July 12, 2012
Fighting Bob Radio: transparency in politics
By David Giffey
Outing individuals behind the fortunes used to bankroll elections, like the Walker recall election June 5 in Wisconsin, is a reason for a new push for election transparency in Wisconsin.
Lisa Graves, executive director and editor-in-chief at the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), was the guest on Fighting Bob Radio July 12, the weekly hour-long radio blog hosted by Eric Schubring.
The conversation included details about CMD’s joining with WisPIRG, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, and other organizations in calling on Wisconsin legislators to hold hearings on the need for greater transparency and accountability for political spending in the state. More than $100 million entered the state during recent recall elections from undisclosed special interest donors.
Graves also described CMD’s efforts in pressing corporations to dump their memberships in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a group responsible for ghost-writing legislation designed to benefit rich and powerful corporations at the expense of people of color, workers, and the environment, and handing the proposed laws to receptive state legislators. Recently dropping ALEC memberships were Deere & Co., MillerCoors, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Best Buy, and CVS. Twenty-five corporations have broken from ALEC since the campaign supported by CMD began.
ALEC’s tactics are “an attempt to pre-empt local communities” struggling to regulate critical environmental issues including mining and water use, said Graves.
Graves' CMD publishes the online magazine PRWatch.org, which is home to ALEC Exposed, Source Watch and Bankster USA and other projects.
FightingBob.com editor and publisher Ed Garvey is joined by host WOJB radio host Eric Schubring on the live show at 11 a.m. each Thursday. Listeners can call in during the show with questions and comments at (213) 943-3485.
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I find it interesting that the 100 million dollars appears to have little effect on the employment numbers. It seems as though the dollars flowed from wealthy donors to wealthy marketing firms.
It reminds one of the results of tax breaks for the wealthy.
-Richard Kanak | Cherry Valley, Illinois | July 13, 2012
People who signed recall walker petitions had to include their name, address, phone number and email address. Anyone who donates more than $1,000 should have to do the same. That way, we can go protest at the homes of these jokers, like Diane Hendricks, who want to destroy the common man while hiding behind archaic laws.
-Rollie | Watertown, WI | July 13, 2012
Yes lets put out those names so you can then go protest in front of thier homes. What a great idea you have thier Rollie. Intimidation of some ones home and family because they gave money to a politcal group you don't agree with. That sounds like another winning PR strategy for the left.
-SW | Waulesha, WI | July 14, 2012
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