Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce: Attitude Adjustment. Not

This week's Isthmus says, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce tones it down a notch.

Correctly noting that the tone of this fall's election television advertisements designed to elect Republicans are by WMC's own admission, "reposition(ed)." Erik Gunn reports:

Such ads are a departure for WMC, which is better known for its spots trashing state Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler as "Loophole Louie" or, earlier, portraying Gov. Jim Doyle during his successful 2006 re-election bid in a green, toxic haze to suggest he is a crook.

We recall that it took enormous pressure to get WMC to make these modifications to its political message. They only did so  when the image of the individual members was tarnished by the trash they produced in previous elections.

Left to their own devices, WMC would resume creating more "Willie Horton" style messages.

It is clear that WMC's market position was assumed by such groups as the Coalition for America's Families, the Club for Growth and All Children Matter which continues to produce WMC-style attack ads.

All Children Matter is running nasty spots that have nothing to do with children or the truth.

The Government Accountability Board may or may not get the power to regulate these ads so that the public knows who is paying, but the WMC misinformation machine will continue to roll.

These public advertisements are just one face of the WMC propaganda effort.

When the new session of the legislature opens next year, expect WMC to continue to publish distortion and after distortion about Wisconsin tax levies, expenditures for compensation packages of public employees, and of course, the record of Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson.

WMC is not going to go quietly into the night.

Comments

[xoff]

The question is, where has WMC's big money gone this cycle? I suspect it has quietly been given to those other right-wing groups which continue to do the dirty work while WMC polishes its imnage.

[xoff]

The question is, where has WMC's big money gone this cycle? I suspect it has quietly been given to those other right-wing groups which continue to do the dirty work while WMC polishes its imnage.

[yoff]

And your big union, indian and trial lawyer money xoff? Where is that? *cough* Greater *Cough* Wisconsin *cough* Committee.

Chuck Chvala lives! Yippee!!

[xoff]

If Chuck Chvala indeed lives, it is not at the Greater Wisconsin Committee, I can assure you.