News Cut: May 16, 2012 Archive

By George, these are good times for people influencing politics

Posted at 12:03 PM on May 16, 2012 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

The news today that an anonymous donor has dropped $7 million on former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman's conservative political action committee is a good time to reflect on what a difference time and fine print can make.

George Steinbrenner, the late New York Yankees owner, was convicted of a felony -- conspiracy -- after he "improperly" explained a $25,000 campaign contribution to the campaign of then-president Richard Nixon. He also encouraged employees of his shipbuilding company to make donations for which he would reimburse them. That was illegal then, and it's illegal now.

For that, Steinbrenner lost his right to vote and was thrown out of baseball for awhile.

But that was then and the $7 million anonymous donation is now.

USA Today reports:

That single donation accounts for 25% of the nearly $27.5 million raised by the group between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2011. The organization, which touts its grass-roots advocacy efforts, showed contributions from just 34 donors during that period. Eight contributors accounted for nearly 90% of the group's revenue.

As a tax-exempt group, the American Action Network does not have to publicly disclose its donors, and spokesman Dan Conston said the organization would not comment on its contributors. It was founded with help from veteran Republican power broker Fred Malek and is run by former Minnesota senator Norm Coleman.

The filings, made available to USA TODAY, show the network spent more than $25 million and used the lion's share of the money -- $17 million -- on so-called issue advocacy and grass-roots organizing. It said $5.5 million went to activity focused on candidates and other political activity. The group also distributed money to six other conservative groups, including nearly $500,000 to American Crossroads, a super PAC linked to Republican strategist Karl Rove.

It's all perfectly legal.

Republicans in Wisconsin are more interested in voting than Democrats

Posted at 2:19 PM on May 16, 2012 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

From the exotic land of neighboring Wisconsin comes a Marquette University poll today showing Republican Gov. Scott Walker sitting in a pretty good position for his recall election in three weeks.

The poll shows Walker with a 6-percentage-point lead over Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

That's interesting enough, but this nugget is, too: Republicans are more interesting in voting than Democrats and Independents are:

Republicans are more likely to say they are "absolutely certain" to vote on June 5, at 91 percent, than are Democrats and independents, both at 83 percent. In other areas of participation, Republicans also have an advantage. Sixty-two percent of Republicans say that they have tried to persuade someone to vote for or against a candidate, compared to 54 percent among Democrats and 48 percent among independents. Democrats, however, are more likely to have been contacted by a campaign, 83 percent, to 78 percent for Republicans and 76 percent among independents. These rates are for all registered voters in the sample, not just likely voters.

Marquette Law School Poll Director Charles Franklin noted, "While both parties show unusual levels of involvement in the campaign, Republicans appear to hold an advantage in likely turnout, although Democrats are more likely to have been contacted by a campaign. In a close election with so few undecided voters, enthusiasm, turnout and campaign contact with voters may make the difference."

What's going on here?

Maybe Democrats in Wisconsin are paying attention to Democrat Jonathan Zimmerman, who wrote in the L.A. Times last week...

As a liberal, I'm troubled by the prospect of voters unseating an elected official over taxes. Or abortion. Or gun control. If you can recall leaders for any political reason, sooner or later your own ox will be gored.

I'm also worried that the Wisconsin recall, which has drawn nationwide attention and money, will trigger a vicious cycle of partisan retribution. Your guy didn't win in November? No problem. Start a recall drive now.

Most of all, though, I fear that the recall threat will make our elected officials even more timid and poll-tested than they already are. Sometimes, great leaders need to take unpopular positions.