Campaign Financing

[M. Broderick, please pick up the white courtesy phone -- FAST!!!!]

I am hyperventilating.

I just read the wikipedia bio about Kirsten Gillibrand and then I perused her website.

Does someone have a paperbag I can breathe into for a sec?????? Issue-eclectic is the kindest phrase I can think of. Apparently it is the season for liberal-to-arch-conservative-issue cherry-picking among young, fast-rising pragmatic Dems with engaging smiles.

I was so very excited this past week to begin my volunteer work for Jonathan Tasini in New York. He is restoring functionality to my stricken, liberal heart from the shell shocking 8 years of Bushco insanity and now, oh hell, I’ll say it, my HORROR at Obama’s urbane yet questionable (another kind word) shenanigans in the name of compromise (and some are not compromises, but his own disturbing agendas, like rampant militarism and assuming the right of citizen assassination, but that is for another blog).

I just listened to NY’s Jonathan Tasini on the Brian Lehrer show on wnyc.

Tasini is facing an uphill race for US Senator from New York against Gillibrand, benefactress of Wall Street largess, particularly from SEC-investigated Goldman Sachs. She is the latest puppet crony for corporations within our Congress. Schumer, also from New York, was a major architect for deregulation on their behalf declares Tasini.

Such an uphill battle, in fact, that though he faced down Hillary Clinton for the Senate race long ago and won almost one-quarter of the vote, The New York Times recently declared in print that Gillibrand was running uncontested on the Democratic ticket, which is a damn lie, upsetting Tasini’s mom, most significantly.

Why no acknowledgment? Because an honest candidate not cronied up with oodles of corporate backing will be WILLFULLY ignored by our premier national newspaper. In your face, America. The fourth estate is totally cronied up with corporations. Doesn’t that make you want to get Tasini elected all the more??? Disenfranchise honest truth-to-power candidates. That's the name of this long-term game.

Jonathan Tasini FIGHTS BACK as Wall Street showers his senate opponent, BENEFACTRESS-OF-THE-CRONY-STATUS-QUO, Gillibrand, with campaign cash. He is launching a new website called: DUMPWALLSTREETMONEY-DOT-COM!!!!!

Please SIGN THE PETITION addressed to:

Tim Kaine / Chair / Democratic National Committee
and
Michael Steele / Chair / Republican National Committee.

“We believe that Wall Street’s undue influence over members of Congress, via campaign cash, is a central reason for the current economic crisis—too many legislators let Wall Street and banks run wild in return for pocketing checks to finance elections.

Therefore, we demand that the leaders of the two parties immediately call on every candidate for office, as well as all party-related committees, to return every dollar collected from Goldman Sachs-related contributions given the serious charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging a systematic fraud perpetrated on the American people by Goldman Sachs.”

Report: Senator Max Baucus Received More Campaign Money from Health and Insurance Industry Interests than Any Other Member of Congress.

Montana Senator Max Baucus, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, is the Senate’s point man on healthcare reform. A new article in the Montana Standard finds that Senator Baucus has received more campaign money from health and insurance industry interests than any other member of Congress. The article says, “In the past six years, nearly one-fourth of every dime raised by Baucus and his political-action committee has come from groups and individuals associated with drug companies, insurers, hospitals, medical-supply firms, health-service companies and other health professionals.” [includes rush transcript]

Please read the email from JoAnn Fuller below and call and/or send an email to the Sacramento City Council. You can send an email to all of them at once by copying the emails below and pasting them in the To: field of your email.

mayor@cityofsacramento.org ; rtretheway@cityofsacramento.org ; ssheedy@cityofsacramento.org ; scohn@cityofsacramento.org ; rkfong@cityofsacramento.org ; lhammond@cityofsacramento.org ; kmccarty@cityofsacramento.org ; rwaters@cityofsacramento.org ; bpannell@cityofsacramento.org

Thanks,
Bill

From: JoAnn Fuller

Stop Sac City! Don’t Repeal Fair Elections reforms!

Sacramento City Council is poised to repeal the Fair Elections ordinance that allows people to run for office even if they aren’t wealthy or don’t want to take special interest money. They also plan to weaken the limits on campaign contributions so their donors can give big bucks to their campaigns.

To stop this, we must act quickly! The Council has scheduled these extensive revisions without time for public comment for their Tues. March 31st meeting and plan to vote on them on April 7th. Before then, we must let them know we think this action is premature and that we need substantial community input before they vote.

