In what should probably be taken as conclusive proof that Citizens United is doing EXACTLY what it was intended to (allow billionaires to buy elections), (smarmy, Koch-fueled despot) Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker survived yesterday’s recall election. Despite declaring war on unions and the middle class, Walker is still Governor, largely on the cushion of the support of the very people he’s worked overtime to destroy. Wisconsin voters are willingly marching to their own destruction, and Scott Walker’s leading the parade.
It’s long been an axiom of political science that Americans get exactly the quality of leadership they deserve…and who knew that the standards of Wisconsin’s voters were so abysmally low? Once again, it’s been shown conclusively that with enough money, most any election can be swayed. In this case, Republicans spent $45.6 million on Wisconsin’s recall election; Democrats spent all of $17.6 million. That kind of disparity buys a lot of TV advertising/propaganda, and once again “low information” voters have been swayed based on sound bites, lies, and disinformation. Lest that sound like sour grapes, I’ll grant that a plurality of Wisconsin voters re-affirmed Scott Walker as their Governor. In doing so, they explicitly approved his war on his state’s unions and middle class (i.e.- themselves). Still, when ultra-Conservative billionaires can pour unlimited amounts of money into an election…well, you can figure out what’s going to happen next.
Beyond the money and the propaganda, what most concerns me about the Wisconsin recall is that it demonstrates the degree to which voters can be propagandized into voting against their own interests. The American Sheeple can be programmed to react emotionally rather than think critically, and Republicans have the money and the propagandists at their disposal to create the result they desire. My personal belief is that if you laid out Walker’s program and “accomplishments” to individual Wisconsin voters, a majority would be horrified. Yet many of those same voters cast their lot with Walker yesterday.
Propaganda can be a wondrous thing, eh?
If there had been any doubt that Republicans and their billionaire backers are trying to create a two-tier America of, by, and for the 1%, Wisconsin’s recall election should have made the GOP’s goal crystal clear. Americans continue to vote against their own interests…and in doing so we get exactly the quality of leadership and government we deserve.
The Big Lie works…and Republicans have perfected the art. Yesterday’s recall election once again reaffirmed my reasons for holding the American Sheeple in such low esteem.
