Op-Ed

Op-Ed

This Is What Plutocracy Looks Like: Romney Suggests Obama Bribed Voters

by Mary Bottari — November 16, 2012 - 8:51am
  • Topics: Election 2012

    • Failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney was caught on tape in another candid moment with big dollar donors. In an attempt to explain his stunning loss, Romney alleges that President Obama bribed the electorate with "gifts":

    Op-Ed

    Hurricane Sandy Endorses Obama: Storm Provides a Counter-Narrative to the Hundreds of Millions in Fossil Fuel Campaign Contributions

    by Mary Bottari — November 2, 2012 - 10:33am
  • Topics: Democracy, Energy

    • -- Mary Bottari and Sara Jerving

    The fossil fuel industry has paid a hefty price for the privilege of framing the political discourse about America's energy future. Hundreds of millions have flowed into campaign coffers from energy companies attempting to purchase complete freedom to drill, frack, and burn. Huge "dark money" groups, the Koch's, Karl Rove, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, join dozens of oil and gas industry associations in pouring money into television ad campaigns demanding "energy independence," while trashing wind and solar.

    Op-Ed

    For Obama, Upside of Lackluster Debate: Less Ammo for the Super PAC Firing Squad

    by Brendan Fischer — October 10, 2012 - 7:24am
  • Topics: Election 2012, Democracy, Politics

    • President Barack Obama's uninspired performance at the first presidential debate has led to a drop in his poll ratings and a surge for GOP challenger Mitt Romney. But one benefit for the president from his mediocre debate showing is that it provided little fodder for attack ads from the Super PACs and "dark money" groups planning to spend tens of millions in the final weeks of the election.

    Op-Ed

    WI Ethics Board Should Bar ALEC Corporate Gifts

    by Lisa Graves — August 23, 2012 - 11:57am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations

    • Imagine a retreat at a swank Wisconsin resort, where elected officials are wined and dined by corporate lobbyists, have their travel and accommodations paid, have activities for their families and their child-care subsidized, and are given tickets to major league ball games and elite parties by corporate lobbyists with business before the legislature.

    Op-Ed

    "Path to Prosperity?" Paul Ryan's Medicare Plan Looks Like a Path to the Poorhouse

    by Wendell Potter — August 12, 2012 - 6:48pm

    If Americans who are embracing Rep. Paul Ryan's "Path to Prosperity" -- and that now includes Mitt Romney -- spent a few minutes reviewing a few recent research reports, they just might conclude that the Wisconsin Republican's plan to reduce the deficit might better be renamed the "Path to the Poorhouse" because of what it would mean to the Medicare program and many senior citizens.

    Op-Ed

    Special Report from Salt Lake: ALEC Exposed, ALEC Diminished

    by Lisa Graves — July 27, 2012 - 7:47am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations

    • SALT LAKE CITY -- American Legislative Exchange Council legislators, corporate lobbyists, and special interest group staffers awoke Thursday morning to bad news about ALEC delivered to every room at the "five diamond" Grand America hotel. Although the print edition of the Salt Lake Tribune's headline read "ALEC says it won't be threatened," the news story in the state's leading paper featured two prominent critiques of ALEC.

    Op-Ed

    China Trade Set to Be Major Issue in Wisconsin’s 2012 Senate Race

    by Mary Bottari — June 29, 2012 - 9:31am
  • Topics: Corporations, Democracy, Economy, Politics

    • As the race for Wisconsin's open U.S. Senate seat heats up, China has taken the spotlight. Republican candidate Eric Hovde has launched an ad blaming the outsourcing of U.S. jobs on the corporate tax rate.

    The ad appears to be in response to Democratic candidate Tammy Baldwin's recent ad on China. Baldwin slams China, for violating trade rules by dumping paper on the U.S. market and harming the Wisconsin paper industry, which employs some 50,000 workers.

    Op-Ed

    Suspicious Minds: Will There Be a Special Session in Wisconsin?

    by Mary Bottari — June 20, 2012 - 9:49am
  • Topics: Democracy, Wisconsin Protests

    • Two things will happen today in steamy Wisconsin, where temperatures are set to break 95. One election will be certified, while another will be recounted. The confluence of events have some wondering if a window of opportunity has been created to allow the Wisconsin GOP to pull a fast one.

    Op-Ed

    Trained on Koch: Daily Caller Claims Fake Rebuttal of CMD on ALEC Role Promoting "Stand Your Ground" Laws

    by Lisa Graves — June 18, 2012 - 9:54am
  • Topics: Corporate Campaigns, ALEC Exposed, Crisis Management, Right Wing, Third Party Technique, Corporations, Democracy, Propaganda, Public Relations

    • Tucker Carlson's website, the "Daily Caller," recently posted a story claiming that a Florida state legislator had rebutted a purported claim by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) that the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) "drafted" Florida's "Stand Your Ground" (SYG)/"Castle Doctrine" law. But we did not make that claim.

    Op-Ed

    "I Stand With ALEC" Website Stumbles from the Start

    by Brendan Fischer — June 14, 2012 - 7:39am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Politics

    • Two months after it was first announced, the "I Stand With ALEC" website supporting the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has finally gone live -- and it is underwhelming.

    For the past year, ALEC has been under intense public scrutiny, starting in July 2011 when the Center for Media and Democracy launched ALECexposed.org. Since then, Common Cause has filed complaints with the IRS challenging ALEC's charitable status, groups like People for the American Way and Progress Now! have helped produce reports about ALEC's influence in individual states, Color of Change has been privately and publicly urging corporations to leave ALEC because of the ALEC agenda's negative impact on the African American community, and labor unions and shareholder groups have put increasing pressure on publicly traded companies to drop their ALEC membership. CMD has continued its investigation of ALEC, its operations, and its members through reporting on PRWatch.org, and documented ALEC's role in ratifying as a "model" bill the Stand Your Ground law cited initially to protect Trayvon Martin's killer from arrest or prosecution.

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