Remember Zippy Chippy, the race horse that lost one hundred consecutive races? That pretty much sums up the recent fortunes of Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. But thanks to a two year old decision of the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance unearthed by the Boston Globe’s Scot Lehigh, things are about to get…
Category: dark money
Question 2 and the Myths about Citizens United
Guest post from Professor Raymond J. La Raja of UMass Amherst and Professor Brian Schaffner of Tufts University. With Election Day in just a few days, Massachusetts voters must make up their minds on three important ballot questions. Unfortunately too little attention has been paid to Question 2. We have several concerns about it. Question…
Charlie Baker: Governor of Dark and Grey Money
Last week Channel 5 WCVB reporter Karen Andersen did a very good report on “grey money” and Governor Baker’s campaign. (Trigger warning: I’m interviewed in the piece). Between dark money and grey money, figuring out who gives to sustain Governor Baker and his pet causes may be the most difficult job in politics. “Grey money”…
Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Gets into the Voter Suppression Business
Yesterday the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, the private political dark money front run by Third CD Republican candidate Rick Green, referred what it calls its Voter Integrity Initiative to Secretary of State William Galvin. MassFiscal’s initiative has nothing to do with voter integrity. It is a blatant attempt to intimidate Latino, Asian, and African-American voters, a…
Will the U.S. Attorney’s Office SPAM Massachusetts Politics?
On Saturday the Boston Globe published an article suggesting that the United States Attorney’s Office may be looking for a way to indict the just-resigned head of the State Police Association of Massachusetts for “true source” violations of state campaign finance law. Can this be true? If so, Mr. U.S. Attorney,…
What Is the Massachusetts Education Equity Partnership?
When anyone asks me why I follow so-called education reform groups in Massachusetts I tell them it’s for the same reason Willie Sutton robbed banks: it’s where the money is. So while I can’t say too much about the Massachusetts Education Equity Partnership (MEEP) only 24 hours after its launch,…
Rick Green Fumbles and Bumbles the Dark Money Question
Rick Green is doing something unusual. Wealthy individuals who run dark money schemes like Green’s Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance usually stay in hiding. Secrecy is the whole purpose of a dark money operation. Instead Green is running for Congress and thus having to answer questions about his furtive dark money front. It’s not going so well….
Why Rick Green is Not Like The Buddha; and Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance’s Allies
Politicians may not have the insight of Buddhist monks but is anyone less self-aware than Republican 3rd CD nominee Rick Green? He keeps announcing how he will protect democracy in the district, actively ignoring that his dark money front Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance’s mission is to emasculate democracy. A dark money shop like Mass Fiscal operates…
Hey There Little Red Riding Hood! Or, Should the Democrats Take Advice from Democrats for Education Reform?
The conventional wisdom is that Governor Charlie Baker will glide to re-election but amidst this Democratic Party gloom comes the director of Democrats for Education Reform Massachusetts with the secret to thrashing Baker: just attack unions and all will be well! This is not surprising since DFER MA is more an anti-union front than an…
The Gifford Giveback. Or When Does a Pol Have to Return the Money?
The Boston Globe is reporting that Rufus Gifford, a Democratic candidate for the open Third Congressional District seat, is repurposing a campaign contribution from accused #MeToo miscreant CBS chief executive officer Leslie Moonves to Planned Parenthood. Good for him. But this raises the question, when does a pol have to give back dirty money? I…