A Blueprint for a Takeover: Wisconsin Republicans Lied While the Kochs Schemed
Note: I chose to post this in GD rather than the Wisconsin forum because the tactics used against Wisconsin are being used in other States as well. Oh, and four paragraphs just aren't enough. Go to the link to learn more.
http://www.theawl.com/2011/03/a-blueprint-for-a-takeover-wisconsin-republicans-lied-while-the-kochs-schemed
The simple rhetoric of the Wisconsin budget battle is that the Democrats are just "thug" unions—and that Republicans are carrying water for wealthy corporate sleaze. It's more complicated than that. For one, several teachers' unions endorsed Wisconsin Republicans last year—unions are hardly the unthinking automatons of the left they're now depicted to be. Why would they do that? Quite simply, those Republicans looked into the face of their constituents… and lied.
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On Saturday, at about the exact moment Michael Moore was addressing 40,000 people at the Capitol (and comparing events in Madison to those in Egypt), about four-and-a-half miles away at the Vitense driving range and minigolf course, the American Majority was holding a sold-out day-long training event. The event, in partnership with the Sauk County Tea Party, consisted of lessons like "Implementing Freedom" which teaches "how to plan a campaign, fine tune your communication skills, and fundraise." The event provided "an opportunity to meet other patriots in your community, the seminar provides an opportunity to network and learn from grassroots organizers with successful campaign experience."
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Sam Adams Alliance is very much funded by the Kochs—but even if they were not, Eric O'Keefe, the chairman and CEO of the Sam Adams Alliance, is also a board member at the Institute for Humane Studies, a group which has received millions from the Kochs and for which Charles Koch is the chairman. O'Keefe is also a board member at the Wisconsin Club for Growth, a state office of the organization funded by the wealthiest of Americans. The Club has become one of the most influential organizations in Wisconsin politics. (The CFG supported Ron Johnson over Russ Feingold and its to-date $320,000 in spending for the 2011 campaign of conservative State Supreme Court Justice David Prosser accounts for about 70 percent of total TV ad expenditures in that election).
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So, to review: In 2010, the Club for Growth and the Koch Brothers heavily supported the election of Scott Walker. Union-busting legislation is written for Walker to submit in 2011. Meanwhile, Club for Growth and Koch Brothers trustee Eric O'Keefe's Sam Adams Alliance launches the American Majority New Leaders Project, which, in 2010, partners with the Sauk County Tea Party, to train free market conservatives to run for office. Those candidates include Sauk County Tea Party co-founder John Meegan, who announces in December, 2010 that he is running for a seat on the Baraboo school board.