Chris Hayes and Naomi Klein Explain Why the Protests in Wisconsin Matter

BY HEATHER

February 18, 2011 05:50 PM  [print_link]

Crossposted with http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/chris-hayes-and-naomi-klein-explain-why-pr

The Nation’s Chris Hayes laid out very plainly why the protests in Wisconsin matter. This move by Gov. Scott Walker is one of a series of power grabs by Republicans with the intent of achieving some of their long time goals; destroying unions and the middle class and getting rid of our public education system.

And as Chris noted, it’s a reminder of the fact that when our political institutions fail us, people mobilizing outside of those institutions through the process of peaceful protests as we’ve seen in Wisconsin have brought about some of the greatest moments of progressive transformation in the United States.

Chris’ fellow contributor to The Nation, Naomi Klein discussed how what Walker doing is a classic example of the Shock Doctrine, where politicians create a crisis and then using that crisis as an excuse to push through horribly unpopular economic policies. And as Hayes and Klein both explained, what ends up happening in Wisconsin is not only going to have local implications, but national as well.

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Editor’s Note

Meanwhile…JUST A WHIFF OF WHAT THE LYING SCUMBAGS ARE UP TO

Quick takes in decoding political bullshit

The below from a “donations” page set up by the Wisconsin Republicans. The lies we care to object here are in bold. They are all outrageous, of course.  These criminals never trade in subtle lies.  Note, however, that some things are correct, but for the wrong reasons (in this case, “Obama Democrats are ignoring the people of America…” which is undeniable.  These scumbags are correct.  But they’re using this fact for their own treacherous reasons, implying that THEY would not betray the masses, which is so ludicrously untrue as to be laughable. 

This kind of maddening confusion is common when you live in an official political culture in which the dominant narratives of “reality” are monopolized by the hard right and the center-always-tending-ever-further-to-the right, represented by the corporate Democrats and Obama. A very very narrow spectrum, to be sure.—P.Greanville

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