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mac
Joined: 07 Mar 1999
Posts: 17747
Location: Berkeley, California
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 Posted: Mon May 16, 2016 10:55 am Post subject: |
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| Hm, how surprising, hedge fund billionaires and energy interests are funding the 2016 elections. Some people think that Trump would eliminate the sweetheart tax rates for hedge funders. They are wrong. |
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real-human
Joined: 02 Jul 2011
Posts: 14890
Location: on earth
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| Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 8:12 pm Post subject: |
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another right wing billionaire giving the most to trump... maybe this guy has put more into politics in the last 10 years than sorros.... just one right winger of the many.
trumps wall street millisecond trader billionaire backer who owns media is now executive producer of the new apprentice.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/breitbart-trump-share-billionaire-backer-749609539896?cid=eml_mra_20160824
GOP establishment's chief antagonist is Trump's biggest backer
Rachel Maddow reports on the billionaire, Robert Mercer, who supported the unseating of Republican establishment figures, finances Breitbart News, and is the link between the Donald Trump campaign and its new CEO, Breitbart's Steve Bannon.
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J64TWB
Joined: 24 Dec 2013
Posts: 1685
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| Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2016 7:10 am Post subject: |
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While the U.S. economy grew at a sluggish 1.1% annual rate in the first quarter, the underlying trend of moderate expansion seems to remain in place. Growth is likely to rebound to roughly 2% over the balance of the year. The domestic labor market has been resilient in the face of unfavorable economic developments overseas. Although the pace slowed in the second quarter, jobs growth has been averaging 200,000 per month over the past year, and the national unemployment rate was 4.7% in May, its lowest level in more than eight years.
Housing and retail sales data were solid. Existing home sales rose in May to the highest level since February 2007, and retail sales grew 3.1% compared with the same period in 2015.
Headline inflation rose 1.0% in the 12-month period ended June 30. The consumer price index (CPI) stayed below the Fed’s 2% target, held down by a 9% drop in the energy category. Core CPI (which excludes volatile food and energy prices) has risen 2.3% over the most recent 12 months. After starting the year around $37 per barrel, West Texas Intermediate oil prices fell to below $27 in mid-February before climbing to about $50 by the end of June. The price rebound was attributed to speculation about global production cuts and, to a lesser extent, supply disruptions in Nigeria and Canada. Despite the 30% gain in the first half of 2016, oil prices have fallen about 19% since June 2015 amid a global supply glut.
The Federal Reserve raised short-term rates in December, but due
to the slowdown in economic activity and elevated global risks, the central bank has kept rates unchanged thus far in 2016. However, in June, the Fed’s policymaking committee did slightly reduce its growth outlook for the remainder of this year and for 2017 and adjusted its policy normalization plan to a more gradual path. We believe that another Fed rate hike is possible this year if the labor market recovery persists and measures of domestic demand strengthen.
In the U.S., mid-cap shares decisively outperformed their larger
and smaller counterparts. Stocks in the telecommunication services and utilities sectors outperformed other sectors, helped by investors seeking attractive income versus low-yielding fixed income alternatives. After losing ground in 2015, energy stocks rallied with crude oil prices, and shares of consumer staples companies also produced solid gains. Financial stocks underperformed as the expected rise in U.S. interest rates, which could help banks make more profitable loans, failed to materialize. Turmoil in Europe’s banking sector also weighed on U.S. financials. Health care and information technology stocks
also lagged.
Pretty much sums it up. |
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real-human
Joined: 02 Jul 2011
Posts: 14890
Location: on earth
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| Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2016 9:44 am Post subject: |
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how can anyone on the right support this? probably because you were involved with companies doing exactly this.
http://billmoyers.com/story/confronting-citizens-united/
Will SCOTUS Confront the Results of Citizens United?
A Wisconsin case now before the Supreme Court highlights just how much the justices got wrong.
| Quote: | The investigation into Walker’s alleged coordination with outside groups was led by both Republican and Democratic prosecutors, with the assistance of the state’s nonpartisan elections board.
