Does it strike anyone but me as ironic that those wanting to “get big money out of politics” are spending big money to promote their political agenda?
Three groups are registered “Issue Committees” to promote Amendment 65, the Colorado ballot measure seeking a U.S. amendment allowing politicians to restrict campaign spending (i.e., censor political speech).
Those groups (and their leaders) are Coloradans For Equal Opportunity (Mary Phillips), Coloradans Get Big Money Out of Politics (Elena Nunez), and Fair Share Committee to Get Big Money Out of Politics (Kirsten Schatz). (There is no group registered against the measure; obviously a few individuals, including me, have spoken against it.)
The first group hasn’t raised much money. The other two groups, however, have raised and spent significant funds. Following are the amounts raised, as reported by the Secretary of State:
Fair Share Committee to Get Big Money Out of Politics
October 1: $175,000 monetary contributions. Interestingly, that entire amount came from the Fair Share Alliance in Washington, DC.
September 17: $2,691 non-monetary contributions. Can you guess the source? Yes, the Fair Share Alliance.
September 4: $41,197.90 non-monetary contributions, all from Fair Share Alliance.
August 1: $365,689.96 non-monetary contributions, mostly from Fair Share Alliance (mostly for signature gathering).
Coloradans Get Big Money Out of Politics
October 15: $930 monetary contributions plus $7,469.60 non-monetary contributions, mostly from Common Cause. (Note that Elena Nunez is the Executive Director of Colorado Common Cause.)
October 1: $5,300 monetary contributions plust $6,799.14 non-monetary contributions, mostly from Common Cause. (A number of individuals made monetary contributions.)
September 17: $4,795.48 non-monetary contributions, mostly from Common Cause.
September 4: $35,371.04 monetary contributions plus $1,002.15 non-monetary contributions. This includes $12,921.04 in monetary contributions from Common Cause and $15,000 from People for the American Way of Washington, DC.
August 1 (amended): $81,881.96 monetary contributions plus $31,867.77 non-monetary contributions, mostly from Common Cause.
July 2: $165 non-monetary contribution from Colorado Common Cause.
* * *
In sum, two main groups, Fair Share Alliance and Common Cause, have dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars—mostly “secret” money funneled from one group to another—into the Amendment 65 campaign to “get big money out of politics.” Interesting tactic, that.
Related:
- Colorado Amendment 65: An Assault of Free Speech
- Top Ten Reasons Why Colorado Amendment 65 Is a Truly Horrible Idea
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