Posted by
Rich on Friday, February 01, 2008 6:39:31 PM
The Herald-Tribune appears to want "transparency" in political donations made to local politicians in their editorial
Lessons in campaign trickery.
They target of course - developers. Actually, developers who gave to Republicans. Surprise, surprise.
Interestingly all the information about the transfer of funds from one PAC to another are all available to the public and properly recorded. Otherwise how would the Herald-Tribune know about them? Even the editorial board states, "All of this is legal, but it shouldn't be."
There it is. They want to change the campaign financing laws for "corporations". That is the issue, not transparency.
What they really are concerned about is, "PACs will still be able to exceed the caps on donations, and corporations can still avoid the restrictions by routing their contributions through PACs."
They hate corporate PACs. But they don't mention using union dues to contribute to PACS or PACs run by unions, liberal issue group PACs, folks like George Soros, MoveOn.org, etc.
What the Herald-Tribune does not tell you is that in one of his most significant and effective efforts to reshape the American political landscape, George Soros was the prime mover in the creation of the so-called “Shadow Democratic Party,” or “
Shadow Party,” in 2003.
This term refers to a nationwide network of unions, activist groups, and think tanks engaged in campaigning for Democrats. The network’s modus operandi includes such activities as fundraising, get-out-the-vote drives, political advertising, opposition research, and media manipulation. The Shadow Party was conceived and organized principally by George Soros, Hillary Clinton and Harold Ickes—all identified with the Democratic Party’s left wing. Other key players included several members of the Bill Clinton White House.
If you really want to know the connection between money and political votes and who gave money to whom in Sarasota County go to these two sites and they will give you a list of political contributors and help you follow the money.
MAPLight.org - Money and Politics, illuminating the connection. This one lists specific Congressional legislation and ties in who donated to those that voted yes or no on the bill.
CampaignMoney.com - With this web site just type in your zip code and see where the money goes. You can look at political contributors by city, county and state. You can search the 2008 election or go back to previous elections.
We agree that after Congress passed McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform legislation the door was left wide open for PACs and 527s. We believe that McCain-Feingold harmed political free speech and the ability of individuals to support their political party. We believe it should be recinded.
Until then we have transparency. We don't need more restrictions on individuals and organizations to suppress their free political speech.
You now learned a lesson in the Herald-Tribune's "trickery" on this issue.