Corporate oligarchs back WisGOP. Real job creators? Maybe not

Last Fall, you may recall that the WisGOP Legislature passed a raft of new campaign finance rule, most of which were intended to increase the amount of direct money that could be sent to parties and individual candidates, and to allow even more corporate and special interest influence over Wisconsin politicians. These changes infamously culminated in Assembly Democrats abstaining from voting on the bill, to illustrate the conflict of interest involved in giving more power to incumbents and big money contributors.

Matt Rothschild of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign took note of which organizations took advantage of the law allowing these PACs and corporations to give even more money to the campaign wings of parties, and take a look at who two of the most prominent ones are.

3. ABC (Associated Builders and Contractors): $24,000
It gave $12,000 to the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee and $12,000 to the Committee to Elect a Republican Senate.

4. Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce: $24,000
It gave $12,000 to the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee and $12,000 to the Committee to Elect a Republican Senate.

Those are the maximums, and unlike the Beer Distributors and Altria Corporation (the two 2 givers to state parties), notice that ABC and the MMAC didn’t give anything to the Democrats.

Speaking of ABC, their boss was in the news this week because she’s going to be giving economic advice to another GOP politician.

When Trump unveiled his initial, 13-man economic advisory council last week, POLITICO reported it included five major donors whose families had collectively contributed more $2 million to Trump and his joint fundraising efforts with the GOP….

Among the new additions announced on Thursday is billionaire GOP financier Diane Hendricks, who donated $5 million to Scott Walker's super PAC in 2015. Hendricks is currently a vice chair of the national Trump Victory efforts and a "victory finance chair" for Wisconsin.

Liz Uihlein, a co-founder of Uline, Inc., a shipping supply company, was also added to Trump's economic council. Uihlein and her husband, Richard, are among the Republican Party's most generous donors. In May, Trump and the Republican National Committee introduced Uihlein as a national vice-chair for fundraising efforts.

You may recall the Uihleins gave $6.2 million to Walker’s failure of a presidential campaign, and also gave $284,500 for Scotty’s governor campaigns in Wisconsin. Oh, and they just got the Walker-appointed DNR Board to give some sweet shoreline access for a condo complex they own in Vilas County.

These oligarchs have no problem with doubling down on the failed policies of WisGOP, because they’re reaping all the benefits while everyone else stagnates and declines. And take extra note that the MMAC thinks continuing WisGOP policies that have gone a long way toward the ghettoizing of poverty in Wisconsin's largest city-