All faithful Daily Kos readers already know that much of Wisconsin Governator Scott Walkers' electability comes from a carefully crafted and staged “I’m just a regular guy” strategy surrounded by mountains of BS. A major contributor to that effort that comes from the plain old love that our Wisconsin media has for this corrupt phony. They spend ink and electrons fluffing up Snotty Boy and failing to inform citizens of what’s really going on.
Yup. Here we go again.
One Wisconsin Now has produced a mind-blowing report on Walkers’ extensive use of the state airplane after his failed Presidential run. Some highlights:
- The state plane was sent from Madison to pick him up after a haircut in Milwaukee and ferry him to Wausau to attend an NRA event.
- He used the state plane to attend a funeral which he could have driven to in Appleton because he wanted to attend a football game back in Madison and had to get back in time.
- He used the plane to attend a “Walk With Walker” event to boost his image.
- He used the plane for incredibly short distances (24 miles, 39 miles — you get the picture) that were easily and quickly drivable.
The report concludes with an apt statement from Scot Ross:
“Eight years ago, Scott Walker campaigned for governor by bragging about how he drove an old Saturn wagon and packed his own ham sandwiches for lunch. Now he’s using a state plane, paid for with our tax dollars, for things like going for a walk or making sure he’s back in Madison in time to catch a football game.”
This “regular guy" is now using our state plane, to the tune of $818,000 taxpayer dollars like it’s his private transportation. And all of this information is in state records (small wonder that Walker and the GOP tried to amend state record laws so information could be hidden).
The full rundown is in a satirical “Inflight Magazine” that One Wisconsin Now has created. Please click on the “Click for Full Magazine” link below the picture to go to the Google doc (no, you don’t need to use Chrome to view it). It’s well worth your while to spend a few minutes looking at the detailed information.
You might think that this story would be presented to the public by our media. Right? Big story! Corruption! Wrong! Outside of a very few local mentions, it’s just not there. And when it is presented, the focus is on declaring that One Wisconsin Now is a liberal group rather than the facts cited in the report.
Yes, One Wisconsin Now IS a liberal group that grew out of the Walker recall. But, just like a hooker being demeaned as a witness to a crime by the defense lawyer as if she’s deaf, dumb, and blind due to her professional career, OWN can see and smell corruption and report the facts about it.
Despite the fact that this report is being generally suppressed by the media, Scott Walker raged about it on Facebook.
Just check out that Inflight Magazine for the non-propaganda facts. Facts get under Walkers’ skin which is as thin as that on the Orange Menace in the White House, so he attacks.
Legitimate use of the state plane isn’t on the list which runs from just after Walkers’ failed Presidential bid only until March of this year (the report relies on state records). Now that he’s in full campaign mode, I can only imagine how much his use has increased.
His use of taxpayer money to benefit his donors, polish his image as a “job creator" create an extensive and expensive personal guard, and raise the wages of the lackeys he surrounds himself with is legendary. This is just part of the big picture.
Oh, Puddy, you might be thinking. You’re just too harsh and you expect too much. You might remind me of their coverage of the John Doe investigation and coverage of his failed Presidential run. And then I’d remind you that they HAD to cover those things in order to prevent being embarrassed by national media that was also covering those things. They didn’t want to be scooped on a story they buried or ignored. So, yes, they did provide coverage and real facts, but once the national media turned their eyes elsewhere, the Scott Walker fluffing began again in earnest.
How else do you explain the vast improvement in Walkers post-Presidential run poll numbers? People aren’t dumb. Or uncaring. They’re just uninformed.
If you know anyone in Wisconsin, tell them about this. They won’t hear about it in the media.