Wisconsin Republicans have known for a long time that one of their own, Wisconsin State Representative Bill Kramer (R-Groperville) has a history of being inappropriate around women. Despite this knowledge, they still elected him to be the Assembly Majority Leader.

That decision came back to bite them in the collective ass when Kramer was arrested and charged with two felony counts of second degree sexual assault. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

In the parking lot of the High Tide, Kramer shoved the woman against a car, kissed her forcibly and put his hands up her shirt, according to the complaint. "(The victim) states she continued to tell him 'no and don't' as she turned her head away from him and pushed at his hands," the complaint says. The woman was "shocked, numb and not thinking clearly" and drove Kramer to another part of the parking lot. When they arrived, he locked the car doors, kissed her again, grabbed her groin and tried to look down her shirt, according to the charges.

On Thursday, it was reported that Kramer entered into a plea deal, swapping out the felonies for two misdemeanor counts. He now faces a relative slap on the wrist:

Just days ahead of a scheduled jury trial, state Rep. Bill Kramer (R-Town of Waukesha) Thursday pleaded no contest to reduced charges of two misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree sexual assault. Kramer entered the plea during what was to have been a status conference on the case, stemming from felony sexual assault charges filed in March against the former No. 2 lawmaker in the Assembly. Assistant District Attorney Debra Blasius said her office will recommend three years of probation, with a variety of conditions, including nine months in jail with work-release privileges. Kramer, 49, will not have to register as a sex offender, but must undergo a sex offender assessment and any recommended treatment. Sentencing is set for Nov. 25 before Reserve Judge Neal Nettesheim. By avoiding a felony conviction, Kramer will be able to serve the remainder of his term in the Assembly, which ends in January. He is not seeking re-election this fall.

The District Attorney for Waukesha County, where Kramer received this plea deal, is none other than Brad Schimel, the Republican candidate for Wisconsin Attorney General. I'm sure that the fact that Kramer had given Schimel a $500 campaign contribution had absolutely nothing to do with the very lenient plea deal.

Schimel's generosity goes beyond the fact that Kramer is facing much lighter consequences. Not only does Kramer get to stay on the job through the end of the year, getting paid for doing nothing, but Kramer is able to keep his lucrative pension and other benefits.

Apparently the Republican mantra of being tough on crime does not apply to other Republicans.

Addendum: To make things even worse for the poor woman, her boss is US Senator Ron Johnson from Wisconsin. RoJo and his chief of staff knew of the assault when she told him, but did nothing to help her.