RiverLover
RiverLover's JournalAbout Hillary's "Media Matters" and "Blue Nation Review"
We've learned much about these "media" outlets thanks to our excellent DUers' posts here.
But some of the following SuperPAC info was new to me, so in the interest of sharing more & for the sake of transparency about the fake news sources....
"Correct The Record" is a SuperPAC for Hillary which spun off from American Bridge. American Bridge doesn't have to reveal its donors so it doesn't. It also gives "donations" to another Hillary SuperPAC which does have to reveal donors. So it just lists American Bridge as a donor, and the secret donors can be assured their anonymity will remain in tact. (see link below)
....snip.....
Correct the Record was originally part of the American Bridge super PAC, but was spun off in May 2015 to be its own super PAC. Its headed by Brad Woodhouse, the past president of American Bridge 21st Century and former communications director of the Democratic National Committee. Correct the Record is located in the same offices as Media Matters and American Bridge; as National Journal pointed out, When longtime Democratic operative Brad Woodhouse left his job heading one super PAC to lead another, he didnt even change desks. Most of Correct the Records staff used to work at the super PAC arm of American Bridge, according to FEC filings.
The FEC has stated that it only regulates Internet activity when it is communication placed on another persons website for a fee. So, Correct the Record says it actually can communicate with the campaign because all of its activity is on its own website. (This underscores the so-called "Internet blind spot that we pointed out a couple weeks ago.)
In theory, Correct the Record could coordinate with the campaign, then coordinate with the other super PACs. We dont know if that is true, and even if it was, its doubtful the FEC would do anything about it. But Campaign Legal Centers Paul Ryan has described the groups activity as creating new ways to undermine campaign regulation.
The New York Times has reported that Brock, who officially left American Bridge for Correct the Record when it was formed, is focused on paying attention to the activities of Correct the Record and Media Matters, which will play the biggest role in defending Mrs. Clinton throughout the campaign.
Since it was formed in May, Correct the Record has raised $1.4 million from some of the same donors as American Bridge big donors Steve Silberstein, Joan Cooney and Barbara Lee have donated to both. Correct the Record was only active for about a month before its first and only FEC filing, so well know more about their finances in January. (Yes, super PACs go six months without divulging donor information some years.) The Clinton campaign itself is Correct the Records single biggest contributor, at $275,615.
Correct the Record also has a joint fundraising committee with Priorities USA, called American Priorities, but its raised no money and spent only $1,200.
.......snip.......
In interest of transparency: Libby Watson, who contributed to writing this post, was formerly an employee of Media Matters.
https://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2015/12/03/behind-the-clinton-campaign-dark-money-allies/
A Quick Dip Into the Deep, Well-funded Dark Money of Hillary's SuperPACs
Hillary has TEN SuperPACs backing her run for president~
Ready PAC (hybrid super PAC, formerly Ready for Hillary)
Hillary for America (candidate PAC)
Priorities USA Action (super PAC)
Correct the Record (super PAC)
American Bridge 21st Century (super PAC)
American Bridge 21st Century Foundation (501(c)(4))
American Independent Institute (501(c)(4))
Media Matters (501(c)(3))
The Bonner Group
Greenpeace found $3,250,000 in donations from large donors connected to the fossil fuel industry to Priorities Action USA, the main Super PAC backing Clintons campaign.
Hillary has been actively coordinating with this superPAC.
See~Hillary Clinton Says She Does Not Coordinate With Super PAC She Reportedly Raised Money For
http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/hillary-clinton-says-she-does-not-coordinate-super-pac-she-reportedly-raised-money
AND, here is a list of the BIG MONEY donors attempting to purchase our govt through Priorities Action USA~
https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgave2.php?cmte=C00495861&cycle=2016
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THEN, we have the interesting transition of "Ready for Hillary" to "Ready PAC".
Ready for Hillary raised $77 MILLION before she even announced. Which means that she could legally raise money with the superpac that wasn't officially a superpac yet because she hadn't become a candidate yet. It was after she announced, the transition to Ready PAC occurred.
https://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2015/12/01/super-pacs-dark-money-and-the-hillary-clinton-campaign-part-1/
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ALSO worth noting, Clinton herself is SuperPAC "Correct The Record" biggest contributer, as pointed out in the following article~
The FEC has stated that it only regulates Internet activity when it is communication placed on another persons website for a fee. So, Correct the Record says it actually can communicate with the campaign because all of its activity is on its own website. (This underscores the so-called "Internet blind spot that we pointed out a couple weeks ago.)
In theory, Correct the Record could coordinate with the campaign, then coordinate with the other super PACs. We dont know if that is true, and even if it was, its doubtful the FEC would do anything about it. But Campaign Legal Centers Paul Ryan has described the groups activity as creating new ways to undermine campaign regulation.
The New York Times has reported that Brock, who officially left American Bridge for Correct the Record when it was formed, is focused on paying attention to the activities of Correct the Record and Media Matters, which will play the biggest role in defending Mrs. Clinton throughout the campaign.
