Well, We Have Mixed News on the Scott Walker Front

The good news is that some of his former staffers are facing more charges:

A new round of criminal charges is coming soon against at least a couple of Gov. Scott Walker's former county staffers for doing extensive campaign activity while on the taxpayers' dime, sources say.

The charges - which should be filed by District Attorney John Chisholm's office in the next week or two - will be part of the long-running John Doe investigation of Walker's aides and associates during his tenure as Milwaukee County executive.

Already, the probe has led to multiple felony charges against Walker's onetime deputy chief of staff, Tim Russell, and former county veterans official Kevin Kavanaugh. They are accused of taking more than $60,000 in donations intended for Operation Freedom, an annual event at the county zoo for veterans and their families.

Russell's domestic partner, Brian Pierick, was also hit with two felony counts for child enticement.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that under Wisconsin law, until a date is set for the recall election, Walker has no limits to his fund raising, and the Koch suckers have been showering him with money:

The Walker campaign announced on Tuesday that he raised $4.5 million in just the period from December 11 through Jan 17, and has over $2.6 million on hand. In all, he has raised $12 million since January 1, 2011.

“Governor Walker’s message of moving Wisconsin forward continues to resonate with voters,” said communications director Ciara Matthews. “It is this message, and the success of the governor’s reforms, that have inspired people to contribute to his campaign in overwhelming numbers. These donations will allow us to fight back against this baseless recall and ensure Governor Walker can continue to lay the foundation for a more successful Wisconsin and keep government working on the side of taxpayers.”

The press release notes that the donations came from a total of 21,443 contributions, including 16,406 of contributions of $50 or less. But under the surface, it becomes clear that Walker has been taking advantage of a key aspect of the state fundraising law for recalls — that until the election is officially triggered, the targeted incumbent can bring in unlimited donations.

That's a f%$# load of money. It's like $2½ for each man, woman, and child in the badger state.

The optimist in me hopes that the money wont matter. The pessimist in me …………