Here we go again. "Rebecca For Real" is accusing Kathleen Falk of getting a "Sugar Daddy" to help her win the election for Governor in the form of union support. This meme is catching on around the state since the recent report by Dan Bice about the union support money that is flowing in to the state for Falk.
For the time being I'll ignore the sexist terminology. We'll get back to that soon. I am not clear on why anyone is surprised or shocked that Falk is getting support from the unions in her campaign. It's simple enough to point to "shadowy" groups bringing in money from out of state, and to be shocked by them. Many in the state (myself included) would love to see the influence of big money on campaigns in the state stop. Unfortunately we're living in a world where this is legal and accepted by politicians on both sides of the aisle. It's a corrupting influence on all politics, but recent court rulings have cast this as a free speech issue. Personally I'm watching TV as little as possible at the moment because I'm sick of the "free speech" flowing at me. And I think Kleefisch is being a tad too "free" with her own.
It strikes me as one thing for Bice or Mike McCabe and WDC to be shocked and upset by this sort of thing, because they have called out groups supporting both Democrats and Republicans on this. It's only fair, and even though WDC may irritate politicians on both sides, I have a respect for someone who finds fault with everyone for accepting money. I'm in agreement with that
But it's entirely another thing for Kleefisch and Walker to be crying about it when they have benefitted from an unprecedented influx of cash, and the ability to raise unlimited funds from outside of the state. Yes, it would be great if the Democratic candidates could win by having bake sales and by getting their $10 contributions from plain ol' Wisconsin folks. We all believe in that and give when we can, but isn't it a lot to expect that Democratic candidates willl eschew out-of-state funds for their campaigns when the Republicans are raking it in daily? Walker has spent most of his time for the past several months traveling the country and raising money. He has, as has been pointed out, very rarely found time to actually be in his office in Madison doing his job. And now he and the Lieutenant Governor are finding themselves offended by the filthy lucre coming in through the unioins? Spare me this hypocritical whining. The Koch Brothers/AFP/WMC/Chamber of Commerce/Heartland money rolling in is every bit as dirty.
Back to the sexist language. Kleefisch seems determined to somehow be doing a slightly more sophisticated version of Rush Limbaugh's "slut" campaign. Female candidates of all persuasions should be able to conduct campaigns without their opponents throwing sexist terms at them just because they are women. It's particularly upsetting to see this from another female candidate, and to have the accusation that Falk is "setting women back 50 years" after the display of the Republican lawmakers in the state for the last few months. This is clearly one of those "Ms. Pot meet Ms. Kettle" situations. We're better than this. Most of us, anyway.
Rebecca -- For Real?