ann Coulter wannabe whose husband lost the GOP primary for AG to Van Hollen, wrote:

Wisconsin State Journal praises Van Hollen for not being a "right-wing ideologue"

With all due respect, the only problem with that analysis is that he PROMISED to be a right-wing ideologue.

I think it's a gubernatorial strategy.

Van Hollen was grilled Wednesday on Charlie Sykes' conservative talk show on WTMJ-AM in Milwaukee. Sykes likes hunting RINOs (Republicans In Name Only), and seems to have Van Hollen in his sights.

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