"Everyone who met Peter, talked with Peter, worked with Peter, or argued with Peter, will miss the passing of a great American."
-Ralph Nader

Peter Camejo, Candidate And Activist, Passes Away
by Dan Bacher

Peter Camejo, Green Party gubernatorial and vice-presidential candidate and longtime progressive political activist, passed away Saturday morning in Folsom, California at the age of 68 after a long battle with cancer.

"It is with great sadness and regret that I have to inform you that Peter Camejo died this morning," according to a statement from The Camejo Family. "Peter decided that he would be more comfortable at home, and the doctors agreed. Arrangements were made, and ultimately Peter returned home yesterday. Peter’s health had declined rapidly over the last two days due to the aggressiveness of his cancer and the strength of the drugs used to combat his disease. His wife was at his side when he passed peacefully this morning."

Camejo, the son of a Venezuelan businessman and a veteran of the anti-war movement and numerous battles for social justice and human rights, was one of the best political debaters I've ever seen. Most recently, he became a nationally known socially responsible investment planner.

He could easily demolish any right wing opponent with his passionate, well-reasoned arguments based on his in-depth knowledge of the issues. I've never seen anybody in a debate that knew economics like he did.

New campaign-spending disclosure rules imposed on California politicians
Many elected officials will now have to explain how wining, dining and other expenses are tied to government business.
By Nancy Vogel and Patrick McGreevy | Los Angeles Times Staff Writers | February 15, 2008

SACRAMENTO — The state ethics watchdog Thursday made it tougher for politicians to use campaign funds to enhance their lifestyles.

New rules imposed by the Fair Political Practices Commission will force politicians to publicly explain how meals, gifts and out-of-state travel paid for with campaign money are connected to political or governmental business.

The panel's unanimous vote comes four months after The Times revealed that Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles) spent tens of thousands of dollars from special interests and other political donors on overseas travel, meals, wine and high-end retail goods with no obvious connection to his official duties. The new regulations will take effect for campaign expenditures after July 1.

CLEAN MONEY BILL PASSES FULL ASSEMBLY!

Last night, by a vote of 45-34, our amended Clean Money pilot bill (AB 583) passed the full Assembly! This is giant step forward for a bill that will provide California and the nation with a model for reform towards fair elections and accountable government.

IT WOULDN'T HAVE PASSED WITHOUT THE HELP OF ACTIVISTS LIKE YOU
Thanks to the literally thousands of you who signed the petition, wrote letters, faxed, called, and packed all the hearings. It was another outpouring of support for fair elections they couldn't ignore!

Support from coalition partners who believe in Clean Money was also key, with Public Campaign, California Sierra Club, the Greenlining Institute, the William C. Velasquez Institute, and MALDEF especially coming through in the final days this week on the bill that was also helped along by our allies at California Common Cause and the League of Women Voters of California. You can see the entire impressive list of Clean Money supporters on our website. (If your group isn't on it and would like to be, let us know!)

Yet another reason we need Clean Money campaigns in CA.
--Bill

Big Oil buys Sacramento
Why You’re Not Hearing A Peep From California Politicians on Record-High Gas Prices.
by Jamie Court and Judy Dugan : Published on Monday, May 14, 2007 by The Los Angeles Times

Who’s afraid of Big Oil? Apparently, California’s elected officials. Gasoline prices are stuck well above last year’s record highs and about 50 cents above the national average. Yet state politicians are not saying or doing a thing, except for raking in political cash from the oil companies and flying around the world on their dime.

Take Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who once claimed that he was so rich he did not need anyone else’s money - and who isn’t running for another office. Yet as gasoline prices were breaking last year’s record of $3.38 a gallon, Schwarzenegger collected a $100,000 check May 1 from Chevron, the West’s largest refiner. The company certainly had the cash on hand. Just three days earlier, it reported a $4.7-billion first-quarter profit, up 18% over the same period last year.

New Year, Same Old Crap

Only an act of God will change moneygrubbing political parties

By MARC COOPER
Wednesday, January 3, 2007 - 6:00 pm

And so it is time for one of those very conventional New Year’s Resolution columns. But first, this:

When Gov. Schwarzenegger hobbles out of bed at the end of the week to attend his own posh inaugural bash, he’s going to be packing more than just the crutches he needed after his recent skiing mishap. Arnold will be toting along a couple of deep, very deep black bags to haul away the $1.5 million in loot being offered up as tribute.

With absolutely no legal limits on how much can be socked into his inaugural committee, a motley collection of Class A special interests have chipped in as much as $50,000 each to pander to the Governator.