The Dog Whistles of Autumn

By Jeff Simpson

The Republican "superstars" of Wisconsin are on a #wicomeback bus tour of WI.  It is comprised of such people as Scott Walker, Paul Ryan(R-Wall St.), Rebecca Kleefisch, Ron Johnson, etc... 

They are trying to get out the vote in rural Wisconsin and that sound you are hearing is one LOUD Dog Whistle!  

This week, when I traveled through Wisconsin's Republican strongholds, I found something close to a panic about a close race that could be stolen by voter fraud. At a Saturday get-out-the-vote rally in conservative Waukesha County, headlined by Representative Paul Ryan, speaker after speaker warned that the Walker-Burke contest could be decided by faux votes from Milwaukee, the heavily segregated city down the road.

 "We don't have vans that are bribing folks with cheeseburgers in the city of Milwaukee," said Vicki McKenna, a conservative talk radio host based in Madison. "Theirs is a by-any-means-necessary movement: Drag people to the polls by promising cheeseburgers and cigarettes ... they're dragging people to the polls promising everything from barbecue to smokes."

 Do you see what she is doing there??? 

 2.

dogwhistle

In politics, to make an innocuous statement which is designed to trigger previously indoctrinated bigotry & hatred without being recognized by outsiders for bigotry or hateful speech.

 


It really is quite disgusting!  Lets make sure it does NOT work!  Wisconsin deserves so much more than that!  

Vote for Mary Burke!  

The Huckster Schneider

By Jeff Simpson


Recently, Paul Ryan gave a speech, so full of dog whistles, everyone in the room's ears are still buzzing! 

In his latest column for the New York Times, Krugman slams Ryan for his controversial remarks, describing them as a “racial dog-whistle” intended to pander to white voters who think liberals are primarily interested in taking their hard-earned money and giving it to undeserving minorities. Mocking Ryan’s subsequent claim that he was simply “inarticulate,” Krugman sarcastically writes that the House GOPer “even cited the work of serious scholars — people like Charles Murray, most famous for arguing that blacks are genetically inferior to whites.”

Outside of the far right, it is pretty much a consensus what Paul Ryan was saying:

But before we go on, let me take a moment to explain Ryan's code words:
"Inner city" = black, Hispanic or very poor whites.
"Culture" = lazy.
"We have got this tailspin of culture, in our inner cities in particular, of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture," Ryan said. "There is a real culture problem here that has to be dealt with."
These words are harsh by Ryan's standards. He's usually more careful in his approach. Gee, wonder if he's planning to run in a presidential primary?
He's also dead wrong.

 Everytime a politician on the right gets himself in indefensible problems, Christian Schneider attempts to ride to the rescue.  This time is no exception as he calls Paul Ryan's racism a "good deed!  To keep this in context, let us not forget that Schneider once had THIS to say about Paul Ryan:

I, for one, am trying to determine which of my children to love less in order to make more room in my heart to love Paul Ryan more.

This time though, it is different.  This time people are sick of Schneider being a paid hack!  This time a subscriber spoke up, and summarized Schneider's work brilliantly(from the comments):

wbman - Today at 6:28 PM - Report Abuse

20

I value reading good columns from all sides of the political spectrum. A good writer can make a case for his or her position, to some degree. Christian Schneider isn't an example of that kind of columnist. This isn't the first time that he's supported a premise by cherry-picking facts. It isn't an accident that Schneider ignored Ryan's use of Murray, knowing some of the outrageous things Murray has written. It was easier for Schneider to make his case this way.

I've subscribed to this newspaper for 37 years. I never thought about cancelling when I disagreed with some editorials because it would be unusual to agree with all of them. But I can't countenance repeated dishonesty. Schneider doesn't belong on a newspaper and I'm starting to conclude that the JS doesn't belong on my reading list.

The paid customers are speaking ---- Is anyone listening?