As protests have grown over Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's (R) plans to strip collective bargaining rights from unions, the fallout continues to expand to epic proportions. On Tuesday, a taped phone conversation was released in which Gov. Walker appears to suggest political coordination with someone he believes to be conservative financier David Koch. As the audio of this call has gone viral, Public Campaign Action Fund released a statement condemning the possible ethics violation:

“If you didn’t believe it before, you have to now—this fight isn’t about the budget, it’s about favors for corporate special interests,” continued [Public Campaign Action Fund National Campaigns Director David] Donnelly. “If Wisconsin law forbids coordination with political donors similar to federal law, Gov. Scott Walker is not just in political trouble, but in legal hot water.”

Washington Post Columnist Ezra Klein has also commented on the situation, noting that the call (which has been confirmed by Gov. Walker's office), is significant not for what is said, but because a billionaire political donor could get the governor on the phone so easily in the first place.

"But if the transcript of the conversation is unexceptional, the fact of it is lethal. The state's Democratic senators can't get Walker on the phone, but someone can call the governor's front desk, identify themselves as David Koch, and then speak with both the governor and his chief of staff? That's where you see the access and power that major corporations and wealthy contributors will have in a Walker administration, and why so many in Wisconsin are reluctant to see the only major interest group representing workers taken out of the game."

When big donors can so easily reach and influence politicians, it's clear that something needs to chance.