Charles Eisenstein: "The dehumanization runs top to bottom, from the headlines in major news outlets to the comments on Facebook and Twitter. Photos of political candidates chosen to provoke contempt, statements taken deliberately out of context... the no-holds-barred tactics of war. Both sides feature the most outrageous comments made by partisans of the other side, seeking to indict all of them through guilt by association. Similar to the atrocity stories used to whip up war hysteria among a pacifist public before World War One, these reports polarize the electorate and sow paranoia and distrust."
The film "We are Wisconsin" relates to the recall election in Wisconsin 2012, where "On June 5, Scott Walker managed to hold on to the governorship of Wisconsin. Facing a recall election, he raised an unprecedented $45 million, mostly from out of state, outspending the rival Democrat Tom Barrett by at least five to one."
Coalition for American Values Action reported to Wisconsin election authorities that it spent $400,080 on its "recall isn't the Wisconsin way" ads, but because of an apparent loophole in state campaign finance law, it never disclosed the true source of its funding. Recently released tax filings, though, reveal that the primary source of the group's funding in 2012 was the Center to Protect Patient Rights (CPPR), a conduit for $156 million in political spending raised by the Kochs and their network of funders. The Center for Media and Democracy has filed a complaint with Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board alleging that Coalition for American Values Action violated Wisconsin's campaign finance laws by failing to disclose this funding.