Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Republican Party Seeks Information From Professor's Emails For Political Reasons

Just to show how Republicans feel about public workers, such as educators, Wisconsin state Republicans are targeting a University of Wisconsin professor, William Cronon, demanding Cronon release his private emails by evoking an open records law. Stephen Thompson, of the Wisconsin Republican Party, made the request for Cronon's personal emails, including any messages containing the words "Republican," "Scott Walker," and "union."

Thompson wrote the following: "Copies of all emails into and out of Prof. William Cronon’s state email account from January 1, 2011 to present which reference any of the following terms: Republican, Scott Walker, recall, collective bargaining, AFSCME, WEAC, rally, union, Alberta Darling, Randy Hopper, Dan Kapanke, Rob Cowles, Scott Fitzgerald, Sheila Harsdorf, Luther Olsen, Glenn Grothman, Mary Lazich, Jeff Fitzgerald, Marty Beil, or Mary Bell."

Cronon points to the political nature of the information request, pointing to the quick request from Thompson in relation to his first (and at that time only) blog post.

"One obvious conclusion I draw is that my study guide about the role of ALEC in Wisconsin politics must come pretty close to hitting a bull’s-eye," wrote Cronon. "Why else would the Republican Party of Wisconsin feel the need to single out a lone university professor for such uncomfortable attention?"

I suggest reading Cronon's entire response to the Republican's partisan assault here.

The actions taken by Thompson are reprehensible and indicate the lengths political operatives like Thompson will go to to silence any opposition - even preceived opposition.  This is just one reason why the shift in the Republican Party has become more dangerous then ever...

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please share your thoughts and experiences in relation to this post. Remember to be respectful in your posting. Comments that that are deemed inappropriate will be deleted.