Because the probe was conducted under Wisconsin’s “John Doe” investigatory process, most evidence has remained under seal. But what has been made public shows that Walker secretly raised millions for Wisconsin Club for Growth – a dark money group led by his top campaign adviser R.J. Johnson – with the express purpose of bypassing Wisconsin laws requiring disclosure of campaign donations and prohibiting corporations from giving to candidates.
The campaign also worked closely with another dark money group, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, which received millions in grants from the club.
FLJFS101_Courthouse_r
Bill Moyers Essay: The Affront of Citizens United
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
Walker’s staff advised the governor to tell donors “that you can accept corporate contributions and it is not reported” and to “stress that donations to Wisconsin Club for Growth are not disclosed.” A set of fundraising talking points told Walker to refer to Wisconsin Club for Growth as “your (emphasis added) 501(c)4.”
Remember, US Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United were premised on the supposed “independence” of outside groups like Wisconsin Club for Growth.
So how seriously did candidates and donors take that “independence?” On the memo line of one check to Wisconsin Club for Growth, billionaire commodities king Bruce Kovner noted that his donation’s purpose was for “501(c)4-Walker.”
According to evidence made public in the probe, Walker raised $1 million from hedge-fund manager Steven Cohen and $250,000 from Republican mega-donor Paul Singer, among others. He even raised $15,000 from Donald Trump, later a political rival in his unsuccessful bid to win the Republican presidential nomination.
Walker knew where his financial support was coming from, but…the public did not.
Walker knew where his financial support was coming from, but — until the now-stymied investigation began — the public did not.
That meant that the press and the public could not connect those secret financial interests with the policies Walker pursued in office.
For example, after Walker won the election, his top legislative priority for the next session was passing a mining bill drafted by an out-of-state mining corporation called Gogebic Taconite.
During the heated debate over the bill – a proposal met with protest from environmental groups, conservationists and Native American tribes – Wisconsinites never knew that the Gogebic Taconite’s CEO had secretly donated $700,000 to Wisconsin Club for Growth.
The secret $700,000 donation was 22 times greater than the roughly $32,000 that the mining company had disclosed in donations to Wisconsin candidates in 2011 and 2012.
Similarly, the public didn’t know that the CEO of Menards Hardware had secretly given $1.5 million to Wisconsin Club for Growth at Walker’s behest. After Walker won the election, Menards was awarded $1.8 million in tax credits from the economic development agency that Walker chaired. Menards also benefited from the Walker administration’s reduction in environmental enforcement. Under previous governors, the company had repeatedly faced million dollar-plus fines for violating state environmental laws.
Those donations didn’t become public until two years later, and were only revealed at all because of the John Doe investigation. |
| Quote: | Even more troubling is the fact that some Wisconsin Supreme Court justices were faced with such clear conflicts of interest that they should not have heard the case at all.
The two groups that allegedly coordinated with Walker, Wisconsin Club for Growth and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, also spent $10 million helping elect the court’s four conservative justices, in most cases outspending the justices themselves. The four justices, in turn, became the majority in the 4-2 decision that shut down the John Doe investigation into these groups’ potential coordination with Walker. In short, the justices disregarded clear conflicts of interest to render a decision in favor of their biggest campaign supporters. Those conflicts were particularly pronounced for Justices David Prosser and Michael Gableman.
In 2011, Wisconsin Club for Growth, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and their offshoots spent nearly $3.7 million supporting Justice David Prosser. That was five times as much as the Prosser campaign spent itself, in an election that was decided by a mere 7,000 votes.
