We've been following the Jan Brewer–"jail the immigrants"–prison-for-pay nexus for a while, thanks to excellent coverage on The Rachel Maddow Show. The latest: Brewer has now canceled all media buys on the CBS station investigating her.
As Rachel says it, "This is about political retaliation against journalism." (A quibble; I think it's about blackmail.) The clip below speaks for itself, however. Well done, Rachel.
Think Progress has more information and links.
Here's the money chain as I see it:
- CCA ("we win when you rot in stir") funnels money to its lobbyists,
- who also work for Brewer and the Brewer campaign.
- That money goes into the Brewer campaign and her other causes,
- and right back out the door to TV and radio stations for campaign ads.
- Suddenly these lobbyists are investigated by KPHO's Morgan Loew.
- So Brewer blackmails the beast that owns KPHO, by withholding that big campaign-season media-buy cash. The message: "You lean on Loew and we'll turn the spigot back on."
Keep an eye on the corporate owner of KPHO, Meredith National Media Group, however. They've been heroes so far, but they have shareholders and a stock price. Here's a list of the stations they own. And here's a list of the top 100 TV markets. Meredith is a lower-tier player with only two big-market stations — Atlanta (No. 8) and, yes, Phoenix (No. 12).
So watch this one; if the spotlight winks off, Meredith could still make a money move. (Keep the pressure on, Rachel. And did we say Thanks?)
Side note: Check Brewer saying "complete the mission" and "Brewer is a fighter" at 1:20 in the clip. Good lizard-brain material, but a B-movie delivery of her lines. With that many lizards to sell to, however, you don't need first-tier acting.
GP
