Monthly Archives: October 2011
The Progressive: The Walker Regime Pushes for Controversial Mining Law
-By Rebecca Kemble
October 26, 2011- Wisconsin Republicans have begun their push for dangerous mining up north.
“The iron mine train starts today,” proclaimed Assembly representative Mark Honadel at a press conference held by Assembly Republicans on Tuesday morning. He was referring to a proposed twenty-two mile long mountain-top removal project in the Penokee Hills of northern Wisconsin. These hills form the headwaters of the Bad River and comprise the southern boundary of the Bad River watershed, the largest Wisconsin watershed draining into Lake Superior. The Nature Conservancy reports that the Bad River is home to 72 species of rare and endangered plants and animals. The mouth of the Bad River also contains large wild rice beds that are critical to the economy and life ways of the Bad River Band of Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) people.
Bloomberg: N.J. Republicans Paid for Second Round of Christie Trips After Koch Flight
-By Elise Young
October 21, 2011- New Jersey state Republicans paid $85,000 for charter flights to send Governor Chris Christie on a national round of speeches and fundraisers in the third quarter.
That was the amount spent in July and September on flights for Christie, a first-term Republican, said Rick Gorka, a spokesman for the state party committee. Last month, Gorka said the group covered the $63,000 cost for Christie to fly to Colorado in June, to speak at a conference organized by Charles and David Koch, the billionaire oilmen and Tea Party supporters.
Gorka declined to say which trips the party paid for in the third quarter.
“Our policy is to not break out specifically what each expenditure is for,” Gorka said today by telephone.
Think Progress: As Scandal Engulfs American Legislative Exchange Council’s U.K. Affiliate, A Closer Look At Its US Operation
-By Lee Fang and Scott Keyes
October 17, 2011- The Atlantic Bridge, the British affiliate organization to the American Legislative Exchange Council, is quickly erupting into a scandal that may force the public to scrutinize the practices of both right-wing groups. Earlier this month, the U.K.’s Charity Commission shut down Atlantic Bridge after an investigation revealed that the nonprofit has operated as little more than a front for various corporate lobbying and Tory party interests. The scandal has already forced the resignation of David Cameron’s Defense Secretary Liam Fox after the revelation that the Atlantic Bridge’s London-based director, Adam Werritty, had improperly acted as a high level advisor to Fox while employed by a number of military industry and lobbying clients.
Think Progress: Herman Cain: ‘I’m Very Proud Of The Relationship That I Have With The Koch Brothers’
-By Alex Seitz-Wald
October 18, 2011- Newly minted GOP frontrunner Herman Cain acknowledged his long relationship with the conservative billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch yesterday. Cain has “close” and “long ties” to the Koch Brothers, as the AP reported this week, likely making him the conservative political duo’s “favorite presidential candidate,” as ThinkProgress has noted. Yesterday, Cain told CNN he is “very proud of the relationship that I have with the Koch Brothers:”
AP: Long ties to Koch brothers key to Cain’s campaign
-By Ryan J. Foley
October 16, 2011- IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain has cast himself as the outsider, the pizza magnate with real-world experience who will bring fresh ideas to the nation's capital. But Cain's economic ideas, support and organization have close ties to two billionaire brothers who bankroll right-leaning causes through their group Americans for Prosperity.
Cain's campaign manager and a number of aides have worked for Americans for Prosperity, or AFP, the advocacy group founded with support from billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, which lobbies for lower taxes and less government regulation and spending. Cain credits a businessman who served on an AFP advisory board with helping devise his "9-9-9" plan to rewrite the nation's tax code. And his years of speaking at AFP events have given the businessman and radio host a network of loyal grassroots fans.
The once little-known businessman's political activities are getting fresh scrutiny these days since he soared to the top of some national polls.