Share this page!

GET A GRIP - AUSTERITY KILLS Profile picture
Twitter logo
Oct 28 • 11 tweets • 7 min read
#THREAD

@EXPOSEDbyCMD works hard to expose dark money entering US politics.

While @DeSmog & others do a great job here, given the enormous influence of opaquely funded #TuftonStreet "think tanks" on the UK Govt, we urgently need more of this in the UK.

exposedbycmd.org/2022/09/30/sta…
For many years, the right-wing State Policy Network (SPN) has been operating, & its state-based affiliates now collectively bring in $152 million annually in revenue, according to analysis of the most recent publicly available tax filings by @EXPOSEDbyCMD.
theguardian.com/world/2013/nov…
The Koch Foundation is a member of the SPN. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) & Heartland Institute founded the SPN, modeled off of the Heritage Foundation, & together coordinate to block solutions to global warming & the #ClimateCrisis

greenpeace.org/usa/fighting-c…
SPN met last week in Atlanta for its 30th Annual Meeting, where members spent four days immersed in a far-right agenda of social, political, economic, and culture war issues they hope to advance at the state level—in resistance to “federal overreach.”
SPN groups play an integral role in influencing legislation (at a state level)—by providing academic legitimacy (when called upon to testify at hearings), producing “studies” or model legislation, & attracting media attention. A model similar to #TuftonStreet "think tanks".
That legislation is sometimes drafted as model bills by corporate lobbyists and lawmakers at SPN’s sister organization, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

SPN currently has 64 affiliate members & 99 associate members that include many prominent national right-wing groups—from Koch’s Americans for Prosperity (AFP) to the Heritage Foundation, as well as one of the network’s largest funders: #DonorsTrust.

In 2020 alone, SPN & 45 of its affiliates received $15million in contributions from #DonorsTrust, the preferred donor conduit of the Koch political network. The $152 million in revenue does not include contributions to advocacy or litigation arms of SPN.

bylinetimes.com/2022/10/13/the…
SPN expands its litigation capacity with its “incubated” Juris Link, a right-wing legal centre launched 2019 to track & support challenges to #Covid restrictions, fight workers’ rights to unionise, counter progressive proposals & champion far-right causes.
Uncannily like the UK Govt's ERG group, SPN works to “defund & defang” unions, oppose climate change regulations, lower wages, cut taxes, curb business regulations, tighten voter restrictions, privatize education, & hide the identities of political donors.
Thanks in no small part to @stephenfry, @GeorgeMonbiot's compelling & chilling @DoubleDownNews video about the malign influence of #TuftonStreet "think tanks" on our democracy, environment, & country has had over 3 MILLION views.

Please keep sharing. 🙏

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with GET A GRIP - AUSTERITY KILLS

GET A GRIP - AUSTERITY KILLS Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @docrussjackson

GET A GRIP - AUSTERITY KILLS Profile picture
Oct 29
#THREAD

We're told we have a 'representative democracy', but over the past fifty years, the proportion of MPs from manual work backgrounds has declined to ZERO, & the proportion of MPs who were elected representatives or worked in politics before becoming MPs is now over half.🇬🇧 Image
The proportion of privately educated cabinet ministers has been much higher than the population for decades, even under @UKLabour. Truss (68%) & Johnson’s (64%) first cabinets had the highest proportions of private school-educated ministers since the early 1990s. Sunak's has 65%. Image
There has been a dramatic exclusion of those from lower middle & working class backgrounds from representation at the top of British politics.

There is also a difficulty in participation for the large majority of people who weren’t privately educated.

Read 11 tweets
GET A GRIP - AUSTERITY KILLS Profile picture
Oct 28
#THREAD

It's more a question of what 'free speech absolutist' Elon Musk will do to #democracy, rather than what he'll do with @Twitter.

Experts warn that Musk - like Murdoch - will become a crucial political gatekeeper, & facilitate the return of Trump.

ft.com/content/2b6daf…
This #thread quotes extensively from the FT article above.

Many are fearful Musk's leadership could do more harm than good: he's pledged to restore “free speech” to the platform & undo permanent bans, paving the way for Trump to return as the US midterms loom just days away. Image
“We’ve seen people’s businesses and reputations rise and fall by what happens on Twitter, we’ve seen markets rise and fall by what happens on Twitter, we’ve seen elections rise and fall by what happens on Twitter,” says Joan Donovan.
Read 20 tweets
GET A GRIP - AUSTERITY KILLS Profile picture
Oct 28
#THREAD

Rishi Sunak & his supporters claim he has a 'mandate' to be PM because he's 'promised to deliver the original 2019 @Conservatives' manifesto'. This is obviously a profoundly misleading & antidemocratic lie: he has absolutely no intention of delivering the 2019 manifesto.
"Hospitals" are mentioned 19 times in their 2019 manifesto: it explicitly promises "40 new hospitals" THREE times, "ON TOP OF the 20 hospital upgrades".

This was always lie, & they certainly WILL NOT deliver "40 new hospitals" - Thus, they will NOT "deliver" the 2019 manifesto.
And now Sunak looks likely to abandon the “triple lock” protection for the state pension.

To legitimate ignoring two of their most important promises to the British people - while simultaneously claiming he has a 'mandate' to be PM - they simply say 'circumstances have changed'.
Read 9 tweets
GET A GRIP - AUSTERITY KILLS Profile picture
Oct 27
“We have forty new hospitals” lies Lucy Frazer.

Last year, her husband's company held a contract to supply temporary staff to government departments. It had previously been disclosed that six of these workers had been employed using a controversial tax-avoidance scheme.

#bbcqt
In June 2022, Lucy Frazer stated that she would vote in support of Boris Johnson in the 2022 vote of confidence in the Conservative Party leadership of Boris Johnson, despite him being a law-breaking pathological liar & serial cheat.

#bbcqt
Read 5 tweets
GET A GRIP - AUSTERITY KILLS Profile picture
Oct 27
#THREAD

Extracts from the excellent 'Who Thinks, Feels. The Relationship Between Emotions, Politics & Populism', by Donatella Bonansinga (2020).

"Traditional political ideologies, usually embodied by mainstream parties, are anchored in emotionality as much as populism may be."
Research has shown how conservative thinking can be a response to a need to reduce fear & uncertainty. Experimental evidence suggests that priming mortality threats (eg via terrorism) results in post-manipulation conservative identification.
Liberals are less concerned with fear, & characterized by a higher propensity for empathy. This emotion of empathy emerges as a distinctive trait of liberal ideology in many studies, highlighting its centrality in underpinning attitudes toward social spending & the welfare state
Read 48 tweets
GET A GRIP - AUSTERITY KILLS Profile picture
Oct 26
#THREAD

Sunak's Govt should be honest for once & say what it REALLY wants: no welfare; no public sector; no taxes; no consumer, worker or environmental protections; no food or other standards; no limits on Party funding; no lobbying restrictions; no unions; & no human rights. 🇬🇧 Image
A recent Open Democracy article by, Adam Bychawski, raised some interesting questions about Rishi Sunak - the richest MP in Parliament – who will be a boon for the financial lobby, tax justice campaigners have warned. They're summarised below.

opendemocracy.net/en/rishi-sunak…
Experts say multi-millionaire Rishi Sunak has not been transparent with his finances and that his hedge fund background raises questions about his commitment to fighting tax avoidance.

A slick public marketing campaign has disguised a man with an ultra-privileged background.
Read 43 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Send Email!

Email the whole thread instead of just a link!

Separate emails with commas

:(