Nass Ignored ‘Unseemly, Unethical and Possibly Illegal’ UW Intern Solicitation from Republican Party of Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. — One Wisconsin Now said a laughable attack by Rep. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) against the University of Wisconsin and Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson may constitute an illegal use of taxpayer funds given Nass failed to attack his own Republican Party of Wisconsin for doing the exact same thing just last August.

“Steve Nass should explain to taxpayers why he’s using his taxpayer-funded office to attack a candidate for office when he previously failed to attack the Republican Party of Wisconsin for the exact same behavior,” said One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross. “This selective attack raises serious concerns that this was nothing more than Nass using his taxpayer-financed office to campaign against a candidate.”

On August 25, 2008, an email was sent to all UW-Madison students in the political science department requesting interns for the Republican Party of Wisconsin to “gain valuable political experience while getting involved in this year’s heated presidential election.” The UW has traditionally allowed communications for internships at political parties and with candidates and organizations as a valuable career-building tool.

“As disturbing as Nass’s political use of taxpayer resources is, what’s more disturbing is his attempt to bully students into staying away from the political process,” said Ross. “If Nass feels so strongly about keeping students away from politics, he ought to contact UW-Whitewater and tell them to take his name down from their own internship listing.”

The Nass listing is available on the UW Whitewater website is available at: http://www.uww.edu/cls/departments/political_science/internships/

Ross said he welcomed any progressive students who are interested in researching issues facing the state and want an internship to contact One Wisconsin Now’s intern hotline at 608-204-0677.

One Wisconsin Now is considering filing a complaint against Nass with the Government Accountability Board.