IF Scott Walker beats the recall it will mean the Koch Brothers' investment paid off [View all]

[Bill USA]

Wisconsin Recall: Walker Rakes in Millions While Koch Brothers Pump Secret Cash



The June 5 Wisconsin recall vote is just days away, and Republican Gov. Scott Walker has raised more campaign cash than any candidate in Wisconsin history, with more than $31 million raised since he took office in January 2011. Walker's war chest, which grew by a whopping $5.9 million in the past five weeks, dwarfs that of his Democratic opponent, former Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who's fundraising total of $4.2 million in comparison had Wisconsin Democrats scolding their party's national leadership.

Walker has spent more than $20 million campaigning to stay in office and has raised nearly that much since January, but hefty donations to Walker's campaign coffers aren't the only source of big money support for the governor who stripped most of Wisconsin's public employees of their collective bargaining rights. Political Action Committees (PACs) and nonprofit front groups have allowed the Koch brothers and other corporate sources of out-of-state cash to funnel millions of dollars into Wisconsin for campaign initiatives and television ads promoting Walker and his pro-business, union-busting agenda.

Koch Brothers and the RGA

The Republican Governor's Association (RGA) has spent more than $8 million in Wisconsin on television ads attacking Barrett and supporting Walker through its Right Direction Wisconsin PAC, according to the nonpartisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Earlier this year, David Koch of Koch brothers fame gave the RGA $1 million and Koch Industries, the massive petrochemical and commodities conglomerate owned by David and his brother Charles, has pumped more than $2 million into the RGA so far this year, according to the Campaign for Responsive Politics.
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