WI Republicans Spending Spree on Attorneys, Chesebro Is the BadgerPundit, Nazi CPAC Meet, White Rural Rage, the Book

 Just another page in the Trump era…

1. Lame Duck Laws by Lame Gerrymandered Republicans.

WI Republicans not only took power away from the governor and AG during a lame duck session after Scott Walker lost, but they also allowed themselves to hire their own attorneys instead of the state justice department.

WI GOP’s lame duck laws made it easier for the Legislature to hire attorneys and indeed, WI taxpayers are on the hook for nearly $14.3M spent by WI GOP on private attorneys between 1/1/19 & 12/31/22. Add probably $3M more for this last redistricting fight.

While the Dems have only just hired their private attorneys:

It must be highlighted that only in this last redistricting fight did Democrats hire their own private lawyers—at a fraction of what WI GOP attorneys charged. And WI GOP experts, like the redistricting one paid $450/hr, are additional out-of-pocket costs.

Another amazing example of “fiscal conservative policies.” Then there’s this…

3. Nazis at CPAC know where their swastikas are welcome…

Professor of political science at the University of Maryland, Tom Schaller and journalist Paul Waldman’s new book, “White Rural Rage.”

You might remember back in 2016, The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker by author Katherine J. Cramer.

White Rural Rage laid out the fourfold interconnected threat that white rural voters pose to the country,” in their new book. “They are the most anti-gay, xenophobic in the country. QAnon support and subscribers, COVID denialism, Obama birtherism.”

“They don’t believe in an independent press, free speech. They’re most likely to say the president should be backed unilaterally without checks from the courts, and the strongest white Christian nationalists. Fourth, they’re most likely to excuse or justify violence as acceptable.”

This is the case due to the “problematic education systems,” “poorer infrastructure” and “a lack of economic opportunity” in rural areas of the country.

“That kind of left them open to someone like Donald Trump who would come along and tell them something that was true, that there is a system that has not served them well,”