campaign finance

Less than a year is left until the 2012 national election, and nonbelievers in democracy are taking no chances. Right now, North Carolina is one of twenty-one states that have passed or are trying to pass legislation to close the early voting period. Many in the NC General Assembly are still trying to pass a bill that would add North Carolina to the auspicious list of states that require a voter ID to combat nonexistent voter fraud. In every state where this legislation is present, the goal is the same: to make voting more difficult.

When Brave New Films released a recent video about the Koch brothers, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), and the Wake County School Board there was an immediate and indignant response from Dallas Woodhouse of Americans for Prosperity. One sentence did not ring true in the response:

Americans for Prosperity is a nonpartisan, issue-based policy organization and does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

AFP campaign finance reports submitted to the North Carolina State Board of Elections reveal that in 2010 AFP spent $189,894.00 on Electioneering Communications in support of 19 North Carolina candidates, comprised of 7 State Senate candidates and 12 State House candidates. A report compiled by the NC Free Enterprise Foundation from various sources puts the total spent by AFP in supporting the 19 candidates at $287,195.22. This is starkly in contrast with Woodhouse's assertion that "Americans for Prosperity ... does not support or oppose candidates for public office."

So I thought I was going to have another Jay Inslee story for y’all today, but it turns out that I’m going to have to do more research before we can “come to press” with that one.

But that’s OK, because the world’s been busy doing a lot of other things – and while many of them get media coverage, some don’t get a lot of notice at all.

And of course, there are also those stories that look one way at first glance…but look a lot different when you dig a bit deeper.

We’ll hit a few of those today, have a bit of fun doing it, and get ready for what promises to be another busy week of strategically not doing things in Washington.

To make things even better, some of the stories will be real, and some won’t.

We’ll see if you can tell the difference.

An unethical move to control ethics probes:

The budget plan that will go to the House floor next week would move campaign finance reporting from the State Board of Elections and lobbying registration from the Secretary of State's office, combining operations in the State Ethics Commission.

A bill filed by Sen. Andrew Brock, R-Davie, would essentially merge the State Ethics Commission and the State Board of Elections, combining all their functions.

It doesn't just combine them, it moves them into a new entity under the direct control of GOP legislators:

From the makers of "The Story of Stuff" comes an animated short film, an exploration of the inordinate power that corporations exercise in our democracy and what we can do about it.

Cross-posted from a Facing South article by Chris Kromm.

Nationally and especially in the South, government reform advocates view North Carolina as a trend-setter. Over the last decade, the state's "good government" groups have pushed through tough ethics legislation, same-day voter registration and a Voter Owned Elections program aimed at lessening the influence of private interests by offering candidates the option of using public funds to run their campaigns. But with Republicans now in control of the state legislature for the first time in over a century, NC conservatives -- already hostile to publicly-financed campaigns -- are ramping-up calls for abolishing the program, which now applies to select judicial and state offices.

I am going to say something here that I have said privately for years, but will not publish as a writer. Your new "logo" with the Maxway and Roses 'stickers' applied to our state flag are nothing new in NC politics, regardless of political party affiliation or political persuasion.

Over 20 years ago as a Families USA volunteer trying to understand why we could not achieve a reasonable health care plan in the US, I began to study the political landscape and talk to people "in the know," and I soon realized that until we had campaign finance reform, true health care reform would be an unrealized dream for idealists like me.

I have to say that I found it particularly ironic when Wake Commissioner Tony Gurley, a Raleigh pharmacist and an attorney, tried to portray himself in his campaign ads in Wake County as a "compassionate conservative."

Cross-posted from an article by Chris Kromm at the Institute for Southern Studies.

Ask a casual political observer to name the nation's biggest Republican operatives, and a few would come readily to mind. Most could you tell you about Karl Rove -- the legendary Bush adviser and GOP strategist who this year aims to spend $52 million by November to help elect conservative candidates.

Some might even know Charles and David Koch, the Kansas-based oil billionaires who have poured over a hundred million dollars since 1980 into conservative causes and spent millions more on political candidates and lobbyists.

At least when you ask yourself for a loan, you don't have to worry about being rejected:

LaRoque, who is also president and sole shareholder of the LaRoque Management Group Inc. in Kinston, made two loans from his business to his state House campaign committee during the 2008 race worth $53,000.

The business was incorporated in 2004 to make small business loans through two non-profit groups, the East Carolina Development Company Inc. and Piedmont Development Company Inc. The LMG partners with the USDA Rural Development’s Intermediary Relending Program and its Rural Business Enterprise Grant Program.

Just as a bonus, for all of you small-government, tax-hating Libertarians, here's where the money comes from for that "partnering":

Whether you support the DSCC or not, their opposition research is very enlightening. Via e-mail:

We've compiled an insider's guide that traces the GOP's plans to regain power. It shows where the money is coming from - when it's not hidden - and who's pulling the strings behind the political curtain. Their names read like a who's who list of right-wing puppet masters, and they've been working together on behalf of corporate special interests and the right wing for decades.

There you go, James. It looks like your "Puppet Master" phrase is gaining some legs. If you don't mind, could you work on bringing paisley back in style again? I've got several shirts hanging in my closet waiting for the next resurgence, so...