Three years before, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce’s spending in support of Justice Michael Gableman had come in at five-and-a-half times what Gableman’s own campaign disbursed. Wisconsin Club for Growth’s spending that year also surpassed the Gableman campaign’s. Together, the outside groups spent $2.75 million in a contest that Gableman won by 20,000 votes. |
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real-human
Joined: 02 Jul 2011
Posts: 14890
Location: on earth
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| Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2016 9:59 am Post subject: |
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this one right wing group (the chamber) has spent in total more than every democrat organization combined. And they do not have the money of the oil companies chem, defence company, insurance, banking, what so ever. Just the Koch brothers (oil) alone are said to be involved in this election cycle alone with 1 billion dollars.
oh ya dems have soros who puts in some tens of millions of dollars per election. How much did Sheldon Adelson by himself put in last election 70 million making soros look poor.
again the chamber putting in just this year 18 million to make sure citizens united is not overturned, so right wingers can give 100s of millions for one election. and the best the dems have are one or two who give in the low 10s of millions.
https://www.thestreet.com/story/13679971/1/the-u-s-chamber-of-commerce-tops-the-list-of-groups-spending-on-elections.html
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Tops the List of Dark Money Groups Spending on Elections
| Quote: | | The U.S. Chamber of Commerce increased spending after the 2010 Citizens United Case. The group has spent more than $18 million this year but kept its donor list secret. |
| Quote: | When it comes to secret donors spending money to influence elections in the wake of 2010's Citizens United Supreme Court decision, there is perhaps no group more aggressive than the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling allowed super-PACs and dark money groups to spend freely on political elections provided they did not coordinate with candidates. Both advocate for or against candidates and ballot measures through huge spending on advertisements and other media.
But there are several fundamental differences between the two. Among them, while super-PACs have to publicly disclose the sources of funds, dark money groups like LLCs and political non-profits do not. That has created problems of transparency and accountability and given wealthier individuals increasing influence over elections.
In the aftermath of Citizens United, the conservative-leaning U.S. Chamber of Commerce has spent aggressively in campaigns by keeping its donors secret. The Chamber first attempted to sway voters in the 2012 election cycle through sponsored ads. These are listed as independent expenditures.
The Chamber of Commerce spent $32.26 million on 2012 Federal Elections. It spent $35.46 million in 2014, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
With just over two months before the presidential election, the group seems to have backed off in 2016. Still, the $18.65 million it has spent is more than any other group. The Chamber of Commerce has also spent $52.32 million on lobbying, more than any other group. Since 1998, it has spent close to $1.3 billion in lobbying for large corporations and smaller businesses. |
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real-human
Joined: 02 Jul 2011
Posts: 14890
Location: on earth
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| Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2016 5:23 pm Post subject: |
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/08/26/how-many-trump-products-were-made-overseas-heres-the-complete-list/?wpisrc=nl_evening&wpmm=1
trump says we should boycott businesses that make products in other countries like Nabisco.
so should everyone boycott everything trump makes money on since he outsources his products?
| Quote: | The Hillary Clinton campaign has at least two ads attacking Donald Trump for outsourcing the production of his merchandise. Given Trump’s rhetoric against companies shipping jobs out of the United States — he vowed not to eat Oreo cookies anymore after Nabisco moved some U.S. factory jobs to Mexico — this is a frequent attack on his record as a businessman.
Trump has a long history of outsourcing a variety of his products and has acknowledged doing so. When asked during a Republican primary debate in Miami why voters should trust that Trump “will run the country differently from how you run your businesses,” he answered: “Because nobody knows the system better than me. … I’m a businessman. These are laws. These are regulations. These are rules. We’re allowed to do it. … I’m the one that knows how to change it.” |
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real-human
Joined: 02 Jul 2011
Posts: 14890
Location: on earth
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2016 12:57 pm Post subject: |
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just one ultra partisan right winger outspends every democrat in the history of the USA...
and this is not the right winger who spends the most ...he puts Sorros to shame and the right wing always claim somehow sorros is the boggyman.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/27/republican-donors-trump-congress-local-races-sheldon-adelson
| Quote: | The Guardian can reveal that the casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who is said by well-placed sources to be worried about losing control of Congress, met Trump in New York last week.
The donor, who one friend said has been “irked by a lot of things”, had already met Trump privately at least twice this year. He has pushed for the candidate to visit Israel, which has not happened, and supported former House speaker Newt Gingrich for vice-president. Trump chose the governor of Indiana, Mike Pence.
