Once again, Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen is using his elected state office as a Republican shouting point. But this time, he's not saying anything at all.
Instead of defending Wisconsin in its case against a recent ruling prohibiting federal taxpayer dollars from funding stem-cell research, Van Hollen has chosen to sit this one out.
The ruling, issued by U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth, contends that a Presidential policy significantly expanding federal funding for stem-cell research violated the Dickey-Wicker amendment. The amendment asserts that no federal money can be used in the destruction of embryos.
Stem-cell research at UW-Madison was particularly affected by the ruling, since it received $7.3 million in funding for 2010. In light of this fact, Gov. Jim Doyle has offered the state's legal services to assist in appealing the decision. Since then, the injunction has been temporarily lifted, but the governor has still committed Wisconsin's legal efforts to help Congress as they fight to repeal the Dickey-Wicker amendment altogether.
According to a statement from the Attorney General's office, Van Hollen doesn't feel prepared to enter such a monumental debate. In contrast, we feel that Van Hollen isn't prepared to upset his Republican constituent base. However, it is the job of the Attorney General to defend the state in its legal battles, not to pick and choose which cases fall within the realm of acceptable Republican ideals.
In this case, Doyle was able to find a lawyer willing to work pro bono to replace the Attorney General. If we were not as lucky, Van Hollen's lack of action would have cost the state tens of thousands of dollars in outside legal fees.
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time Van Hollen has let his Republican ideologies interfere with his job responsibilities.
Last year, he refused to defend the state's domestic partnership registry from a lawsuit, citing his concerns over representing the entire people of Wisconsin. The claim was filed by Wisconsin Family Action, the same conservative group that fought for the state's same-sex marriage ban.
It's not the people of Wisconsin Van Hollen is concerned about pleasing, just influential Republican leaders. By prioritizing his party philosophies above his job responsibilities, he's doing every taxpayer in Wisconsin a disservice.
Just this summer, Van Hollen requested the state join in an amicus brief supporting Arizona's anti-immigration policies in lieu of Federal government criticism. It was yet another example of Van Hollen's partisan loyalties dominating his duties to the state.
Luckily, Doyle denied Van Hollen's politically charged request and distanced Wisconsin from Arizona's radically conservative policies that came all too close to racial-profiling.
In an age when Republicans tend to characterize high-profile court officials as activist judges at every turn, we would offer Van Hollen's ideological judicial activity as a prime example of the party's hypocrisy. The Attorney General bends to the party's every whim, and Wisconsin suffers because of it.
As Attorney General, it's not Van Hollen's job to defend the Republican party. It's not his job to position himself for conservative endorsements down the road. It's his job to defend the state of Wisconsin. We suggest he do that.
The Daily Cardinal Editorial Board
