Paul Bucher lost my vote for Wisconsin Attorney General. Hat tip: GOP3.com for making the correct case that Bucher believes and advocates positions absolutely in conflict with both constitutional 4th amendment protections and the general concept of individual liberty. The Waukesha District Attorney is an advocate for police manned sobriety check points and the fact the Supreme Court approved this travesty of the rule of law does not make it consistent with our historical understanding of individual liberty.
GOP3: Police Stops: It is important to note that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld sobriety checkpoints. But just because government can do something doesn’t mean that it ought to. And in this case, conservatives ought to make common cause with libertarians. I don’t often agree with Justice Brennan, but his dissent puts it well: “That stopping every car might make it easier to prevent drunken driving… is an insufficient justification for abandoning the requirement of individualized suspicion… The most disturbing aspect of the Court’s decision today is that it appears to give no weight to the citizen’s interest in freedom from suspicionless investigatory seizures.”Bucher’s support of a police state approach to the problem of drunk driving is verified by his campaign website with a section about his Positions on Drunk Driving. In particular Bucher cites his founding of PARC or Preventing Alcohol Related Crashes, a 501(c)(3) non-profit working at the Waukesha County level to advance a MADD Wisconsin agenda. All Wisconsin citizens should be concerned that Bucher’s organization accepts and promotes what can only be called preventive law enforcement.
Waukesha County Traffic Enforcement Initiative: Law enforcement personnel do not target drunk drivers. During the patrols, drivers are stopped for all traffic or safety violation, often finding impaired drivers or underage drinkers as a result, as well as speeders, seat-belt violations, and other traffic safety matters.This policy aggressively approaches the boundry of warrantless search of American citizens. This is not the only area where Bucher is willing to play fast and loose with our constitutional protections against oppressive police powers. The Washington Post has details.
Zero Tolerance Makes Zero Sense: The Virginia case mentioned above is troubling for another reason: The cops raided that home without a search warrant. This is becoming more and more common in jurisdictions with particularly militant approaches to underage drinking. A prosecutor in Wisconsin popularized the practice in the late 1990s when he authorized deputies to enter private residences without warrants, "by force, if necessary," when there was the slightest suspicion of underage drinking. For such "innovative" approaches, Paul Bucher won plaudits from Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which awarded him a place in the "Prosecutors as Partners" honor roll on the MADD Web site.No conservative should consider voting for anyone so openly committed to idea that the pursuit of public safety trumps the process protections free individuals have from the intrusive reach of the state. In the words of other Wisconsin bloggers:
Grumps: Bucher and van Hollen don't want to be AG. They want to be Batman, a super crimefighter, saving Wisconsin from scourges they can't talk about.
Dad29: Paul, that's not Law Enforcement. That's the old "Show Us Your Papers" business.
