GET ME REWRITE: Wisconsin GOP brings some 'Southern strategy' to its campaign mudslinging tactics with 'scary Black man' mailer targeting white suburban women

 

Top headline:  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/12/2022

Bottom headline:  Alabama Political Reporter, 10/10/2022

Journal Sentinel excerpt:

With millions of dollars in ads buttressing his case and millions more spent on attacking Barnes over the past two months, Johnson has stormed from behind over the last few months in the poll.

And who is bankrolling Johnson's campaign for a third term?

Danger!! Plutocrats at work.

More Perfect Union, 10/11/2022

Building materials company CEO Diane Hendricks has contributed at least $6.5 million so far this year to the Wisconsin Truth PAC. Shipping and packaging supplies company CEO Richard Uihlein and his wife Elizabeth have given the PAC at least $3.5 million. Those figures are as of the most recent disclosures covering through the end of July, so it is possible they have donated more or that additional wealthy donors have contributed to the PAC since then. 

Since May, Wisconsin Truth PAC has spent $12.8 million on running ads that oppose Democratic candidate Mandela Barnes, the lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, and $9.2 million on ads that support Johnson.

And they no doubt approve this message from the Wisconsin GOP.  (Screenshots of the latest scurrilous mailer that appears to be targeting white suburban women.)

Excerpt from Alabama Political Reporter:

This was not a scene from a horror movie. It was real life. It was the South in 1899 – where public lynchings were very much a reality for Black men and women. 

In this case, the man’s name was Sam Hose. He had been wrongfully accused of rape and child abuse. But his real crime was being a “scary” Black man in a mostly white country. A country that was still very much struggling with the aftermath of slavery. A country in which white politicians had learned well that painting Black men as “animals,” “beasts,” “savages” and “criminals” could be effective political campaign tools. 

All part of the myth of the Scary Black Man. [emphasis added]

A myth that has been way too politically expedient to die. 

A myth that has led to countless unfair laws and wrongly convicted men. A myth that filled prisons and jails. A myth that destroyed families and saw Black men’s lives end before they ever began.

Related posts:

If this poll is accurate, there is something terribly wrong with Wisconsin.  (10/13/2022)

Based on latest Marquette poll results, most independent voters gear up for Election Day DroolFest.  (10/13/2022)