AG candidate Brad Schimel to give Bill Kramer donation to charity
Daniel Bice, the Journal Sentinel's watchdog columnist, holds politicians and the powerful accountable
This is how you know you've officially become toxic as a politician:
Other politicians start rejecting or giving away your donations.
State Rep. Bill Kramer, who was ousted from his leaderhip post this week, gave $500 to Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel -- a GOP candidate for attorney general -- in November. It's the only political donation Kramer made from his campaign account in the second half of last year.
A Schimel spokesman said Tuesday that he will not be keeping the cash from the Waukesha Republican.
"Schimel is donating the Kramer (money) to charity," said Schimel campaign aide Darrin Schmitz, who did not identify the nonprofit.
Schimel is the only Republican running for the post being vacated by Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen. Three Democrats are vying for the same position.
One of the Democrats, Rep. Jon Richards, tried to score political points off the donation.
"If (Kramer's) top political priority in the last year was electing Brad Schimel attorney general, that speaks volumes," said Sachin Chheda, a senior adviser to the Richards campaign.
Schmitz responded by pointing out that Richards is backed by Rep. Gordon Hintz, an Oshkosh Democrat who was cited for sexual misconduct at a massage parlor and came under fire for saying another lawmaker was "(expletive) dead" during an Assembly debate. Both incidents occurred in 2011.
"Jon Richards brags that he has support from a fellow liberal who has two views of women," Schmitz said, "either threaten to kill them or degrade them with prostitution."
Assembly Republicans voted unanimously this week to strip Kramer of his leadership post after he was accused of groping a legislative staffer and making sexually crude remarks to a lobbyist while in Washington, D.C., last week for a GOP fundraiser.
Gov. Scott Walker has said that Kramer, who is single, should resign if the allegations are true. The veteran lawmaker has said he is currently in a treatment facility.
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