Earlier this summer, Adelson endorsed Trump, reportedly signaling that he was willing to spend up to $100m on the presidential contest. To date, however, he has not given money to any Super Pac. Three fundraising sources with good ties to Adelson said he is focused on trying to keep control of Congress, though he could donate to Trump if his gaffes are eliminated and his poll numbers improve. |
| Quote: | | In 2012, groups backed by the Koch brothers and American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, both of which were co-founded by former Bush adviser Karl Rove, focused heavily on the presidential race, spending more than $200m. Adelson and his wife gave $23m to American Crossroads. |
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real-human
Joined: 02 Jul 2011
Posts: 14890
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| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2016 8:46 am Post subject: |
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another wall street er who puts sorros to shame and is the big funder of trump stuff.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-rise-of-gop-mega-donor-rebekah-mercer/2016/09/13/85ae3c32-79bf-11e6-beac-57a4a412e93a_story.html?wpisrc=nl_politics&wpmm=1
| Quote: | Galvanized in part by the Republicans’ 2012 White House loss, the middle daughter of billionaire hedge fund magnate Robert Mercer has rattled the status quo by directing her family’s resources into an array of investments on the right. In the past six years, the Mercers have poured tens of millions into Republican super PACs, Washington think tanks, state policy shops, a film-production company, a data analytics operation and one of the country’s most provocative online conservative news outlets.
After Donald Trump clinched the nomination, the Mercers rallied to his side. Their imprint is now evident on the real estate developer’s campaign, which is led by three close associates who ran Mercer-fundedenterprises: former Breitbart News executive chairman Stephen Bannon, pollster Kellyanne Conway and Citizens United President David Bossie.
Meanwhile, Rebekah Mercer has taken up the day-to-day management of her family’s super PAC, which is producing a string of searing ads attacking Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
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| Quote: |
In the GOP primaries, Robert Mercer poured $13.5 million into the family super PAC — then called Keep the Promise 1 — in support of Cruz.
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Since 2010, Robert Mercer has climbed the ranks of the country’s biggest political donors, giving at least $36.5 million to federal GOP candidates and super PACs. Rebekah has contributed an additional $814,500, campaign finance records show.
At the same time, the Mercers have steadily upped their nonprofit investments. Run by Rebekah, the family foundation went from doling out $1.7 million in 2009 to $18.3 million in 2014, according to tax records.
In all, the foundation gave nearly $35 million to conservative think tanks and policy groups in those five years, according to records compiled by The Washington Post and GuideStar USA. |
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when good people stay silent the right wing are the only ones heard. |
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real-human
Joined: 02 Jul 2011
Posts: 14890
Location: on earth
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| Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2016 11:31 am Post subject: |
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largest funder of trump...
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/new-concerns-fbi-is-leaking-to-trump-campaign-800667203987?cid=eml_mra_20161104
brietbart.com funder...
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 11/3/16
Possibility of FBI leaks to Trump campaign raises alarm
| Quote: | | Spencer Ackerman, national security editor for The Guardian, talks with Rachel Maddow about concerns about connections between the Donald Trump campaign and the FBI, particularly the New York field office, and the apparent willingness of some in the FBI to politicize the bureau to help Trump |
WPO
| Quote: | THE BIG IDEA: Reince Priebus will be chief of staff, but Stephen Bannon may be the one calling the shots in Donald Trump’s White House.
The pugilistic and polarizing former head of Breitbart News will be chief strategist and senior counselor for President Donald Trump, a role held in previous administrations by the likes of David Axelrod, Karl Rove, John Podesta and Ed Meese. |
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when good people stay silent the right wing are the only ones heard. |
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mac
Joined: 07 Mar 1999
Posts: 17747
Location: Berkeley, California
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| Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2016 2:36 pm Post subject: |
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| The very rich, whatever their motives, funded this election cycle. $370 million was spent by Super PAC's on the presidential election alone. Fifty seven percent of that came from just 60 people. Another $180 million in dark money--we can't tell where it came from--was spent. The best politicians that money can buy. |
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