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Scott Walker has been called the most divisive governor in history, and that is no accident. In May of 2012 "a video was released exposing Scott Walker meeting with a lady billionaire, Diane Hendricks, who begged for him to make Wisconsin a ‘right-to-work (for less)’ state." The video of this meeting with Hendricks was shot on January 18, 2011, and in it Walker admits that his strategy was to "divide and conquer" the people of Wisconsin and to abolish collective bargaining rights for workers. It is now pretty obvious that this was Walker’s plan from the very beginning—the implementation of the extreme right-wing fascist agenda.

Yet Walker made no mention of abolishing collective bargaining rights when he was campaigning for governor against Tom Barrett in 2010. It was only after his election to office in 2011 that he "dropped the bomb" and revealed for the first time his true intentions, causing a mass uprising and a storm of controversy. In this essay I examine the question: Since it is clear that Scott Walker lied from the very beginning about his intentions and his plan to divide and conquer the people of Wisconsin and in effect abolish the middle class, why is it that so many middle class Wisconsinites continue to support him?

First of all, let's take a look at Scottie's record since taking office. Gerald Koerner, in a letter to the editor of the Capitol Times, lists 40 reasons to recall Scott Walker, which I reiterate here:

1. Tells lies and makes up phony "facts" such as Capitol clean-up cost.

2. Brags about jobs while state has worst record of job loss in nation.

3. Grabs power for the governor's office.

4. Undermines public education.

5. Shifts funds to private schools.

6. Cuts funds for technical colleges, universities and apprenticeship programs.

7. Despises teachers.

8. Favors state-level mandates over local control.

9. Aligned with national tea party and Koch brothers agenda, doesn't represent Wisconsin citizens.

10. Repealed equal pay for equal work.

11. Reduced funds for BadgerCare, Medicaid, Family Care and women's health care.

12. Rejects federal support for high speed broadband service.

13. Appoints unqualified cronies to state jobs.

14. Awards bonuses to cronies.

15. Obstacles to block voters.

16. Promotes midnight legislation and hidden agendas.

17. Funding from mysterious out-of-state organizations.

18. Favors elimination of worker rights and bargaining.

19. More money and tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations, but less for working poor.

20. Extends waiting period for unemployment insurance.

21. Hides from Wisconsin residents while traveling around the country bragging about his dirty deeds.

22. Loves guns but hates cameras in public places.

23. Eliminated legal remedies for women and minorities who are harassed or discriminated against.

24. Cars and highways IN, public transportation OUT.

25. Eliminates funding for preventive health care, especially for women.

26. Believes politicians should determine reproductive health care.

27. Coal, oil and mining interests welcomed, renewable energy out.

28. Attacks Focus on Energy program and cuts resources for wind and solar energy.

29. Eliminated "green jobs" initiative and abolished the Office of Energy Independence.

30. Hates government regulations except for our bedrooms and our health care choices

31. Restricts and reduces benefits for families, including those under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

32. Has little concern for state parks or natural resources.

33. Prefers ignorance over education including "abstinence only sex education" mandated by the state.

34. Rejects federal funds that could help create jobs.

35. Loves corporate lobbyists and their campaign money.

36. Hates public employees but loves outsourcing and private special interests.

37. Preaches "less government" but created 32 pages of rules to limit access to our Capitol.

38. Tried but failed to block the recall process and emasculate the Government Accountability Board.

39. Walker's prior job and the John Doe probe? Why did he hire four criminal lawyers?

40. Kleefisch? She supports all of the above.

This record is despicable, by any standards, and yet there are still "Walker supporters" out there. Why? How can any rational, aware person support such a clearly regressive, criminal governor? Are Walker supporters really that dim-witted? Do they suffer from some kind of Stockholm Syndrome? Or what? I could understand how a millionaire or a billionaire could back Scott Walker, but how could any ordinary, hard-working middle class Wisconsonite support him? What dynamic in their psyche could blind them to the obvious mendacity of this man? How could anyone fail to see his deviousness and how detrimental his Koch Brothers agenda and Tea Party rhetoric is for the great progressive state of Wisconsin? It makes no sense at first blush.

Eric L. Wattree makes the observation that "if there's anyone left in America who, at this point, can't see that the Republican Party is the enemy of the American middle class, they have to be either feeble minded, or harboring a hidden interest which precludes them from wanting to see". And if for the moment we give Walker supporters the benefit of the doubt and rule out feeble mindedness (I know—I’m being generous here), that leaves us with willful ignorance, or, as Wattree puts it, "not wanting to see" because of some personal vested interest.

I asked an (ex-) friend of mine how he could support Scott Walker given his criminal activities, like awarding bonuses and state jobs to unqualified cronies. "So he paid back a few favors" was his response, "What's the big deal?" Upon further questioning my "friend" admitted that he saw state workers as the enemy, since they were "sucking at the teat of the public dole", and were thus enjoying benefits that he, as a retired private sector employee, did not enjoy. Since his mind had been completely programmed by years of naked exposure to Fox News propaganda, he was no longer capable of formulating an ORIGINAL thought—he believed that the salaries and pensions of public sector workers like police, firemen and teachers were coming directly out of his own pocket! He blamed unions for the budget crisis! Meanwhile, back in reality, in the REAL world, what is abundantly clear is that “the budget crisis…was caused by unregulated Wall Street gambling and…is being irrationally blamed on union pay and pensions”. Aside from my ex-friend’s mind-controlled delusions and petty ego jealousy over public sector benefits, he admitted that his property taxes had decreased (by an average of $11 a month) under Walker's watch, and that this was ALL that he cared about.

So there you have it. It would seem that in these most difficult and uncertain economic times, almost everyone views the Walker issue through the lens of their own pocketbook. If you happen to have suffered financially as a result of Walker's austerity policies, like all public and state workers, then you will naturally be aligned against him. On the other hand, if you believe that you are benefiting financially from Walker's toxic Republican agenda, you can apparently excuse or refuse to acknowledge all manner of misdeeds, misconduct and criminal behavior.

A useful analogy might be the following: Someone breaks into your house while you are away and rapes and beats your wife, who is home alone, but on the way out the perpetrator leaves fifty dollars on the bureau. You come home and discover the crime, and despite the obvious trauma to your wife (middle class workers, in our analogy), not only do you fail to report the crime, but (since you have benefited financially) you refuse to admit that it even took place. This, in my estimation, is an accurate depiction of the psychology of a Walker supporter. Focused exclusively on their own personal gain, their tunnel vision precludes them from seeing the BIG PICTURE—how detrimental this crook Walker is not only for our state, but for the entire nation as well. If the sheeple are dumb enough and blind enough to re-elect this corporate fascist, then they will indeed deserve the destructive consequences that will follow.

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