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Judd Legum Profile picture
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20 Oct, 6 tweets, 3 min read
1. SOME GOOD NEWS

Congress has quietly taken a small step toward creating a lot more transparency in corporate political spending.

Follow along for details.

popular.info/p/a-small-step…
2. The reality is that in the United States most political spending is secret.

We know about PAC money to candidates but donations to trade organizations and advocacy groups remain secret absent voluntary disclosure.

And most companies don't disclose.

popular.info/p/a-small-step…
3. 12 yrs ago the SEC began considering creating a rule which would require all public companies to disclose their political spending.

But then Obama appointed an SEC commissioner who opposed the rule.

And then the GOP added a budget rider blocking it

popular.info/p/a-small-step…
4. The good news is that the Senate and House have released appropriations bills for the SEC that removes the rider and creates a path for the SEC to require corporate disclosure of political spending

Could be a game-changer

popular.info/p/a-small-step…
5. But we aren't out of the woods yet. Corporate lobbyists and others will have another bite at the apple when this bill is folded into an omnibus spending bill in December

They will be pushing for the rider to be re-added

popular.info/p/a-small-step…
6. In this case, knowledge is power.

The lobbyists are counting on the public not knowing about or caring about the issue. That will make it easier for them to convince Congress to do their bidding.

popular.info/p/a-small-step…

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More from @JuddLegum

Judd Legum Profile picture
21 Oct
1. Banks are engaged in a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign to protect wealthy tax cheats

popular.info/p/banks-engage…
2. Right now there are two sets of rules.

If you earn income via wages from an employer, the IRS knows EXACTLY how much you earn. Your employer reports it to the IRS.

But the income of wealthy investors and business owners is completely opaque

popular.info/p/banks-engage…
3. Often the IRS receives no information about the income of the wealthiest Americans, apart from what they voluntarily report to the government

Surprise! Many of them are cheating on their taxes

popular.info/p/banks-engage…
Read 9 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
19 Oct
1. Much of the discussion on Manchin and his demands on the reconciliation bill has focused on POLITICAL STRATEGY

But there is a more central question: How would Manchin's positions impact his constituents?

Let's go over some FACTS

popular.info/p/how-joe-manc…
2. Manchin's opposes the Clean Energy Standard which would:

Prevent 250 premature deaths in WV annually

Add 3.5K jobs in WV

Increase earnings in WV by $172M

Help WV, which is highly exposed to flood damage, avoid the worst impacts of climate change

popular.info/p/how-joe-manc…
3. Manchin wants to limit the expansion of the Child Tax Credit to families earning no more than 60K and add a work requirement. That policy would:

Strip eligibility from 190K children in WV

Cost WV families more than $250B in annual purchasing power

popular.info/p/how-joe-manc…
Read 5 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
18 Oct
1. The "grassroots" parent uprising in Virginia is supported by dark money groups connected to the Koch political network and integrated into Republican Glenn Youngkin's campaign for governor

Follow along for the details

popular.info/p/how-virginia…
2. "I am a concerned parent. I am not a plant. I am not an activist... I've always been identified as a Democrat"

That's what Harry Jackson, a Virginian who has generated a lot of media coverage, said on Fox on October 13

Jackson is a parent. But that's not the whole story
3. Jackson is also a member of the "Leadership Team" for Parents Defending Education, a dark money group that launched in March that has extensive ties to the Koch political network

popular.info/p/how-virginia…
Read 20 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
17 Oct
1. Manchin always insisted his primary issue with the reconciliation package was the overall cost. This allowed him to avoid talking about the actual substance of the bill. But it wasn’t true.
2. We now learn one of his red lines is the clean energy standard, a provision that isn’t very expensive ($150B), but would go a long way to transitioning the country away from fossil fuels
3. Manchin could probably have gotten just about anything for West Virginia coal workers, who will not be working very long in the coal industry regardless. But he apparently isn’t interested.
Read 5 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
14 Oct
1. The sudden interest in school boards is not an organic grassroots movement of angry parents.

It is an effort orchestrated by seasoned right-wing political operatives who have formed a constellation of well-funded groups.

popular.info/p/the-right-wi…
2. @DefendingEd, one of the most prominent groups targeting school boards, is run by a Republican operative with deep ties to the Koch political network

popular.info/p/the-right-wi…
3. Another major group, No Left Turn, was essentially a non-entity until its founder @NoLeftTurnElana started appearing on Tucker Carlson's show

popular.info/p/the-right-wi…
Read 6 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
12 Oct
1. In 2020, Trump TRIED to steal the election but his only help came from Rudy Giuliani, a minority in Congress, and a rag tag group of conspiracy theorists.

Appearing in Iowa over the weekend, Trump made clear that his 2024 strategy would be different

popular.info/p/a-citizens-g…
2. "The election was a fraud and if we want to save our country and make America great again, we have only one choice. We must elect strong and unyielding American Republicans at every level," Trump said.

STACK

THE

DECK

popular.info/p/a-citizens-g…
3. Trump's 2024 strategy is not just about him running. It's about installing loyalists at every level of the state and federal government.

First, the Secretaries of State. This would put Trumpists in charge of administering elections in key states.

popular.info/p/a-citizens-g…
Read 9 tweets

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