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Posts published in “Day: October 19, 2010”

Someone else’s prosperity

We shouldn't let the Concerned Taxpayers of America go without pointing out in the involvement in another Northwest congressional race of Americans for Prosperity.

Americans for Prosperity is, one detailed study says, "the third largest recipient of funding from the Koch Family Foundations, behind the Cato Institute and the George Mason University Foundation. Before 2003, when the AFP was still named the Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation, it received $18,460,912 in funding. 84% of that funding came from the Koch Family Foundations ($12,906,712) and the Scaife Family Foundations ($2,510,000). Koch Family Foundations is funded by Koch Industries. According to Forbes, Koch Industries is the second largest privately-held company, and the largest privately owned energy company, in the United States. Koch industries has made its money in the oil business, primarily oil refining. Presently, it holds stakes in pipelines, refineries, fertilizer, forest products, and chemical technology."

Big money from major national corporations, being dumped in massive fashion into the Washington 3rd House district race - to the campaign of Republican Jaime Herrera. (Her opponent is Democrat Denny Heck.)

The Horse's Ass blog points out the Prosperity group is "contributing $5,000 directly to her campaign, and spending at least another $282,000 ... attacking her Democratic opponent, Denny Heck. It is the ultimate insult to WA-03 voters; first the New York-based Kochs make millions closing local mills and outsourcing jobs, and now they’re spending a portion of their profits to purchase themselves another congresswoman. You know… the free market at work."

As a side note, little of any of this would matter if American voters did the single smartest and simplest thing they could do: Totally ignore all political advertising. But until they do, or until some meaningful reform from the current insanity takes place, elections may be simply up for auction.

All those concerned taxpayers

Remember the Concerned Taxpayers of America, the group running the basically anonymous slimy television spots against Representative Peter DeFazio? The guys whose identity DeFazio tried to find out by personally walking over their headquarters (and getting stonewalled, on video)?

The Washington Post pulled the paperwork that now establishes who this broad-based alliance of concerned American taxpayers, who have been pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into negative TV spots in Oregon's 4th district, actually are:

Two guys. The owner of Daniel G. Schuster Inc., which operated a concrete company, and spent $300,000; and Robert Mercer, a hedge fund manager from New York, who spent $200,000.

Just thought the people of Oregon's 4th would like to know.

We got ours

ballot
The ballot has arrived

We see via Facebook reports from some people in Oregon who've not yet gotten their ballots. We'll hope those arrive soon.

Ours in fact have arrived in the mail. (A pitch: Vote by mail is more than just convenient. It allows for reflective and researched decisions. Not that everyone will avail themselves of that option, but it at least allows for it more than standing in a booth where you have to make your decisions right now.)

Ours will be back in the voting box later today or tomorrow at the latest. How about yours?