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Billionaires Lay Siege to State Governments
While we're mesmerized by Trump, shady groups are pushing corporate-friendly legislation in statehouses all over the country.
May 21, 2017
It's easy to become mesmerized by The Donald Show in this year's political circus.
But a lot of the real action is in the outer rings, where the Koch brothers, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and their corporate cohorts have laid siege to our state governments.
It's no coincidence that such a large flock of corporatists and right-wing ideologues now roost in state offices, nor that they keep pushing exactly the same anti-people rhetoric and tactics. Nor is their lockstep embrace of identical corporation-enthroning proposals the result of small minds thinking alike.
More than a firefight here or an ambush there, the Koch-ALEC cabal have launched a massive, coordinated maneuver to conquer the countryside.
If you doubt that the strategy has gone local, consider this fact: Even though the Kochs didn't back a presidential campaign last year -- they said they were concentrating on only half a dozen Senate races -- they deployed 1,600 paid political staffers into 38 states to drive elections and policy campaigns.
This is why we must pay attention: Donald Trump isn't the only -- or even the biggest -- danger to our democratic republic. As Arn Pearson, general counsel of Center for Media Democracy, warns: "There are a lot of different parts of the Koch machine pulling on this oar. From their think tanks up through their elected officials, they're pushing on it. Hard."
You might think this is madness, but madness -- spurred by plutocratic greed -- is the new American political reality. Just being progressive won't stop it. We have to confront and defeat the Kochheads in our states.
Rolling back the effects of the continuing decades-long attack on America's ideal of the common good will take some work. To get started, check out Center for Media Democracy at www.prwatch.org/cmd.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
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.
It's easy to become mesmerized by The Donald Show in this year's political circus.
But a lot of the real action is in the outer rings, where the Koch brothers, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and their corporate cohorts have laid siege to our state governments.
It's no coincidence that such a large flock of corporatists and right-wing ideologues now roost in state offices, nor that they keep pushing exactly the same anti-people rhetoric and tactics. Nor is their lockstep embrace of identical corporation-enthroning proposals the result of small minds thinking alike.
More than a firefight here or an ambush there, the Koch-ALEC cabal have launched a massive, coordinated maneuver to conquer the countryside.
If you doubt that the strategy has gone local, consider this fact: Even though the Kochs didn't back a presidential campaign last year -- they said they were concentrating on only half a dozen Senate races -- they deployed 1,600 paid political staffers into 38 states to drive elections and policy campaigns.
This is why we must pay attention: Donald Trump isn't the only -- or even the biggest -- danger to our democratic republic. As Arn Pearson, general counsel of Center for Media Democracy, warns: "There are a lot of different parts of the Koch machine pulling on this oar. From their think tanks up through their elected officials, they're pushing on it. Hard."
You might think this is madness, but madness -- spurred by plutocratic greed -- is the new American political reality. Just being progressive won't stop it. We have to confront and defeat the Kochheads in our states.
Rolling back the effects of the continuing decades-long attack on America's ideal of the common good will take some work. To get started, check out Center for Media Democracy at www.prwatch.org/cmd.
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.
It's easy to become mesmerized by The Donald Show in this year's political circus.
But a lot of the real action is in the outer rings, where the Koch brothers, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and their corporate cohorts have laid siege to our state governments.
It's no coincidence that such a large flock of corporatists and right-wing ideologues now roost in state offices, nor that they keep pushing exactly the same anti-people rhetoric and tactics. Nor is their lockstep embrace of identical corporation-enthroning proposals the result of small minds thinking alike.
More than a firefight here or an ambush there, the Koch-ALEC cabal have launched a massive, coordinated maneuver to conquer the countryside.
If you doubt that the strategy has gone local, consider this fact: Even though the Kochs didn't back a presidential campaign last year -- they said they were concentrating on only half a dozen Senate races -- they deployed 1,600 paid political staffers into 38 states to drive elections and policy campaigns.
This is why we must pay attention: Donald Trump isn't the only -- or even the biggest -- danger to our democratic republic. As Arn Pearson, general counsel of Center for Media Democracy, warns: "There are a lot of different parts of the Koch machine pulling on this oar. From their think tanks up through their elected officials, they're pushing on it. Hard."
You might think this is madness, but madness -- spurred by plutocratic greed -- is the new American political reality. Just being progressive won't stop it. We have to confront and defeat the Kochheads in our states.
Rolling back the effects of the continuing decades-long attack on America's ideal of the common good will take some work. To get started, check out Center for Media Democracy at www.prwatch.org/cmd.
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