Since it was formed in May, Correct the Record has raised $1.4 million from some of the same donors as American Bridge big donors Steve Silberstein, Joan Cooney and Barbara Lee have donated to both. Correct the Record was only active for about a month before its first and only FEC filing, so well know more about their finances in January. (Yes, super PACs go six months without divulging donor information some years.) The Clinton campaign itself is Correct the Records single biggest contributor, at $275,615.
https://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2015/12/03/behind-the-clinton-campaign-dark-money-allies/
........So, what ARE the chances that if Hillary were to become our president, she would choose a Supreme Court Justice nominee willing to overturn Citizens United & ending all this Dark Moneyed SuperPAC killing off our democracy?
FACT: Hillary & her SuperPAC have received $4.5 MILLION from OIL & GAS INDUSTRY to date
Greenpeace
Hillary Clintons Connection to the Oil and Gas Industry
Research compiled by Greenpeace USA
Contact: Perry Wheeler, perry.wheeler@greenpeace.org
Hillary Clintons campaign has been backed by the fossil fuel industry in a number of ways.
Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Super PAC supporting her have received more than $4.5 million from the fossil fuel industry.
First there are the direct contributions from people working for fossil fuel companies to Hillary Clintons campaign committee. According to the most recent filings, the committee has received $309,107 (as of 3/21/16; source: Center for Responsive Politics) from such donors.
Next are the fossil fuel lobbyists, many of whom have also bundled contributions. These donations also flow to Hillary Clintons campaign committee. Greenpeace has tracked $1,259,280 in bundled and direct donations from lobbyists currently registered as lobbying for the fossil fuel industry. This number excludes donations from lobbyists who are employed directly by a fossil fuel companies, as those donations would have been included in the previous number.
Last are contributions from fossil fuel interests to Super PACs supporting Hillary Clinton. Greenpeace has found $3,250,000 in donations from large donors connected to the fossil fuel industry to Priorities Action USA, a Super PAC supporting Secretary Clintons campaign.
All told, the campaign to elect Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 has received more than $4.5 million from lobbyists, bundlers, and large donors connected the fossil fuel industry.
Number of oil, gas and coal industry lobbyists that have made direct contributions to Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign: 57
57 registered oil, coal and gas lobbyists have personally given $126,200 to the Hillary campaign
Of those 57, 11 are bundlers.
11 lobbyists have bundled $1,140,930 in contributions to the Hillary campaign
43 lobbyists have contributed the maximum allowed ($2700).
This includes:
Lobbyists who have reported lobbying for the oil and gas industry both in-house company lobbyists and hired lobbyists from K-Street firms.
This does not include:
Industry executives
Other employees of the oil and gas industry
Board members
Corporate PAC contributions
Contributions by major investors
Donations to Super PACS or non-profit groups
Contributions made by trade associations to Super PACs
Hillary takes more from lobbyists in general than any other candidate
https://www.opensecrets.org/pres16/select-industries.php
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Total Amount bundled from oil and gas lobbyists: $1,140,930
Examples:
*3 Enbridge lobbyists contributed to HRCs campaign. While she was Secretary of State, Clinton signed off on the Enbridge pipeline (the alternative to KXL).
*Ben Klein (Heather Podesta and Associates) lobbied on behalf of Oxbow Carbon on petcoke and other issues. Petcoke is a byproduct of refining. Communities in Detroit and Chicago have complained about piles of petcoke blowing into the community. Bill Koch (the estranged brother of Charles and David) owns controlling interest of Oxbow. Klein also lobbied on restrictions of ivory imports for Oxbow.
*Fracking company and gas industry trade association lobbyists have also contributed to Clintons campaign, including Former Rep. Martin Frost (D-TX), who lobbied for the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance, and Martin Durbin of the American Natural Gas Association (now merged and part of the American Petroleum Institute API), the nephew of Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). Another donor is Elizabeth Gore, a lobbyist for WPX energy (fracking). A lobbyist for FTI Consulting, creator of an industry front group called Energy In Depth, also contributed to Clinton;s campaign. Although Clinton has said she would require FERC to consider climate change before granting any new gas pipeline permits, she recently told activists she would not ban fracking as president, and has a pro-fracking track record which has been well-documented by numerous groups, including pro-Clinton Super PAC Correct the Record.
*Marty Streett, a lobbyist for BP, gave Clintons campaign the maximum allowable amount ($2700). Her sister, Stephanie S. Streett, is the Executive Director of the William J. Clinton Foundation and former ED of the Bill Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation (Bill Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, 990 report 2013). The Podesta Group (Tony Podesta) also lobbied for BP, on issues including the Gulf of Mexico spill response and recovery.
*While Secretary of State, Clinton pushed fracking in countries around the world, through the departments Global Shale Gas Initiative. According to Grist, after the Bulgarian government signed a five-year deal with Chevron, major public protests led the Bulgarian parliament to pass a fracking moratorium. Clinton traveled to Bulgaria and then dispatched her special envoy for energy in Eurasia, Richard Morningstar, to push back against the fracking bans, which were eventually overturned.
*Clintons State Department played a major role in negotiating a bilateral oil agreement with Mexico. Her former special envoy for international energy affairs, David Goldwyn, has donated the maximum allowable amount to the campaign ($2700). Since leaving State, Goldwyn has consulted for companies wishing to profit from Mexicos decision to allow private oil services contractors into the country in order to expand PEMEXs ability to produce shale oil and tap deep offshore reserves.
