Investigating Power
ALEC, Campaign Finance, Democracy
David Armiak, research director at the Center for Media and Democracy, says that overturning Citizens United would be a way to bring integrity back to politics and “get back to a situation where politicians actually listen to their constituents and visit with their constituents, rather than those that give them a bunch of money.”
Although it is uncertain if there is a financial link between ALEC and the financial technology groups supporting the earned-wage access bills, ALEC is known to peddle its influence for money, said David Armiak, research director for the Center for Media and Democracy. “The more money you spend, the more influence you get,” Armiak told The […]
Bradley Files, Education, Koch
The Bradley Foundation spent $7.5 million to fund 34 state affiliates of the State Policy Network to push conservative policy agendas, including privatizing education, and $8.3 million to building a youth movement to “win the American Culture War.”
The financial supporters for the Courage Tour are not yet clear, but Wallnau’s media channels have attracted a broad range of donors. According to the Center for Media and Democracy’s David Armiak, these include, unsurprisingly, Mike Lindell’s MyPillow (another partner in the Courage Tour) and the conservative Christian dark money groups, the Capstone Legacy Foundation […]
Campaign Finance, Democracy, Elections, Koch
David Armiak, research director and investigative journalist at the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), notes in an interview that, increasingly, brand new nonprofits “that haven’t filed any IRS disclosure yet” are formed and start running issue ads or targeting candidates just weeks before voters go to the polls. Such pop-up groups—usually super PACs or […]
The Center for Media and Democracy’s research informed this report and is cited throughout.
The American Legislative Exchange Council proposed a piece of legislation dubbed the “Marriage Contract Act,” which would have eliminated no-fault divorce. [Center for Media and Democracy, ALEC Exposed, 2/13/17]
Rightwing criticism of community schools goes beyond Moms for Liberty. “In short, ‘community schooling’ represents educrats’ wet dream: a world in which American children become wards of the government through their schools,” opined a contributor at The Federalist, a publication funded by conservative billionaire Richard Uihlein and DonorsTrust. The latter is “an ‘associate’ member of the State […]
“NumbersUSA has a history of promoting hate,” said David Armiak, research director of the left-leaning watchdog group Center for Media and Democracy, which tracks rightwing influence in politics.
ALEC, Climate, Economy, Environment
“Kill the story,” Exxon media relations manager Alan Jeffers told Reuters’ Houston bureau chief in a 2016 email, responding to a request for comment on a Center for Media and Democracy press release accusing the American Legislative Exchange Council of abusing its nonprofit status by lobbying against climate action on behalf of Exxon.