On Retaining Race-Based Mascots/Nicknames, Wisconsin Goes Backward

While The Washington Post tells us about this hopeful development in the campaign against the city's race-based, Native American-stereotyping NFL team name…

2013 is the year the campaign against the NFL’s use of this racial slur coalesced into a permanent movement.

...Wisconsin intentionally goes the other way to satisfy a certain reactionary GOP constituency represented throughout state government by a Blatant Bigotry caucus:

Gov. Walker told the AP today he will sign a bill to make it easier for Wisconsin school districts to retain race-based names, mascots and logos that stereotype Native American people... 

The measure Walker says he will sign also invalidates three previous name-changing orders directed to school districts by the State Department of Public Instruction under current law... Walker cloaked his bill signing motives in a Tuesday Journal Sentinel interview with a mumbly-jumbly and preposterous civil libertarian charade.

As the paper reported: 

He said he empathized with those who are offended by Indian team names, but cast the ability of schools to choose their team names as a First Amendment right.  

"I get the concern" of opponents, Walker said. "But the counterbalance to that that I'm looking at is, by the same token, from a free speech standpoint...where do you draw the line on free speech?" 

So in Wisconsin, school districts - - units of government - - can behave discriminatorily under a grant of free speech by the state. 

That's about as twisted as Daniel Snyder claiming his Washington, DC NFL team name honors Native Americans.

In Wisconsin, "R" stands for Retrograde, Republican and Race-based.