Episode 64: Mike Rowes Koch-Backed Working Man Affectation
In recent years, television personality Mike Rowe has amassed a wildly popular following due to alleged working-class straight talk about topics ranging from the affordability of college to reasserting a culture of pride in craftsmanship and labor. From his 5.2 million Facebook followers to his cable programs, his everyman schtick, on its surface, can be very appealing: after all, who doesn\u2019t love a hard day\u2019s work and loathe detached, ivory tower eggheads?
But hiding under his superficially appealing blue-collar fa\xe7ade is dangerous ideology, one funded by the Koch Brothers and other far-right, anti-labor corporate interests and specifically tailored to pick off a certain constituency of Home Depot Democrats while pushing political impotence, anti-union narratives and anti-intellectualism. Through a clever combination of working class affectation and folksy charm \u2013 often exploiting real fears about a decline in industrialization \u2013 Rowe has cultivated an image that claims to be pro-worker, but primarily exists to line the pockets of their boss.
Our guest is Street Fight Radio's Bryan Quinby.