Wisconsin right wing moves from stealth candidates to stealth web sites, ads and "news"
http://www.uppitywis.org/blogarticle/caveat-emptor-wisconsin-right-wing-moves-stealth-candidates-stea
A more subtle approach is taken by the stealthily conservative Wisconsin Election Watch. Progressive web sites including UppityWis (check out the blog roll to the right of this posting) sometimes hype apparently straight news stories from this reasonably professional-looking site. In reviewing Wisconsin Election Watch's actual work, however, one is hard-pressed to ignore that it's pretty much a mouthpiece for conservative interests. Here is how it describes itself:
Wisconsin Election Watch is an online, non-partisan, for-profit election news and information resource formed in 2013 that is dedicated to in-depth reporting and research about Wisconsin government and elections. Wisconsin Election Watch is focused on news and information about elections at all levels of government, elected officials, candidates, and issue referendums. Our goal is to produce detailed reporting that is focused on improving transparency at all levels of Wisconsin government and elections.
Well, the "dedicated," "non-partisan" and "in-depth" aspects definitely need some work. Wisconsin Election Watch's editor and project manager is Kyle Maichle, whom the site describes thusly:
Kyle brings considerable political, research, and writing experience. After serving as an intern and College Programs Coordinator for AFP-Wisconsin [that's Americans For Prosperity, a Koch-funded group], he first started his professional career with the Lucy Burns Institute in 2008 working as a Content Editor for Judgepedia and Ballotpedia. In the same year, Kyle was transferred to the Chicago-based Sam Adams Alliance working as the full-time writer for Judgepedia. While with Sam Adams, he wrote content centered towards federal judges and covered the 2009 Wisconsin State Supreme Court election. In July 2009, Kyle was transferred back to the Lucy Burns Institute becoming their Technical Researcher and Writer for Ballotpedia. During his second tenure with the Lucy Burns Institute, he assisted Ballotpedia’s reporting team in producing content regarding local and statewide elections along with writing on state legislatures and issues not covered by traditional media. In 2011, Kyle became a full-time consultant for various campaigns and organizations for over two years.
The organizations described in the above passage are well interconnected and hold a number of conservative ties. For instance, the Lucy Burns Institute is an outfit run by the wife of Eric O'Keefe, who is an almost ubiquitous right-wing political operative. Sourcewatch.com has noted that O'Keefe has extensive ties to the Koch brothers. O'Keefe is director of the Wisconsin Club for Growth and is also instrumental in that Chicago-based Sam Adams Alliance, which contributed to the founding of numerous tea party organizations, and also helped launch the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity.
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