Watching Scotty (Walker) Blow

By Charles Pierce, Esquire

05 September 13

ost of the attention in Wisconsin these days has been drawn to the thuggish tactics of the Capitol cops in Madison, who have been busting dangerous singers on orders from the people who run the capitol for Scott Walker, the twice-elected goggle-eyed homunculus hired by Koch Industries to manage their midwest subsidiary formerly known as the state of Wisconsin. However, out in the boonie up north, the sharp end of Walker's fire-sale of the state centers around a proposed open-pit iron mine. This has drawn the ire of residents, and the state's environmentalists, all of whom would rather not have their watersheds and woodlands turned into the equivalent of a rusting '57 DeSoto up on blocks in somebody's side yard. This is also the place where the Florida-based mining company that wants to build the mine decided to protect with heavily armed mercenaries in the employ of an Arizona firm run by a payday-loan magnate. And thus does the Great Circle Of Capitalist Grifting go 'round and 'round. Anyway, the mine's an ecological nightmare, and it's as clear an example as you'll find of the kind of cheapjack crony capitalism that Walker hopes will propel him to the White House. Naturally, his pet legislature's on board as well.

Thanks to the folks at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, we now know why.

The Democracy Campaign review also found the campaign contributions made by mining deregulation interests swamped those of mining deregulation opponents - environmental groups - by a ratio of $610 to $1. Environmental groups which oppose the Republican mining proposal introduced in mid-January contributed only $25,544 to legislators between 2010 and June 2012 and to the governor between 2010 and April 23, 2012. Support for a nearly identical GOP proposal last session to reduce groundwater, wetland, waste rock disposal and other environment laws for iron ore mining and impose deadlines on the state to review mine proposals so companies can get permits faster was led by manufacturing, construction, business, banking, transportation and four other special interests, according to state lobbying records.

And, naturally, Walker is quite a lucrative sublet all by himself.

Walker, who has campaigned around the state to gin up support for changing rules to attract mining projects, received $11.34 million from 2010 through April 23, 2012 from interests that support mining deregulation (Table 1) including $67,068 from the prospective mine's owner, Christopher Cline, his employees and other mining industry executives. During the same period, Walker received only $650 from environmental groups.

Bear these things in mind. Walker has the money to finance his national ambitions. Also, this kind of thing is the perfect demonstration of what the Republican party, with its solid marriage to the forces of oligarchy, plans to do to the country as soon as it gets the power to do it. If you'll pardon an infelicitous metaphor, Wisconsin is the canary in the coal mine, and the people fighting Walker out in the woods are doing it for all of us.

Charlie has been a working journalist since 1976. He is the author of four books, most recently "Idiot America." He lives near Boston with his wife but no longer his three children.