AG Watch

Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager plans to sue the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD). Though the thought of an AG navigating the sewer system has some charm, the suit irresponsibly squanders money that should be spent unplugging Milwaukee’s pipes. In fact, as MMSD Commission Chair Jeannette Bell stresses in her response to the suit, the Clean Water Act and a preexisting 2002 court order (signed by the Attorney General) make the suit redundant and wasteful.

Badger State Representative Jeff Stone gets the gold star for his analysis: “The idea of suing MMSD to force the district to better serve the constituents in the community is backwards…What is even more unbelievable is that we are using taxpayer’s money to sue taxpayers. What good can come of this effort? …If the Attorney General wants us to flush money down the drain she should consider who will need to clean it out of our water supply.”

The Upside-Down Federalism of the Attorneys General is foolish enough when it “works correctly.” But the Dairy Country AG needs even that cheese-headed concept explained to her. Ms. Lautenschlager, the idea is this: use the leverage of a costly suit to wrench obscene settlements from businesses with a global shareholder and consumer base, slush the settlement into the home state general fund, and repeat. Basically, play the part of a politico Robin Hood on Quaaludes: take from the citizens of other states and give to the citizens who elect you.

Suing your own citizens for crimes against themselves? I guess it only makes sense according to the brain sewage of AG Logic.