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March 26, 2014
From: The
Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations
Contact: Susan Kniep,
President
Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032
Does Your Vote Count
As
Much as Their Money?
The Hidden National Security Threat: Dark Money Corruption
EXCERPTS: An American politician is fairly cheap to
buy, yet has the potential to provide an immense return on investment—thousands
of dollars donated to a politician can easily net millions of dollars in
benefits. This high cost/benefit ratio, combined with the secrecy of the
donation process, makes our campaigns incredibly tempting targets for foreign
manipulation.
Allowing
large aggregates of money and infrastructure like corporations and unions
to donate to 501(c)(4) and super-PAC groups
accelerated the growth of fake nonprofit propaganda mills into overdrive.
Under
the current campaign finance laws, there is nothing stopping foreign
governments and corporations from utilizing the 501(c)(4)
loophole to funnel millions of secret dollars into the coffers of politicians
who will later pay back those funds with legislation favorable to their donors;
technically, the law outlaws donations from foreign entities, but the secrecy
surrounding 501(c)(4) groups’ finances makes it impossible to verify that
the law is being followed.
The
vulnerability of American politics to foreign money extends throughout every
aspect of international relations and trade. By buying our politicians, foreign
entities are able manipulate American trade, regulatory, and contracting
policies, extract American resources, and put their interests at an advantage
over those of the American people.
Read article in its entirety
at ……
http://theprogressivecynic.com/2014/03/25/the-hidden-national-security-threat-dark-money-corruption/
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Message from
Open Secrets: This list includes the
organizations that have historically qualified as "heavy hitters" —
groups that lobby and spend big, with large sums sent to candidates, parties
and leadership PACs. Individuals and organizations have been able to make
extremely large donations to outside spending groups in the last few years.
While contributions to outside groups like super PACs do not factor into an
organization's designation as a "heavy hitter" (a listing of about
150 groups), those numbers are included for the roster below.
For example,
this list does not include
casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. He and his wife
Miriam donated nearly $93 million in 2012 alone to conservative super PACs —
enough to put him at No. 2 on this list. Similarly, the list excludes former New York City mayor
Michael Bloomberg, who has donated more than $19 million in the past two years,
largely to groups that support gun control. Neither Adelson
nor Bloomberg — or the organizations they report as their employers — qualifies as a "heavy hitter" under our current
definition. It's also important to note that we aren't including donations to
politically active dark money groups, like Americans for Prosperity, a group
linked to the Koch brothers, or the liberal group Patriot Majority — because
these groups hide their donors; see a list of top donors that we've been able to identify to such groups.
We are working to revise this list to take into account the new realities of
campaign finance created by the Citizens United decision, but as it currently
stands, there are significant omissions.
It is also
worth noting that certain organizations, such as ActBlue
and Club for Growth, are included although they function for the most part as
pass-through entities: individual donors give to them with the contributions
earmarked for specific candidates.
Check out the donors at …..
https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php
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Check out the Recipients at
…..
https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/
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Republican 
Democrat 
On the fence