“All we need is fifty percent of
the vote plus one,” the [Republican] lobbyist told [Dale] Schultz and his
colleagues [Republican legislators]. “If we get any more than that one
vote, then we didn’t push the state far enough in the direction we want to push
it [to the right], because we had votes to spare.”
“He [Former Governor Scott Walker] fulfilled a promise to one of his
wealthiest donors that he would use “divide and conquer” against Wisconsin’s
working class to break the power of their unions. His devastating success
has allowed for the transformation of Wisconsin into a laboratory for corporate
interests and conservative activists, a process that continues unabated.”
These passages are from the book “The Fall of Wisconsin,” by Dan Kaufman.
They explain the strategy Republicans have used for the last 12 years--not to
govern the state of Wisconsin--but to gain power and erode our institutions
enough to embed their power over Wisconsin in perpetuity.
Here’s the playbook.
1. Teacher’s union too strong? Foment hate
against teachers, gain power, and break their union.
2. University system too progressive? Foment hate
against professors and academia in general.
3. Private sector unions (like iron workers) too
strong? Tell them that the public-sector unions are lazy, that they steal
your tax dollars, and that if you support Republicans, we’ll screw them but
save you….only to screw private sector unions 2 years later.
4. Education too good in Wisconsin? Schools
actually teach media literacy so that we know when we’re getting manipulated? Cut funding dramatically, and give public
school funding to corrupt private charter schools that can exclude any kid with
special needs.
5. School Boards stopping you from gutting
schools entirely? Create a boogeyman no one understands, like Critical
Race Theory, and compel an uneducated, ignorant, and
kinda-racist-but-don’t-know-it-because-your-town-is-all-white-mob to overrun schoolboards.
6. Pushback from voters who think this is all way
too heavy-handed? Gerrymander the districts so their votes don’t
count.
7. Lawyers sue because gerrymandering should be
illegal? Stack the Wisconsin Supreme Court with right-wing hacks with millions of dollars of out-of-state campaign money.
8. Appeal to the federal courts? Stack the
U.S. Supreme Court with right wing hacks by jamming through Trump’s nominees
(Amy Barrett) and refusing to proceed with Obama’s (Merrick Garland).
9. Do ALL OF THIS and STILL LOSE to Democratic
Governor Tony Evers? Create a sham investigation with circus-clown Gableman
purporting Trump election fraud, undermining future Wisconsin elections to the
tune of now $1 million Wisconsin tax dollars.
10.
Polls
STILL showing Evers is gonna win? Ban voting by proven-safe drop boxes to suppress voting.
It goes on and on…
…and guess what? Wisconsin isn’t really a democracy anymore.
Read that again. WISCONSIN IS NO LONGER A DEMOCRACY.
Our state is an absolute mess, but somehow progressives are still hanging on.
But if we swing back to the right and get another Republican governor and/or
U.S. Senator, America takes a step closer to the abyss.
Minnesota reported wages and
salaries totaling $11.9 billion more than Wisconsin in the first quarter of
2008. By first quarter 2018, that total wage gap had nearly doubled to $22.4
billion.
But WHY, WHY, WHY can’t Republican voters see this?
After 12 years of deep manipulation, Wisconsin has fallen dramatically compared
to our more progressive neighboring state of Minnesota. We’ve seen
increases in child poverty, non-existent wage growth, steeps cuts in public
education, decline in water quality, etc.
It’s all about FEAR.
They keep fomenting fear through the culture wars (guns, gays, abortion), crime
(blame Antifa but not Jan 6 insurrectionists or white supremacists),
pseudo-economics (inflation is Biden’s fault), and people forget ALL ABOUT the
fact their country is being stolen from them right before their eyes.
It’s actually biological. Multiple scientific studies have shown that
conservatives tend to focus on the negative, have a stronger physiological
response to threats, fear new experiences, and their brains are more reactive
to fear.
The drumbeat of fear
is actually the drumbeat that conservative minds are biologically attuned to,
and that’s a powerful thing.
So how do we get them to forget their fears and see how they’re getting
manipulated and screwed?
Through beer, of course!
It’s actually true. The Minocqua Brewing Company tries to reach them when
they’re not watching Fox News or reading conspiracy theories on the
internet. We reach them at the grocery store and when their progressive
friends bring them a cold one after they get done fishing.
Where else can we reach them? Well, because we’re not millionaires, we’ve
chosen to do it through social media and with billboards.
We spend $500 a week
beaming the Up North Podcast to all
of Northern Wisconsin through our Facebook page, and just took out $20K worth
of billboard space through the November election reminding people that their
Senator and Congressman have lied to them, and by doing so, are aiding and
abetting a “cold insurrection” than can only be put down by removing them from
office forever.
But we need a little
more help paying for that $20K of billboard space. Last week, 360 of you helped
us raise $15,236 with an average contribution of $42.32. That’s almost
what we need. If another couple hundred of you throw in $50, we might be
able to buy a few more signs
Also, we’re getting
requests from other progressive groups to put our signs in their cities.
This one just went up on Hwy 63 just south of Hayward. If you have a place
you want to put a sign and can help pay for it, reach out to us and we’ll deal
with the sign people—we’re good at that by now.
That's all I got for
you today, folks.
I'm asking for donations again, but we're putting your money to good use and
these elections coming up in November are crucial for Wisconsin and America.
Thanks for reading. Thanks for believing in us, and thanks for chipping
in so we can ALL do our part in Northern Wisconsin to get our democracy back,
one beer at a time.
Kirk Bangstad
Owner, Minocqua Brewing Company
Founder, Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC