RadioFreeLiberal.com

New website aims to help you learn about dark money in NM

The Center for Responsive Politics, better known as OpenSecrets.org, unveiled a new website last week that aims to help New Mexicans understand how dark money is influencing their elections.

The state-level pilot project is focused where dark money often has the greatest impact

https://nmpolitics.net/index/2018/09/ne ... ney-in-nm/

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Oklahoma Republicans Targeted By Colleague, Dark Money

When voters booted a dozen Oklahoma Republican legislators from office in the primary, the common thinking was that educators angry about classroom funding were behind the ousters.

But there were forces at work beyond just agitated teachers.

http://www.news9.com/story/39193203/okl ... dark-money

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PBS POV - Dark Money



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Secular Talk - Corrupt Politician Accuses Uncorrupted Politician Of Corruption



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ROF Farron Cousins - Desperate Republicans Get Corporate Money Boost Ahead Of Midterms



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TYT - Is There an Upside to Having Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court?



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Bice: Sen. Leah Vukmir and Democrats clash over impact of nursing home law she supported

Wisconsin Democrats are accusing GOP candidate Leah Vukmir of using her power in the state Senate to help benefit a pair of campaign contributors who run a company where she has worked part time for years.

But Sally Sprenger, owner of that company, says Democrats have badly misfired with the attack.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/inv ... 605944002/

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Money pours into war for DeFrancisco's NY Senate seat that could shift state power

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Big money is pouring into a high-stakes state Senate race in the Syracuse area that could shift political power in Albany.

Onondaga County Comptroller Bob Antonacci, a Republican, and Democrat John Mannion, a biology teacher at West Genesee High School, are vying for retiring Sen. John DeFrancisco's coveted 50th district seat.

https://www.syracuse.com/politics/index ... enate.html

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Nearly Every Member Of The Congressional Progressive Caucus Still Takes Corporate Pac Money

IN APRIL, THE Congressional Progressive Caucus announced that it was going to be drawing a line: Its political action committee would no longer accept corporate campaign donations.

“If we are going to end the influence of corporations and special interests in government, we have to start by not relying on their support,” said caucus co-chair Mark Pocan, D-Wis. “Only by being fully independent of their financial influence can we prioritize people over corporations.”

https://theintercept.com/2018/10/14/con ... pac-money/

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‘Dark money much?‘: Local writer demands answers on the mysterious source of Devin Nunes’ fundraising

The fundraising efforts of Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) are once again under scrutiny as the chair of the House Intelligence Committee fights for political survival during the 2018 midterms.

The latest criticism came for Jim Reeves, who writes the “Alternating Currents” blog for the Visalia Times-Delta newspaper in the San Joaquin Valley.

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/10/dark-m ... ifications

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Closing the Door on Foreign Money in New York City Elections

How far and how deep did the Russian government and Russian nationals go to influence United States elections? While hacking and manipulation of social media have garnered significant attention from both the media and the Mueller investigation, it’s also clear that Russian money was being funneled through some surprising channels, such as the National Rifle Association (NRA).

When Citizens United opened the floodgates for corporations to spend unlimited amounts in our elections, it also blasted open a loophole for foreign money to be used to influence U.S. elections. Earlier this month, we collaborated to introduce a bill to close that loophole and keep foreign money out of New York City elections.

http://www.gothamgazette.com/opinion/79 ... -elections

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In tight battle for control of NY Senate, big bucks are fueling these key races

ALBANY - Yes, all statewide races in New York are on the ballot Nov. 6, but the biggest fight may be for control of the state Senate — and following the money proves it.

The Senate's political arms and special interest groups have already pumped about $11 million into key Senate races across New York as Democrats and Republicans vie for the chamber's control Jan. 1, state records show.

https://www.democratandchronicle.com/st ... 766099002/

Dark money is getting around Facebook’s election defenses

Facebook says it’s heavily investing in protecting elections around the globe from misinformation, scams, and sketchy actors trying to influence the results. But the efforts, as this week’s news from the United States and Brazil has shown, are proving to have significant shortcomings.

One of Facebook’s widely publicized election integrity projects was the political ad archive, where users can see all the political ads running on Facebook at a given time, along with basic information about who sponsored the ad, how much they paid, and whom the ad reached. The archive was mired in controversy from the very beginning, catching in its net ads that were hardly politics-related and blocking them from appearing on the platform (USA Today reported on Oct. 17 that this included innocuous ads, some of which were merely written in Spanish).

https://qz.com/1430632/dark-money-is-ge ... -defenses/

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Bill Berry: Wisconsin's now the darkest of dark-money states

STEVENS POINT – Halloween is around the corner, but that’s nowhere near as scary as the dark money flowing into Wisconsin once more. Since by all estimates Gov. Scott Walker has a lot more outsider money than his opponent, Tony Evers, it’s no surprise that Walker has pulled closer in recent polling. If Evers hangs on and wins, it will be despite dark money fueling smear campaigns with TV ads, mailers and other tools.

Wisconsin is the darkest of dark states, thanks in no small part to Walker, his Republican pals in the Legislature, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

https://madison.com/ct/opinion/column/b ... ce0e7.html

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Fighting Corruption Is On The Ballot In 3 States And 2 Cities This November

After a series of corruption scandals rocked South Dakota between 2014 and 2016, residents of the state overwhelmingly backed a ballot initiative that submitted politicians to new ethics laws, curtailed the number of gifts lobbyists could hand lawmakers and created a public financing system for state elections. The governor and the lawmakers in control of the statehouse had trouble stomaching the proposal and swiftly repealed the entire initiative.

Now, South Dakotans will get a second chance. The state’s Nov. 6 ballot features a constitutional amendment, Amendment W., that would enact stringent ethics and lobbying rules. The amendment includes many of the same provisions as the repealed 2016 initiative: lowering contribution limits, imposing ethics rules and limiting lobbyist power — but not the public financing system.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ca ... bc94873116

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Dialysis companies spend $111 million to kill ballot measure

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Dialysis companies have contributed an extraordinary $111 million and counting to defeat a California ballot initiative that would cap their profits, the most any one side has spent on a U.S. ballot issue since at least 2002.

A $5 million donation from this week from dialysis provider Fresenius Medical Care pushed the anti-Proposition 8 campaign's total past the $109 million pharmaceutical companies spent two years ago to defeat a measure limiting prescription drug costs. More than $70 million has been spent on television and radio ads as well as consulting services in the last two months.

https://journaltimes.com/news/national/ ... 3bcb6.html

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Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn arrested over "significant" financial misconduct

Hong Kong (CNN Business)Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn has been arrested by prosecutors in Japan after an internal investigation revealed "significant acts of misconduct" over many years by him and another top executive.

The stunning announcement about one of the global auto industry's highest-profile leaders slammed the stocks of Nissan (NSANY) and Renault (RNSDF), where Ghosn also serves as chairman.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/19/business ... index.html

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ROF Farron Cousins - Candidates Rejecting Corporate Money Won Big Time In Midterms



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After Losing to Ocasio-Cortez, Crowley’s PAC Spends Big at the Tracks

Money couldn’t buy him an election, but it sure could get him a nice meal, a stiff drink and a couple days at the tracks.

In the days and weeks following his shocking primary loss, Rep. Joe Crowley’s Jobs, Opportunity and Education PAC—or JOE PAC—which was founded with the goal of “electing and reelecting Democratic candidates who are focused on providing their constituents with a better life and future for their families,” spent nearly $37,000 on trips to horse racing tracks, hotels, airfare and several high-end restaurants.

https://readsludge.com/2018/11/20/after ... he-tracks/

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That kind of stuff explains why she won. If that kind of stuff happened after, it was happening before. Started small and grew bigger with every party they threw.

In that district the guy could get campaign contributions, but he never had to spend them to get reelected.

Here’s how the rich are destroying civilization

It is ironic that, as the gulf between rich and poor reaches record levels, the language of the underclass has become infected with the culture and mores of the rich. Twenty years ago, English began to absorb and normalize verbal markers of wealth, consumption and status, evidenced by the mainstreaming of luxury brands like Chanel, Gucci and Louis Vuitton and their appearance in pop culture and media. Reality TV went from nonexistent in the 1970s to one of the most popular television genres in the 2000s, much of it homed in on the lifestyles and lives of the rich — culminating in a billionaire, reality-TV star president. Social media in the late 2000s and 2010s seems to have exacerbated a cultural normalization of narcissism, an obsession with self-image, and a propensity for conspicuous consumption. Few of us are rich, but we all aspire to appear that way on Instagram.

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/12/heres- ... ifications

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Malaysia files charges against Goldman Sachs and 2 bankers

Malaysian prosecutors have filed criminal charges against Goldman Sachs and two of its bankers for their role in the alleged embezzling of billions of dollars from the country’s scandal-wracked state investment fund, 1MDB.

The Malaysian attorney-general’s office is seeking fines worth more than $3bn from Goldman subsidiaries and its former bankers, accused of helping “dishonestly misappropriate” $2.7bn from bonds issued by 1MDB in 2012 and 2013.

https://www.ft.com/content/71815708-01d ... 83d3002ee1

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City Approves Resolution Regarding Campaign Finance Reform

The City of Butler has approved a resolution calling for fair elections, and the restoration of constitutional rights.

The request was put forward by city resident Dane Winkler last month, but some council members were not comfortable with the language so a revision was made to focus on campaign finance reform.

http://butlerradio.com/city-approves-re ... ce-reform/

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New senator says he has 'independence and stomach' to take on Albany corruption

ALBANY – Does Albany have a new sheriff?

For years, tackling Albany’s corruption has usually fallen to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan, which has prosecuted scandal-ridden lawmakers and led the Buffalo Billion probe.

https://buffalonews.com/2018/12/22/new- ... orruption/

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From 2013

GOP Donors and K Street Fuel Third Way’s Advice for the Democratic Party

Third Way, a centrist think tank that portrays itself as a Democratic group, has some advice for the party: avoid economic populism at all costs. In a column for The Wall Street Journal today, the group argues that the party should steer clear of creating a strong safety net, and criticizes Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio’s call for universal pre-K funded through an upper-income tax increase as a foolhardy idea for national Democrats.

As many have noted today, in reaction to the column, Third Way’s attacks on Social Security and Medicare fail on the merits. It’s bad policy, and it’s equally bad politics.

https://www.thenation.com/article/gop-d ... tic-party/



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