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Yesterday I went to Madison to attend the Online News Association conference. It was very interesting on many levels and featured several higher profile people in the national and state media. For me, one of the more interesting moments was during a panel discussion on polling. One of the three people on that panel was Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) spokesman Jim Pugh. Shortly after the panel began it seemed pretty clear that Pugh was on it for comic relief.
Early in the panel discussion on polling Jim Pugh, with a massive smile on his face and an inability to look directly at the listening audience, claimed that WMC is "an issue group." I was fully prepared to roll my eyes after that absurd comment but then a very telling thing happened, the entire room erupted in laughter. It seemed that all of the media representatives in the room knew that Pugh's wink and nod comment was absurd. WMC has clearly become the sugar daddy arm of the Republican Party and everyone knows it.
Jim Pugh's big smile and the room's response clearly demonstrated that most in the media are on to the WMC game. What Pugh may have not been prepared for was the level and intensity of the laughter in the room. After that first incident he was much more serious, red faced and almost seemed irritated. He just kept on saying "it's about the issues" (like a parrot), as if repetition would make it true. His repetition did not seem to convince anyone as they continued to laugh every time that he repeated the claim that WMC was "an issue group."
WMC has essentially bought the last two statewide elections for Republican candidates. During the Supreme Court race they actually spent more on supporting the ethically troubled Annette Ziegler than her and her opponent combined. In that race they also spent 4-5 times as much as their closest progressive counterpart. WMC has clearly become a club to elect Republicans at all costs, any alleged business interests are clearly secondary. Any claims to the contrary are ridiculous and everyone knows it. Yesterday Jim Pugh found that out as the big joke was on him.
