By Wisconsin Bail Out The People Movement
The right-wing anti-worker racists attempting to organize white supremacist shock troop recruitment rallies in Wisconsin (and across the United States) are now trying to use the heroes of the Civil Rights movement (Mrs. Rosa Parks et. al) to justify their cause and consolidate their forces.
Those organizing the “re-open” recruitment “rallies” include leaders and members of the capitalist “think tanks” the Americans For Prosperity, the Heritage Foundation and the Wisconsin Institute For Law and Liberty all funded in part by the $900 million extreme right-wing Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. These right-wing organizations and others funded by Bradley have attacked poor and working people worldwide every day for decades.
In the past decade in Wisconsin, the majority of the gains poor and working people have made in the past 80 years in the state have been eviscerated. The Bradley Foundation along with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and others wrote the blueprints for implementing “charter schools,” “welfare reform,” and “union reforms,” – all with a eugenics/Jim Crow base (Bradley funded “The Bell Curve…,” a fundamental right-wing movement text although it’s been debunked worldwide as unscientific.) Bradley’s Board of Directors is a who’s who of personnel from Wall Street, the Pentagon and union busting law firms
Bradley personnel have also spent decades directly or indirectly grooming, training and funding their servant politicians – both Democrat and Republican – such as Robin Vos, Scott Fitzgerald, Scott Walker et. al. and right-wing initiatives such as the “tea party movement.”
Bradley’s program in short is a “capitalism with the gloves off” approach: Reducing or shredding social safety nets and regulations and attacking unions at every turn all of which has led to what we’re now facing during this COVID-19 pandemic.
A short list of the right-wing/Wall Street/Pentagon full court press austerity in Wisconsin since 2011:
- Act 10;
- Right-To-Work (for less);
- Elimination of residency rules;
- Increasing funding for the prison-industrial complex;
- The gutting of environmental regulations;
- Attacks on women’s reproductive freedom;
- Bigoted attacks on the LGBTQ community;
- Reduction of Civil Service and Tenure protections;
- Attacked migrants/the undocumented by removing opportunities to obtain drivers licenses, to access worker protections and more;
- Supporting the Pentagon budget and bank bailouts and giving more debt service to finance capital;
- Numerous attacks on Unemployment Insurance, Medicare, Medicaid;
- Wage cuts for public sector workers whereby workers have to pay more of their take home pay for pensions and healthcare;
- Relaxed or eviscerated hundreds of regulatory laws, statutes and codes for corporations and banks in Wisconsin;
- Eviscerated or reduced the Department of Natural Resources and other environmental resource protections;
- Defunding Planned Parenthood and other health care services for women and LGBTQ people;
- Eliminating or de-funding social safety net programs;
- De-funding and attacking the world renowned University of Wisconsin System and the Wisconsin Technical System;
- Eliminating numerous supports including resource centers for K-12 and higher education students within public education;
- Increasing funding for the police and not for living wage jobs and other direly needed services;
- Massive wage cuts for public sector workers annually as per Act 10 even if a union is “re-certified” that union can only bargain over wages up to the rate of inflation;
- Deepening austerity by defunding public education and other public services;
- Destroying regulations in the healthcare industry and elsewhere;
- Billions more to the banks in “debt service” and other austerity mechanisms;
- And much more ….
- Now these right-wingers – in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic no less – claim they care about us the workers and our communities and our small businesses. We know the racist rich only care about one thing: profit! Through these “re-open” recruitment rallies, the Wall Street vultures – with the open assistance of the Trump administration – are attempting to consolidate an even deeper right-wing white supremacist base by activating their networks, alliances and politicians such as Scott Walker – and to try and divide white workers from their real class allies.
The right-wingers actions in attempting to use the Civil Rights movement in their opportunistic and debased way also shows their great fear – and their understanding of the potential power of the internationalist Black Freedom Struggle and the uniting of this with other people’s movements, migrants struggles, unions, progressive student orgs. etc. Thus the reason Bradley ensures their servants such as Vos, Fitzgerald, Scott Walker et. al are trained on the “divide and conquer” tactics and strategies.
The people’s movement must oppose with all its strength through direct action this right-wing “re-open” right-wing movement. The need: Building a serious people’s united front with an independent internationalist program and self-defense mechanisms such as workers and community defense guards now during the COVID-19 pandemic and moving forward.
We, the real people’s movements, will not be divided and conquered! Union Yes!, Jim Crow, NO! All power to the people! Stop the war on Black and Brown America! Money for free healthcare and other people’s needs – not bank bailouts, wars and racist laws/policies! Smash the racist and fascist minded lackey politicians and their Wall Street masters! Make the banks pay! People’s Needs Not Racist Anti-Worker Austerity! No Pasaran!
Sources for Bradley Foundation grants:
https://www.bradleyfdn.org/grants/archived-grants
2019 Year in Review (6.56 MB PDF)
2018 Year in Review (1.1 MB PDF)
2017 Annual Report (1.03 MB PDF)
2016 Annual Report (1.02 MB PDF)
2016 Report to Wisconsin (1.82 MB PDF)
2015 Annual Report (1.6 MB PDF)
2015 Report to Wisconsin (1.5 MB PDF)
2014 Annual Report (1.05 MB PDF)
2014 Report to Wisconsin (1.34 MB PDF)
2013 Annual Report (1.35 MB PDF)
2013 Report to Wisconsin (1.46 MB PDF)
Organizations That Are Or Have Researched the Bradley Foundation:
A Job Is A Right Campaign. Produced the report, “The Feeding Trough….”
https://rethinkingschools.org/
https://powerbase.info/index.php/Lynde_and_Harry_Bradley_Foundation
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Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Founding
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was founded in April 1960, by young people who had emerged as leaders of the sit-in protest movement initiated on February 1 of that year. Here are a few key lessons, articles, books, and films on the history, philosophy, and legacy of SNCC.
Resources for the Civil Rights Movement at the Zinn Education Project: https://bit.ly/2XLLIbR
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