Who's funding the "non-partisan" front group No Labels whose objective is to siphon off Democratic votes and put Trump back into the White House? As Judd Legum @juddlegum reports, the group fights to keep its donors secret.
But internal documents obtained by Daily Beast show "prominent executives from Fortune 500 companies and leading financial-services firms have contributed to No Labels…."
To those who say there's no difference between #republicans and #democrats because they're both controlled by corporate money, are you familiar with the #DISCLOSE act? If not, please consider that your convictions may have been influenced by #gop propaganda campaigns. It's been introduced each session since 2010.
A first-in-the-nation transparency act on Hochul’s desk would name those involved in financial crimes and potential money laundering
A corporate lobbying group backed by Koch Industries is quietly pressing the Democratic New York governor, Kathy Hochul, not to sign a landmark transparency bill unmasking the owners of shell corporations involved in financial crimes, wage theft and tenant abuses.
High-profile real estate donors to Hochul’s campaign also oppose new disclosure requirements for limited liability companies, or LLCs, a notoriously opaque corporate structure that can thwart attempts at both civil and criminal law enforcement by concealing owners’ true identities.
How Leonard Leo Weaponized the Courts Against Democracy | The Nation
The Federalist Society, formed in 1982, was the perfect vehicle for forging a right-wing legal cadre and funneling it into the legal system.
Leonard Leo joined the Federalist Society in 1986, forming a chapter of the group at Cornell where he was studying law.
As he rose in the ranks, Leo was an important player in the political campaigns to win Senate approval for Supreme Court justices such as Clarence #Thomas, John #Roberts, and Samuel #Alito.
During the Bush administration, when the Department of Justice wanted to “launder and distribute” a white paper in support of a contentious nominee, they turned to Leo.
Viet Dinh, a Department of Justice official who was also a prominent member of the Federalist Society, e-mailed, ”Tell len leo [sic] I need this distributed asap.”
The Federalist Society was thus organically tied to the Republican Party:
When nominees ran into headwinds, Leo would lead the charge with media campaigns to rally support.
By 2016, the role of the Federalist Society as the essential gatekeeper of Republican judicial nominees was recognized by presidential candidate #Trump, who promised the right-wing base, “We’re going to have great judges, conservative, all picked by the Federalist Society.”
The network Leo brought together comprises three cords:
♦️the GOP (which needed conservative judges),
♦️the legal profession (where young lawyers were hungry for a pathway to judges),
♦️and plutocratic donors (eager for judges that supported plutocracy and right-wing politics).
💰Money was a crucial component of this network.
George Conway, a former Republican who had been active in the Federalist Society, told ProPublica,
“There was always a concern that Scalia or Thomas would say, ‘Fuck it,’ and quit the job and go make way more money at Jones Day [a big law firm] or somewhere else.
Part of what Leonard does is he tries to keep them happy so they stay on the job.”
This explains the luxurious lifestyle enjoyed by right-wing judges as they vacation and cavort with robber barons such as Harlan #Crow and Paul #Singer.
The judges get to enjoy the lifestyle of the 1 percent despite earning a government salary.
While the Supreme Court is the big prize, the conservative legal movement that Leo forged worked to reshape lower courts as well as state courts, helping to promote not just right-wing judges but also district attorneys.
Sometimes the lobbying was demagogic. Politico reports,
Leo became interested in Wisconsin in 2008.
An incumbent state Supreme Court justice, Louis #Butler, had angered the state’s largest business group with his ruling in a lead paint case.
The ensuing ad campaign was contentious and expensive, featuring commercials showing Butler, who is Black, next to the picture of a sex offender who was also Black.
The #racist demagoguery of that judicial race is of a piece with the way Republican jurists have so often worked to curtail voting rights.
The whole claim that #originalism was meant to enhance democracy has been revealed as a fraud.
The same #antidemocratic tendency can be seen in the way the court is working to limit president Biden’s agenda, as in the recent decision in
👉Biden v. Nebraska overturning student debt relief—a measure that was in the Democratic Party platform when Biden won the election.
The goal was to create an ideologically committed faction that could dominate the courts and advance its agenda without democratic check.
Justice Sam Alito said during his confirmation process he would follow ethics laws passed by Congress — now he says Congress can't regulate the Supreme Court.
To get confirmed, the justice pledged to follow an anti-corruption law that he later ignored — now he says Congress can't regulate the Supreme Court.
Warren Gunnels, staff director for Sen. Bernie Sanders
Net worth
$222 billion: Elon Musk
$165 billion: Jeff Bezos
$130 billion: Bill Gates
$129 billion: Larry Ellison
But yeah. Get angry at the dude who got $6 a day in food stamps, not the billionaire class who have more money than God and pay a lower tax rate than truck drivers.
"The horror of the 91-year-old reclusive billionaire Barre Seid—his name rhymes with 'parricide'—bequeathing $1.6 billion of his vast fortune to radical Catholic forced birth activist and Supreme Court fixer Leonard Leo did not hit home for me until this week, when I read Nina Burleigh’s article in the New Republic."
Leonard Leo is a RW political powerhouse, & his vision is being effectuated bc he was able to steer an unfathomable amount of money toward those goals.
"He captured the judges, the courts, Heritage Foundation - now going for law schools."
-A Nelson
Leo advised on every conservative nomination to the SC since Chief Justice John Roberts.
Yes, fiddling and driving bigtrucks while their province burns. Connections, folks!
Alberta’s party leaders are ignoring the climate crisis while the region burns
Monday’s election is going to be a political nail-biter but neither candidate has discussed a post oil and gas world
The #ConservativePartnershipInstitute (#CPI) has become a breeding ground for the next generation of #Trump loyalists & an incubator for policies he might pursue. Its fast growth is raising questions.
The #sleeperagents have been activated and Comrade Trump needs 32.5 Billion Roubles ($354.8 USD) NOW to buy some more time for the comrades in the SCOTUS
"Since Rishi Sunak became prime minister, anonymous dining clubs and special interest groups, set up as ‘unincorporated associations’, have funnelled millions into political parties. But who’s splashing the cash?"
#MitchMcConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader in history who maintained his #power in the face of dramatic convulsions in the #RepublicanParty for ~2 decades, will step down from that position in Nov.
McConnell, who turned 82 last week, was set to announce his decision Wed in the well of the Senate….
@TucsonSentinel Sen Blumenthal's statement on MSNBC abt McConnell's toxic legacy was spot on. Mitch was #DarkMoney mentor to #kyrstensinema whose bond to him in 2021-22 is her own malignant legacy.