The New York Times published a lengthy piece over the
weekend that revealed a sophisticated, ethically questionable strategy by pro-Republican
groups to gain monopoly control of certain states, including Michigan, by redirecting
millions of dollars into states where chances are best to capture both the
Legislature and the governorship.
finance rules in certain states, which allowed stacks of cash to be funneled out of inconsequential states and into targeted states.
Commerce, for example, apparently operating under the direction of a GOP group, sent $5
million in 2010 out to states where corporate contributions are legal, according to the Times. The overall operation shifted money around, in and out of Michigan, to the tune of $8.5 million.
The result, of course, was a clean sweep, with the Republicans electing Rick Snyder as governor, maintaining a stranglehold on the state Senate and recapturing the state House.
The nationwide effort was a huge success for
the GOP in 2010, moving a dozen states to sole Republican control, including key
presidential swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania.
process in 2012, with some success, giving the Democrats full control in
Minnesota and Colorado.
legislature and the governor’s office in 36 states, the most in 60 years.
reported about these behind-the-scenes movements in Michigan:
political action committee set up by the (Republican Governors Association) raised
$8.4 million. Virtually all of it came from a roster of elite donors outside
Michigan, such as Bob Perry, the Texas homebuilder, and David Koch, the
billionaire industrialist. Most of that money was transferred to the Michigan
Republican Party.
“While out-of-state donors were funneling millions of dollars into Michigan, Republicans
(in Michigan) were sending millions of dollars back out to the governors
association in Washington. All told, Michigan donors contributed $8.5 million
to the association. That is roughly as much as the group spent on independent
advertisements to help elect the Republican candidate for governor, Rick
Snyder, on top of the money transferred directly for the Michigan party.
Network, a watchdog group, said he believed the transactions were designed in
part to allow Michigan businesses, which could not give directly to Mr. Snyder,
to exchange their contributions for money from out-of-state individual donors,
who could legally donate. ‘It appeared to be a currency swap to obfuscate the
actual sources of money,’ Mr. Robinson said. ‘I had never seen anything like
this before, particularly at this scale.’
governors association, for example, was corporate money from the Michigan
Chamber of Commerce. Two million dollars of that went to association affiliates
in Maine and Florida, where corporate contributions are legal.”
