Politics

What to read now

By Paul Blumenthal

1) E.J. Dionne writes about secret money in the Washington Post, “Imagine an election in a Third World nation where a small number of millionaires and billionaires spent massive sums to push the outcome in their preferred direction. Wouldn’t many people here condescendingly tut-tut over such a country’s “poorly developed” sense of democracy and the inadequacy of its political system?”

2) The American Crossroads family did not start raising boatloads of money until they spun off Crossroads GPS, which does not disclose donors, “With the Crossroads fundraising team, led by Rove, emphasizing to prospective donors the ability to give to Crossroads GPS anonymously, fundraising took off.”

3) Karl Rove is a proponent of disclosure for the other party, but not for himself, “Rove sang a different tune in 2004 when he said, ?I?m against all the 527 ads and activities,? referring to a tax designation of some outside political groups, including his own American Crossroads. ?I don?t think they?re fair. I don?t think it?s appropriate. They?re misusing the law. They all ought to stop.”

4) The Washington Post profiles the former Eric Cantor chief of staff who is now running a secret donor outside group.

5) The New York Times looks at where the outside money is paying off.

Full post as published by Sunlight Foundation on October 25, 2010 (boomark / email).