*David Leiter (ML Strategies lobbyist for Exxon and a HRC bundler), the former Senate chief of staff to John Kerry, is also a lobbyist for Burisma Holdings, a private Ukrainian natural gas and uranium mining company with many connections to the Democratic Party. Bidens son Hunter joined Burismas board in 2014, right before Leiter was hired to lobby members about the role of the company in Ukraine (arguing for its role in helping Ukraine be independent of Russia). Another board member, Devon Archer, is a HRC donor (2700) and Democratic bundler (I dont see any record of him bundling for HRC). FTIs Lawrence Pacheco does communications for Burisma. Burisma is owned by a Cypriot holding firm, Brociti Investments Ltd, which is controlled by Nikolai Zlochevskyi, a former Ukrainian gov. minister.
*Although Clinton has said she supports an investigation into Exxons early concealment of what it knew about the risks of climate change and subsequent financing of climate denier front groups, her campaign has taken contributions from at least 7 lobbyists working for Exxon, including one in-house lobbyist Theresa Fariello who has bundled and additional $21,200 for the campaign.
*Hess lobbyists from Forbes-Tate (Daniel Tate, Jeffrey Forbes, George Cooper and Rachel Miller) all gave maximum allowable contributions to HRCs campaign. The firm lobbied on behalf of the Hess Corporation, on crude by rail and crude exports. Hess owns rail cars that came off the tracks and caught fire after a BNSF train derailed in North Dakota in early May, 2015. Hess is the third largest oil producer in North Dakota. Lynn Helms, a former Hess executive served as NDs top oil and gas regulator at the Department of Mineral Resources between 2005 and 2013. When Clinton came out in opposition to KXL she started talking about how fixing train tracks would create jobs. In December 2015, a couple of months after Clinton announced she opposed KXL, and just over a month after Obama turned KXL down, Warren Buffett who owns BNSF endorsed Clinton. Buffett is also a big oil investor (e.g. Phillips 66).
*Companies invested in LNG projects with lobbyists that have given to HRCs campaign include Freeport LNG (Elizabeth Gore Brownstein Hyatt, $500); LNG Allies (Michael Smith Cornerstone Gov. Affairs 2700 and a bundler of $59,400); Dominion Resources (Tom Lawler Lawler Strategies, 2700); Oregon LNG (Robert van Heuvelen VH Strategies 2700). Exxon also has LNG projects. Cheniere Energys Ankit Desai not only gave the maximum allowed, but also bundled $ 139,300 for the campaign. Another donor ($2700) to Clintons campaign is Heather Zichal, Obamas former energy advisor, who joined the board of Cheniere (LNG export company) after leaving the administration.
*Former Rep. Richard (Dick) Gephardts firm lobbies for Peabody Energy (coal), Prairie State (coal-fired power plant and adjacent mine), Ameren Services Co. Gephardt and his wife, son and daughter Chrissy all contributed the maximum allowed to Clintons campaign (Dick is the only fossil fuel lobbyist in the family). Gephardt, a Democratic Party super delegate, has pledged to support Clinton. In February, the DNC rolled back its previous commitment to not take any contributions from federally registered lobbyists. Clintons campaign has also received contributions from lobbyists representing big mining companies Westmoreland Coal, Arch Coal and Rio Tinto.
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Other points relevant to lobbyist contributions:
During the NH debate Clinton said donations are not evidence of favors, but in 2008 Clinton suggested the contributions Obama took from the industry were evidence of a quid pro quo.
But in April 2008, Clintons campaign aired a television ad portraying Obamas support for a 2005 energy bill as a quid pro quo for campaign donations. The ad said Obama had accepted $200,000 from executives and employees of oil companies, while criticizing him for voting for the Bush-Cheney energy bill that that put $6 billion in the pocket of big oil. The clear message: Obama backed the bill as a favor to donors.
Its worth noting that Obama didnt take any $ from lobbyists or PACs in 2008 and pledged to not take contributions from lobbyists in 2012, too, and gave some donations back.
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaign-updates/hillary-clintons-connection-oil-gas-industry/
Well, that will help the workers in IN, who lost their jobs to Mexicans earning 10%. TEN PERCENT
of what was paid to them, Americans, for the same job.
They want to turn us all into SERFS eventually.
Waiting for trickle down. The Clintons may speak ag trickle down, but its just part of their con. Their actions belie the words.
This is the real face of free trade deals. Workers that could afford to own their own homes and send their kids to college have had their economic security sacrificed on the altar of free trade.
Since the 1990s, the big business wings of the Democratic and Republican parties have united to push corporate trade deals that cost millions of jobs and contribute to Americas growing economic inequality. There was agreement among the Washington elites that these trade agreements written by and for the worlds biggest corporations were good for everyone. But really they were only good for everyone they met at the best cocktail parties.
......
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/03/31/changing-politics-free-trade-politicians-are-finally-listening
The Clinton are Super-Politicians.
No conscience, no empathy, we can talk about why they ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel.
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