Leftists always tell us which conservatives they are most afraid of, so the new cover of The New Republic is quite revealing. Ann Althouse broke the story of a disgusting smear of the Republican governor of Wisconsin because she subscribes to that magazine’s iPad edition and received the forthcoming magazine cover and cover story before it was posted to the internet or available on newsstands. Check out the cover and the caption below the picture:

That’s right, the caption reads, “Too bad he owes his success to a toxic strain of racial politics.”

But the fact is, there is nothing at all -- zero, zilch, nada, nullity – in Scott Walker’s record that is racist in the least. Althouse writes:
I live in Wisconsin, and I've been following Scott Walker since the 2010 election here, and I have no idea what the "toxic strain of racial politics" refers to.  (snip)

…the closest thing to anything racial coming directly from Scott Walker is his support over the years for voter ID laws. Much of the article is about the demographics of Milwaukee and the suburban counties around it, including the history — going back into the early 20th century — of how black people migrated to the city and did not — as white people did — relocate into the suburbs.

Milwaukee is an extreme example of this historical pattern, but Scott Walker didn't make this happen, and given that Scott Walker built his political career in the Milwaukee area, it's actually impressive that TNR could not find racial incidents and slips to pin on him.

The article also focuses on 2 talk radio hosts — Mark Belling and Charlie Sykes — who have big audiences in Milwaukee. TNR has little direct racial material on them, but it forefronts the one truly ugly thing it has: Belling mocking a specific black person, Milwaukee Congresswoman Gwen Moore. Mostly, TNR accuses Belling and Sykes of indulging in dog-whistle politics about crime and dependence on welfare.

John Hinderaker notes at Powerline:

This is completely insane. I have followed Walker’s career for a long time, and there is nothing in his record that can plausibly be given a racial tinge. What does TNR have on him? He supports voter ID legislation. That’s it. Of course, every Republican politician supports voter ID, as do a lot of Democratic pols. As for voters, I believe most polls show around 70% support. All of which is to say that the New Republic’s smear is pathetic, made up out of whole cloth.

What we see here is one more attempt to convince voters that it is “racist” to be a conservative. Governor Walker has turned a state deficit into a surplus, lowered taxes, reformed education, and returned power to the people rather than corrupt, coercive public sector unions. What on Earth is “racist” about that? Nothing, of course. People of all races benefit from clean, efficient government and lower taxes.

I often hear it said that people are intimidated because they are afraid of being called “racists.” Can this possibly be true? One wouldn’t think so. At least 99% of the time, the Democrats’ charges of “racism” relate to matters that have nothing whatever to do with race. That being the case, the Democrats’ claims should be met with scorn, derision, contempt, laughter. Their huffing and puffing about race is obviously a symptom of a party that is intellectually bankrupt and morally depraved. It is time to punch back twice as hard.

I think that what really scares the left is that Walker has gone after public employee unions and made membership optional, not mandatory, severely reducing the number of members in teachers unions and other mainstays of fundraising fort he Democrats. And he has gotten results – improving quality of f=government services while lowering costs. If this spreads nationally, the Democrats are in trouble, because they rely on involuntarily-extracted finds from millions of union members.