Try not to get any on you…
In this week’s Isthmus, Scott Wittkopf of Badger Democracy dissects the Waukesha GOP and analyzes the organs and vessels that make up the conservative version of Dane County. It’s a trip through the 9th circle of hell. Trust me. I live here.
One of the most repelling and fascinating scenes in Aliens occurs when the team find a bunch of dead facehuggers in tanks and Bishop, the android, sets out to dissect one of the corpses. It’s totally disgusting but I couldn’t look away. I wanted to know how that monster worked. I wanted science to offer some explanation for the horror. I say the same thing goes for Waukesha politics. How can so much evil be concentrated in one place? How can we understand this creature?
I’ve written before about one root of Waukesha’s conservatism and how it is origins lie in the nascent racism of white flight. But now, Wittkopf teaches us how that incipient conservatism and racism were channeled into conservative political action. Scott Wittkopf gives us the answer.
Much of the credit for this influence goes to Waukesha County GOP chairman Don Taylor, according to former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen.
The county’s “outsized role in state politics is due to [Taylor’s] ability to collect and tend to a greater conservative style of politics,” says Jensen, a Waukesha County native and Taylor protégé. Jensen says Taylor has excelled at identifying, grooming, electing and reelecting conservative politicians.
It approaches a messianic mission for Taylor, with the endgame being “lower taxes, greater liberty and less government.” Waukesha, says Taylor, is a “conservative Garden of Eden.”
I’m a relative newcomer to Wisconsin. I’ve only ever lived in Waukesha and I came here from Virginia. Even I knew this place was fucked up within a month of arriving. It’s “Mordor with Lawns” with Don Taylor as the Dark Lord, Sauron.
Well, Scott Wittkopf does an outstanding job of exposing the machinations of the Waukesha GOP and the outsized role they play in Wisconsin state politics. Good job. Well done.
NOTE: Scott will be joining a special edition of Drinking Liberally Waukesha on Saturday, November 12th at 6:30pm at Sprizzo Caffe in downtown Waukesha. Please come out and show your support for outstanding investigative journalism.
I’m glad you posted this, Phil. I’ve talked to many people in Waukesha & Oconomowoc over the past few days, and none of them had heard about Scott Wittkopf’s Isthmus article (cover story!)
I’m looking forward to handing out copies on Monday at DLW, and beyond. Thanks again to Amy for picking them up. 🙂
Much of that influence has extended into Jefferson County, too. Just watch the next time land use policies come up for debate and take a mental picture of how the sides line up. Those that are against expansion of infrastructure usually have what appear to be well reasoned arguments on their face, but you just have to scratch the surface to see what their real objectives are. Ten years ago it was the building of apartments in Johnson Creek. More recently it was the high speed rail debate in Watertown.
Yes, zoning and racism go hand-in-hand.
Yikes. NPR’s Marketplace Money profiled the economic miracle of Waukesha just this weekend. They made it sound like a nice place to live.
If you think thats bad you should deal with Don’s son Ty. Complete moron who was handed the keys to the kingdom simply because a a DNA match.