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Fascism Goes After Its Real Threats First, Lets Its Ineffectual Enemies Stick Around
I remember when Scott Walker was elected as Governor of Wisconsin in 2011. It was the last time I felt genuine solidarity with Democrats. Scott Walker was going after public sector unions, decreasing their power at the behest of his investors, the out-of-state billionaire Koch Brothers, among others.
Independent journalism wasn’t as active then as it is now, or if it was I wasn’t aware of it. I had to turn to Wisconsin Public Radio if I wanted to hear the likes of Chris Hedges, Ralph Nader, Greg Palest, Amy Goodman, or others. It was far from ideal, but it was definitely a cut above NPR. It was my main source for information and voices from outside the mainstream corporate media, and I was terrified that Scott Walker was going to do away with it.
As it turned out, I needn’t have worried about Scott Walker pulling the plug on WPR. As I said, although it provided a platform for many voices of the left not heard elsewhere, those running the network knew which side their bread was buttered on. Walker didn’t kill WPR, he didn’t need to. He simply neutered it. Or, more precisely, he allowed it to neuter itself. You see, WPR talked the talk, but it wasn’t up to walking the walk.
Fascists are ignorant in many areas, but they are brilliant in the art of…