Republicans have been yammering about voter fraud for the last few years, working to pass legislation to address this “menace”. Of course, they’re the ones getting caught in the fraud. And today we see yet another example of it in Wisconsin:

The state Republican party says it plans to run fake Democrats in four upcoming recall elections targeting GOP state senators.

Party spokesman Stephan Thompson says the move guarantees that a Democratic primary has to be held. He says that ensures one clear date for the primary and a separate one for the general election, thereby limiting any scheduling control for Democrats.

Republicans used the same tactic last year in recall elections targeting six other GOP state senators. The move gave the incumbents more time to campaign and raise money.

The incidence of actual voter fraud has been so low as to be laughable. Instead, the Republicans will waste time and money on running fake candidates just to play a political game. This isn’t about putting forward a solid agenda, or about doing what’s best for constituents. No, this is about doing whatever it takes to win, regardless of the moral or ethical considerations.

But this right out of their playbook. Create straw man problems, then tell everyone how terrible those non-existent problems are. And when that’s not working, go ahead and actually do what they have been railing against. Is it illegal to run fake candidates? Unfortunately, no. But if they are willing to do that, what else are they willing to do? And how can they be trusted if they are voted into office.

We need pols in office who actually have some ethical backbone remaining. And every day, the Republicans show that they are not the party to display that backbone.