Corporate emissaries in Washington out themselves by voting against DISCLOSE.
Government transparency at its finest… Read the article below to find out which Republican senators are moonlighting as corporate ambassadors to Washington.
From The Huffington Post
Disclose Act: 14 Republican Senators Were For Disclosure Before They Were Against It
By Dan Froomkin
WASHINGTON — Back when Democrats were pushing for limits on campaign spending, the Republican Party line was that full, immediate disclosure of political donations and expenditures was a better way to avoid corruption.
In fact, in 2000, Senate Republicans joined Democrats in overwhelmingly passing a bill, 92 to 6, that required a growing number of secretive tax-exempt groups to reveal their donors and spending.
Back then the controversy centered on groups formed under section 527 of the Internal Revenue code, although the amounts involved look quaint in comparison to the vast gushers of secret political money being funneled through 501(c)4 “social welfare” organizations and 501(c)6 trade associations in this election cycle.
Today, with the Supreme Court having essentially outlawed limits on political spending, Republicans have made a complete about-face on the issue. All of a sudden, they vehemently oppose disclosure.
Case in point: Senate Democrats are calling for a cloture vote Monday on their Disclose Act, which would require any organization that conducts political activity to make public the sources of its funding, in real time — as did the bill in 2000. But this time, all the chamber’s Republicans are expected to block it from coming to the floor.
What’s changed, other than the Republicans’ vote, is that unlimited corporate money is now pouring into political campaigns, overwhelmingly in favor or Republicans, with a significant portion of it flowing through groups that, thanks to the legal loopholes the Disclose Act would plug, are allowed to keep their donors anonymous.
Those groups include Crossroads GPS, founded by Karl Rove, and others funded by the Koch brothers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which alone intends to spend over $50 million on pro-Republican advertising this cycle, all secretly funded by corporations.
Of today’s Republican senators, 14 were there in 2000 and voted in favor of disclosure.
President Ronald Reagan
“Full disclosure of all campaign contributions, including in-kind contributions, and expenditures on behalf of any electoral activities.” From the 1988 Legislative and Administrative Message: A Union of Individuals, January 25, 1988.
President George H.W. Bush
“Disclosure — full disclosure — that’s the answer here.” - Remarks to Congressional and Administrative Interns Announcing Campaign Finance Reform Proposals, June 29, 1989.
Senator Olympia Snowe
“Greater disclosure and transparency in the process will act as a strong deterrent against unethical behavior in Congress.” Statement in favor of lobbying reform, March 2006.
Senator Susan Collins
“Sen. Collins…believes that it is important that any future campaign finance laws include strong transparency provisions so the American public knows…who is funding … a political candidate or issue.” Statement from Collins’ spokesman, GOP Senators avoid co-sponsoring campaign finance reform legislation, The Hill, March 20, 2010.
Senator Scott Brown
“Attack ads from unaccountable outside groups that spend millions of dollars from anonymous donors portraying their opposition unfairly and misleading voters are wrong.” Open letter to Elizabeth Warren challenging her to join his call for outside groups to stay out of the Massachusetts Senate race, The Boston Herald, January 13, 2012.
Senator Dick Lugar
“To make certain that The Club for Growth has not…undermined the public trust, I call upon your organization…to immediately release the names of the individuals and entities contributing.” Open letter to the Club For Growth calling on them to release the names of their donors, April 13, 2012.
Mitch McConnell
“We need to have real disclosure… why would a little disclosure be better than a lot of disclosure?” Campaign Finance Bill has GOP Wary, The Hill, April 22, 2010.
“This is nothing less than an effort by the government itself to exposes (sic) its critics to harassment and intimidation, either by government authorities or through third-party allies.”Speech to the American Enterprise Institute, May 15, 2012.
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