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Buy Your Way into Scott Walker's Circle
No matter how rich you are, it costs just $1 million to get the Wisconsin governor's ear.
Jul 03, 2015
If you think that none of today's presidential candidates care about people like you, check out Republican Scott Walker.
The Wisconsin governor not only cares, he wants to sit down with you, get your ideas, and stay in close touch. No matter who you are, Walker wants you to join his team, so his presidency can be your presidency.
Not a Republican? No worries. Walker doesn't check your papers.
Well...except for that million-dollar check you have to write to his super PAC.
That's the ticket price for entering Walker's inner circle, where you can discuss your policy concerns and seek personal favor -- straight from your lips to the candidate's ear. Even if you're a common working stiff, just give a million dollars and you're in.
Is this a great country or what?
Maybe you're wondering what, specifically, your money buys. Well, Scott's super PAC even prints out a handy purchasing slip showing what you'll get as an "Executive Board Member" of the campaign.
You'll get two private dinners with the governor, a Walker staffer dedicated to your needs, special briefings and weekly emails, bi-monthly conference calls, bi-annual retreats, and -- best of all -- an "Exclusive Executive Board Pin."
Golly, I haven't felt so included since the 1950s, when I became a member of "The Mickey Mouse Club" and got my own set of mouse ears.
When the Supreme Court descended into the Alice in Wonderland fantasy that corporations are people and money is speech, it was inevitable that American politics would devolve to a frivolous game that shuts out the workaday majority and enthrones a Koch-brothers plutocracy sustained by super PACs.
To help end this corrupt mockery of our electoral democracy, go to www.DemocracyIsForPeople.org.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
This column was distributed by OtherWords.
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
If you think that none of today's presidential candidates care about people like you, check out Republican Scott Walker.
The Wisconsin governor not only cares, he wants to sit down with you, get your ideas, and stay in close touch. No matter who you are, Walker wants you to join his team, so his presidency can be your presidency.
Not a Republican? No worries. Walker doesn't check your papers.
Well...except for that million-dollar check you have to write to his super PAC.
That's the ticket price for entering Walker's inner circle, where you can discuss your policy concerns and seek personal favor -- straight from your lips to the candidate's ear. Even if you're a common working stiff, just give a million dollars and you're in.
Is this a great country or what?
Maybe you're wondering what, specifically, your money buys. Well, Scott's super PAC even prints out a handy purchasing slip showing what you'll get as an "Executive Board Member" of the campaign.
You'll get two private dinners with the governor, a Walker staffer dedicated to your needs, special briefings and weekly emails, bi-monthly conference calls, bi-annual retreats, and -- best of all -- an "Exclusive Executive Board Pin."
Golly, I haven't felt so included since the 1950s, when I became a member of "The Mickey Mouse Club" and got my own set of mouse ears.
When the Supreme Court descended into the Alice in Wonderland fantasy that corporations are people and money is speech, it was inevitable that American politics would devolve to a frivolous game that shuts out the workaday majority and enthrones a Koch-brothers plutocracy sustained by super PACs.
To help end this corrupt mockery of our electoral democracy, go to www.DemocracyIsForPeople.org.
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
If you think that none of today's presidential candidates care about people like you, check out Republican Scott Walker.
The Wisconsin governor not only cares, he wants to sit down with you, get your ideas, and stay in close touch. No matter who you are, Walker wants you to join his team, so his presidency can be your presidency.
Not a Republican? No worries. Walker doesn't check your papers.
Well...except for that million-dollar check you have to write to his super PAC.
That's the ticket price for entering Walker's inner circle, where you can discuss your policy concerns and seek personal favor -- straight from your lips to the candidate's ear. Even if you're a common working stiff, just give a million dollars and you're in.
Is this a great country or what?
Maybe you're wondering what, specifically, your money buys. Well, Scott's super PAC even prints out a handy purchasing slip showing what you'll get as an "Executive Board Member" of the campaign.
You'll get two private dinners with the governor, a Walker staffer dedicated to your needs, special briefings and weekly emails, bi-monthly conference calls, bi-annual retreats, and -- best of all -- an "Exclusive Executive Board Pin."
Golly, I haven't felt so included since the 1950s, when I became a member of "The Mickey Mouse Club" and got my own set of mouse ears.
When the Supreme Court descended into the Alice in Wonderland fantasy that corporations are people and money is speech, it was inevitable that American politics would devolve to a frivolous game that shuts out the workaday majority and enthrones a Koch-brothers plutocracy sustained by super PACs.
To help end this corrupt mockery of our electoral democracy, go to www.DemocracyIsForPeople.org.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.