Tagged: corruption

Posted: October 30, 2012 at 8:50 pm

Watch FRONTLINE Expose: Big Sky Big Money Online Here

Tonight, the PBS investigative series FRONTLINE takes a look at the out-of-state groups working to buy our local elections.

The show looks into the files on 23 right-wing Montana candidates were found in a meth house in Colorado in a box labeled “Montana $ bomb.” The files contained information about how the American Tradition Partnership is manipulating Montana campaigns and elections.

Here’s the video:

Watch Big Sky, Big Money on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Posted: July 2, 2012 at 7:38 am

Schweitzer Blasts Supreme Court on MSNBC

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer was on MSNBC’s Up with Chris Hayes yesterday to discuss the recent Supreme Court decision overturning Montana’s Corrupt Practices Act. This is the Citizens United decision, where the Supreme Court ruled that free speech is now for sale to the highest bidder. The Governor had nothing good to say about the decision, as The Raw Story reports:

“We had a system that actually worked,” Schweitzer went on, as Hayes chortled in the background. “And the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., a place where nothing works, they told us, ‘No, we don’t like your system. We think you ought to go to the corrupt system that we’re using in Washington, D.C.’”

Schweitzer concluded by saying that even the copper kings “were pikers compared to what we’re doing now.” He pointed out that the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act makes it illegal for U.S. corporations to bribe politicians in other countries, but insisted this is only because “we have a monopoly on bribery in this country. If you’re going to bribe a politician and you’re an American company or an American individual, you’ve got to give it to American politicians. You can’t give it to a foreigner.”

Here’s the video:

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Posted: June 4, 2012 at 5:03 pm

Schweitzer Tells Supreme Court Where to Put Citizens United

Today’s must-read article is a strongly worded op-ed column in the New York Times by our own Governor Schweitzer, who writes that Montana has “fresh mountain air” and implores the conservative-dominated Supreme Court not to “blow the stink of Washington” our way.

At issue is the sequel case to Citizens United, called American Tradition Partnership v. Bullock. Attorney General Bullock will soon be arguing before the Supreme Court in defense of our anti-corruption law dating back to 1912, which the Supreme Court has forbidden Montana from enforcing because it violates the holding in Citizens United that corporations have free speech rights to influence elections.

Schweitzer tells a colorful history of William Clark bribing his way to becoming US Senator and also discusses what he says is “a rare, pure form of democracy” in Montana that can be traced to strict controls on campaign finance.

The full piece can be found here.

Posted: May 21, 2012 at 7:44 am

Shadow Groups Back at Work in GOP Primaries

The shadow group American Traditions Partnership is back working in Republican legislative races in Montana. American Traditions Partnership (ATP) is the group that sued to deregulate elections and turn back MT’s 100 year old ban on corporate funding of elections.

ATP, which doesn’t disclose its donors, sent out a mailer supporting Dee Brown in the Republican primary for the Whitefish/Columbian Falls State Senate Seat, SD 2. Previously they favored TEA Party poster boy Rep. Derek Skees in the HD4 general.

HB 198 was a Republican bill passed by a Republican controlled Legislature. This demagoguing flier was mailed with heavy saturation in Whitefish and Columbia Falls. Here’s the mailer:

The Center for Responsive Politics estimated that Republican secret money groups outspent Democrats across the U.S. last election cycle by a 7-1 margin. Here in Montana, ATP and other Republican-leaning groups spent an estimated $2-3 million attacking Democratic candidates and supporting TEA Party Republicans–but you can’t find the exact amount or who paid for it. This is just one more reason why the Citizens United decision is so bad. The Supreme Court opined that voters could easily go to the internet to find out who paid for the campaign ads. But GOP political operatives simply set up tax-exempt non-profit front groups like ATP to avoid having to disclose their donors. The front groups claimed that they were educating the public on issues rather than campaigning for candidates. Therefore, they argued, the disclosure wasn’t required.

Christ Matthews told Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer on Hardball recently that fewer than 50 wealthy individuals or corporations are spending the bulk of the money to influence elections this cycle. Schweitzer was on the program to talk about his support for a ballot initiative in Montana to overturn Citizens United.

ATP is the lead plaintiff in the legal challenge to Montana’s ban on corporate spending for candidates. The group touts their organization’s secrecy as a benefit of giving them money and have been under fire for corruption in Montana and other states. Montana TEA Party legislator Art Wittich (R-TEA Bozeman) is said to be the new local figurehead for the entity.

Posted: May 2, 2012 at 7:32 am

Hill Campaign Financed by Convicted Felons

Rick Hill set the bar high when he first ran for congress.

He attacked his opponent in the press for taking money from an organization he said “had ties to organized crime.”

An Associated Press article (pasted below the fold) from ’96 quoted Hill as saying:

“The fact that he took this contribution is arrogant, insensitive to our Montana values and insulting to Montana voters.”

As it turns out, Congressman Hill has himself taken large sums of money from well-known convicted felons.

Super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Former Congressman Tom Delay, and former Montana Businessman Dick Dasen have exactly two things in common.

1. They’re convicted felons.

2. They finance Congressman Rick Hill’s campaigns.

Tom Delay is the former U.S. House Majority Leader. Delay is also a convicted felon who contributed $5000 from his Americans for a Republican Majority (ARMPAC) – as well as $1,000 from his Congressional Committee PAC – to Congressman Hill’s campaigns. Delay earned his felony conviction after he was found guilty of conspiring to circumvent a state law against corporate contributions to political campaigns. Specifically, that meant conviction for one charge of money laundering, and one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Dick Dasen – a felon and former Montana businessman – contributed $500 to Congressman Hill. He later was convicted in Montana on five counts of sex charges related to a major prostitution scandal. Dasen spent an estimated $1 million to $5 million for women to have sex with him, usually in hotels.

Jack Abramoff is a convicted felon and former lobbyist who amassed a fortune by bilking Indian tribes of millions of dollars. His fortune allowed him to contribute $250 to Congressman Hill. He later plead guilty to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials in a wide-ranging, D.C. corruption scandal. Furthermore, he plead guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges related to the casino boats he bought.

And so, it looks like Congressman Hill’s hypocrisy is coming back to haunt him. Besides treating his staff like dog crap and being a terrible boss, this former congressman has a seedy crowd of convicts who have funded his political endeavors.

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