Thread by @christackettnow

I’ve done a little digesting on the 30 Day Reports and wanted to share some observations
#txlege

Empower Texans looks to be back to being primarily a one person show. They took in $1.1 million from 07/01 - 09/27 from 50 donations. Tim Dunn gave $1, 050,000. It makes for a very monochromatic pie. #txlege #txed

When you look at the donors in total, you realize the 50 donations really only translates to 27 different people (some people gave more than once). This also illustrates just how astroturfed this PAC is. #txlege #txed

How did the Empower PAC spend their money since July 1? $743,697 in total expenses, with $536k for donations, $150k on advertising (for Konni Burton) and $45k on consultants. #txlege #txed

Who received Empower Texans PAC money since 07/01/18?
Konni Burton $250k (direct & in-kind)
Matt Rinaldi - $150k
Dan Patrick - $75k
Jonathan Stickland - $50k
Bob Hall - $40k

Who else received Empower money since 07/01/18?
Deanna Metzger - $35k
Jonathan Boos - $25k
Lisa Ryan - $10k
Shaheen, Pikl, and Toth - $5k apiece
#txlege #txed

I touched on the new Texans For Fiscal Responsibility PAC yesterday, but let me address it again. It is primarily a one person show. The PAC took in $622k from 07/01 - 09/27 from 34 donations. Farris Wilks gave $600k. Just like ET, a very monochromatic pie. #txlege #txed

When you look at the donors in total, you realize Wilks gave $600k, Dick Saulsbury’s kids gave $20k, and then it’s a handful of very small donors. Again, just like ET, this nothing but astroturf. #txlege #txed

How did the Texans For Fiscal Responsibility PAC spend their money since July 1? $500,385 in total expenses, with $500k for donations, $385 for an accountant. #txlege #txed

Who received Texans For Fiscal Responsibility PAC money since 07/01/18?
Konni Burton - $250k
Don Huffines - $100k
Jonathan Boos - $65k
Matt Rinaldi - $50k
Deanna Metzger - $25k
Shaheen & Toth - $5k apiece
#txlege #txed

Seeing both the Empower Texans PAC and the Texans For Fiscal Responsibility PAC individually, knowing those donors have all been tied together for the past few years, I decided to combine the data to see what it looked like. #txlege #txed

When you roll ET & TFFR together, it’s the same pattern as always. $1,726,201 in to the PACs from 07/01/18 - 09/27/18. Dunn giving over a million, Wilks giving $600k. This is your standard Empower chart. 84 donations, but 2 people giving 95%. #txlege #txed

When you roll together what Empower Texans & Texans For Fiscal Responsibility PACs spent from 07/01/18 - 09/27/18, it comes to $1,235,082. Over $1 million in donations and $150k for Konni Burton ads. #txlege #txed

Let’s roll those Empower Texans & Texans For Fiscal Responsibility PAC donations together and see who got what 07/01-09/27/18
Konni Burton - $500k
Matt Rinaldi - $200k
Don Huffines - $100k
Jonathan Boos - $90k
Dan Patrick - $75k
Deanna Metzger - $60k
(cont) #txlege #txed

(cont) Let’s roll those Empower Texans & Texans For Fiscal Responsibility PAC donations together and see who got what 07/01-09/27/18
Jonathan Stickland - $50k
Bob Hall - $40k
Pete Flores - $25k
Lisa Luby Ryan - $10k
Steve Toth - $5k
Matt Shaheen - $5k
#txlege #txed

Above is everything from the PAC standpoint. What does it look like on the candidate charts?
From 07/01-09/27/18, Konni Burton took in $1,055,067 from 243 donations, averaging $4,341 per.
The pie chart has black lines on it to make it easy to see the Empower ties.
#txlege #txed

Here is the donor location chart for Konni Burton. Notice 25% of her donations come from Dallas. Guess where Texans For Fiscal Responsibility registered as their location? A PO Box in Dallas. Guess they wanted to say their people aren’t taking all their money from Austin. #txlege

How about Jonathan Boos? From 07/01-09/27/18, Boos took in $221,826 from 274 donations, averaging $809 per.
The pie chart has black lines on it to make it easy to see the Empower ties. There
#txlege #txed

Maybe you’d like to see Jonathan Stickland. From 07/01-09/27/18, Stickland took in $270,336 from 238 donations, averaging $1,135 per.
The pie chart has black lines on it to make it easy to see the Empower ties. There are a whooooole lot of them.
#txlege #txed

Let’s also check out Jonathan Stickland’s donation location chart. You have to get all the way down to the 6th city in the list to find something in district. Great job making 6th Bedford! Midland and Cisco, we know you hold a special place in Stickland’s heart #txlege #txed

And of course we must revisit Matt Rinaldi. From 07/01-09/27/18, Rinaldi took in $278,516 from 226 donations, averaging $1,232 per.
The pie chart has black lines on it to make it easy to see the Empower ties. $206,500 of the $278k comes from ET World. That’s 74%.
#txlege #txed

I have to circle back and speak to why I think Texas For Fiscal Responsibility PAC was created. Let’s review: Billionaires decided they wanted more power / money. They give straight to candidates, but also create & buy PACs to disguise what they are giving.

Those PACs give huge dollars to the candidates, with the intent to overwhelm any opposition candidate who tries to stand against them. By creating all of these “voices” they are trying to create a false chorus of support. They push propaganda.

The PACs / foundations are given innocuous names, things people would likely agree with. “Yes, Texans should be empowered”, or “you bet they should be fiscally responsible”. But the reality is these organizations exist to pad the pockets of the uber wealthy

When people hear something over and over, their social media feed is cluttered with support, their mailbox is collapsing from all the mailers, they might be swayed. It’s an old playbook.

But why a new PAC? Why now? I think it’s because they realize the brand they have been pushing is starting to be a dirty word and they needed another outlet, a new way to pull the wool over your eyes. But we are smarter than that. And we will help others be smarter. #txlege #txed

*Texans For Fiscal Responsibility

Very much relating to my thread and specifically Representative Jonathan Stickland, this blog post is a scathing look, filled with delightful literary references. Nice job @texasquire

https://twitter.com/texasquire/status/1049801509993627648?s=21