Wisconsin Republican Scott Walker was elected governor, and long time Democratic senator Russ Feingold was defeated, because conservative billionaires, David and Charles Koch, flooded the state with their money in order to influence the elections. Thanks to the Citizen\u2019s United<\/em> Supreme Court decision, they were able to fund, through various venues, an unprecedented number of non-stop, 24\/7, conservative TV and radio ads. Most were negative, and the ones that weren\u2019t, were not forthcoming about the extremist agenda they wished to enact. As George Lakoff<\/a> notes, this massive amount of political advertising mattered, because “. . .language heard over and over changes brains.” Feingold, and Walker’s Democratic opponent, who had significantly less money, were simply not able to compete against the Koch brothers largesse. From Mother Jones<\/em> on the Walker race for governor:<\/p>\n

According to Wisconsin campaign finance filings, Walker’s gubernatorial campaign received $43,000 from the Koch Industries PAC during the 2010 election. That donation was his campaign’s second-highest, behind $43,125 in contributions from housing and realtor groups in Wisconsin. The Koch’s PAC also helped Walker via a familiar and much-used politicial maneuver designed to allow donors to skirt campaign finance limits. The PAC\u00a0gave<\/a> $1 million to the Republican Governors Association, which in turn spent $65,000 on independent expenditures to support Walker. The RGA also spent a whopping\u00a0$3.4 million<\/a> on TV ads and mailers attacking Walker’s opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Walker ended up beating Barrett by 5 points. The Koch money, no doubt, helped greatly.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So far, the attention on Scott Walker’s legislative proposal has focused on his effort to revoke Wisconsin public employees’ collective bargaining rights. His major donors, the Kochs, have long backed groups like Americans for Prosperity, the Cato Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, and the Reason Foundation, which have called for the eradication of public-sector unions. They personally vehemently oppose them. But the Koch\u2019s interest in Wisconsin politics goes beyond the issue of unions. They are counting on Walker to enact a core conservative principle by selling off the state\u2019s assets to private interests. And if his bill passes, they will be first in line. Consider these items buried in Walker\u2019s 144-page bill:<\/p>\n

16.896 Sale or contractual operation of state-owned heating, cooling, and power plants. (1) Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the department may sell any state-owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state. Notwithstanding ss. 196.49 and 196.80, no approval or certification of the public service commission is necessary for a public utility to purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant, and any such purchase is considered to be in the public interest and to comply with the criteria for certification of a project under s. 196.49 (3) (b).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, to translate, the Koch brother\u2019s reward for drowning Scott Walker in money may be a chance to buy a bunch of publicly owned power plants for a song. The \u201cbest interest of the state\u201d phrase in the bill would mean whatever Walker wants it to mean. This is textbook Republican corporatism: privatization, no-bid contracts, deregulation, and naked cronyism.<\/p>\n

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