Koch Deal

Listening to Wisconsin governor Scott Walker's telephone conversation with a blogger pretending to be wealthy industrialist and noted "Nova" funder David Koch was as troubling as it was revealing. The big news from this prank call was not that Walker was in the pocket of a major business interest that wants to destroy unions and privatize government services - everyone already figured that one out - but that Walker is willing to go to the most extreme measures to get his way. He considered an idea of getting the state Senate's Democratic caucus back to Madison to make them pick up their paychecks instead of having direct deposit to get one of them into the Senate for a quorum, and he even floated the idea of getting them to return for "negotiations" and seize the opportunity to get the bill passed without changes.

But get this. Walker, upon hearing a suggestion from the fake Koch to send goon squads into the demonstrations outside the State Capitol in Madison to incite a riot, admitted to having considered that, but decided not to do so - not out of fairness and decency, but out of the concern that if the violence got out of hand it would be a public relations problem.

This comment sent shock waves all across that and all across the capital city. Madison mayor Dave Cieslewicz and his police chief Noble Wray are troubled by this suggestion that Walker would endanger the public safety, and they're demanding answers.

At the end of the call, recorded for posterity, the fake Koch - Buffalo blogger Ian Murphy of the Buffalo Beast - tells the governor, "I'll tell you what, Scott, once you crush these bastards, I'll fly you out to [California] and really show you a good time."

"All right, that would be outstanding," Walker replies, adding that the standoff is "all about getting our freedoms back."

"Absolutely," says Murphy. "And you know, we have a little bit of vested interest as well." He laughs.

What did that refer to? The budget bill would also allow the governor to power plants that heat and cool state buildings to private companies without any bids. Koch Industries has denied wanting to buy those plants, but the firm has already achieved one coup by supporting a new law that limits damage awards in suits against many businesses. They also support a bill giving Walker the authority to review to approve any state agency's rule proposals, thus weakening state regulations.

This was different from a morning zoo prank call, the kind Sarah Palin got from a Canadian disc jockey pretending to be the president of France that was (mostly) in good fun. This was a serious and successful gambit in divining Walker's true attitudes towards working families and public safety. His candid talk with a man he thought was one of his wealthiest backers at a time he won't even talk to Democrats confirms what people already suspected about him, though his tenure as Milwaukee County Executive - in which he eliminated county employees by 20 percent even while increasing county spending by 35 percent and decimated that county's public transit system - should have been evidence enough.

As all this has been going on, Wisconsin Assembly Republicans quickly passed the anti-union bill overnight last night (February 24-25) on a parliamentary procedure, and they stoically walked out amidst catcalls from the Democratic minority like they owned the earth. Walker just came one step closer to doing so.

And to return to the subject of my previous post . . .. If a Koch brother is going to fund PBS's "Nova," don't expect any more episodes honestly dealing with pollution any time soon.