Investigating Power
Since then, information has been more difficult to come by. The Center for Media and Democracy, another watchdog group that tracks ALEC, says Duke was a $10,000 sponsor for the group’s 2015 annual meeting and a $25,000 sponsor for its 2016 annual meeting.
The wording is in a 2017 ruling that ordered the attorney general’s office to provide the Wisconsin-based Center for Media and Democracy with records it had requested in 2015 involving Pruitt, who now heads the Environmental Protection Agency.
Documents obtained by DBA Press and the Center for Media and Democracy showed that the FBI misused a counter-terrorism program known as “Operation Tripwire” to spy on peaceful Occupy protestors, in concert with private-sector informants.
Helping workers and advocates to have at least awareness on our side is Mary Bottari. She’s deputy director of the Center for Media and Democracy, part of their critical ALEC Exposed investigation. Her report “Behind Janus” appears in the March issue of In These Times.
The Kochs’ criminal justice reform initiative is yet another cynical investment. In conjunction with related grants, Charles Koch Foundation officials have made statements regarding equal treatment under the law, something they may hope will endear the brothers to those who have historically been victimized by the criminal justice system, including people of color. But the Center for Media and Democracy analyzed this push for reform, calling it “a Trojan horse” with a goal to, conveniently, make life a lot easier for business executives facing criminal charges.
The Center for Media and Democracy acquired a fund-raising letter from the State Policy Network (SPN), an alliance of 66 state-based think tanks, describing a campaign with an $80 million annual budget to “defund and defang” unions representing government employees as the first battle in a war against progressive politics.
Though big spenders are increasingly common in other states, too, the 2018 race for governor of Illinois could end up breaking the spending record of $280 million set by California’s 2010 contest between Democrat Jerry Brown and Silicon Valley executive Meg Whitman, said Don Wiener, a contributor at the Center for Media and Democracy, a nonprofit watchdog organization in Madison, Wisconsin.
Whitman personally spent $144 million on her losing bid, but Wiener said the total tab for the top job in Illinois could reach $300 million this year if Rauner and Pritzker end up facing each other in the general election. Spending in the Illinois governor’s campaign could represent about 20 percent or even 30 percent of all the money in 36 governor’s races nationwide this year, he said.
“Except for that rare occasion in California, where you had the CEO of eBay running, you’re busting all records with one-third the voting population of California,” Wiener said.
This lawsuit is part of a coordinated effort from far-right groups supported by funders like the Koch brothers to “defund and defang” US unions. A 10-page fundraising letter from the Koch-backed State Policy Network, obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy, says that by undermining unions, they can ensure “the permanent collapse of progressive politics”.
Illinois, as Don Wiener details in a February 19 Center for Media and Democracy article, may see a billionaire vs. billionaire battle for governor in the November election. Bruce Rauner, the Republican incumbent, and Democrat J.B. Pritzker (a Hyatt Hotel heir) will face each other if both emerge as victors in their March primaries. Wiener writes,
“The March 20, 2018 Illinois gubernatorial primary is on track to become the most expensive in Illinois history, thanks to millions being put on the line by three billionaires.
One-sixth of all campaign money raised for all Illinois elections, including city, county, and state, from January 2013 through January 2018 was raised by just three people: Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, his billionaire buddy, hedge fund manager Ken Griffin [a supporter], and Hyatt Hotel heir JB Pritzker, who is running in the Democratic primary.
To kick-off his primary run and re-election, Rauner gave himself $58 million at the very end of 2016. Griffin gave Rauner $20 million in July 2017 and $2.25 million in December 2017. With Pritzker giving himself $49 million for the Democratic primary, this means almost $130 million has already been raised by only three people.”
A pair of resolutions under consideration by the Legislature that lift much of their wording from model bills written by a secretive, corporation-funded group could help lead to a radical rewriting of the U.S. Constitution.
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“These proposals are nakedly political,” said Arn Pearson, executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit that tracks ALEC. “Republicans are at a high-water mark in their control of state legislatures, and they see this as an opportunity to make sweeping changes in how the government works.”