Any comment on the BS Mark Green decision?

[MessiahRp]

The Republicans worked together to break the law again the other day allowing him to illegally carry over unregulated Washington PACs to his Governor's race to use against Doyle.

Read the press release the DPW sent out:


DPW PRESS RELEASE:


Democratic Party of Wisconsin
222 W. Washington Ave., Suite 150, Madison, WI, 53703 · www.wisdems.org
phone [phone] · fax [phone]



For Immediate Release Contact: Josh Morby [phone]

February 10, 2005


Republican Legislators Allow Mark Green to Spend $800,000 in Illegal PAC Money in Governor’s Office Race

Madison – The Legislative JCRAR Committee yesterday repealed the recently passed Wisconsin State Elections Board rule that prohibits Congressman Mark Green from using money raised outside of Wisconsin campaign finance limits in his race for Governor.

According to the State Elections Board, this move will allow Green to use an additional $800,000 of illegal PAC money in his campaign. Current state law limits PAC donations to $485,000 for candidates for Governor. By Legislative Republicans repealing the rule, Mark Green will be allowed to raise and spend nearly $1.3 million in PAC donations in the 2006 race. Every other candidate in the Governor’s race will still be limited to $485,000 in PAC donations.

On January 26, 2005, the State Elections Board voted in bipartisan unanimity to prohibit this money from being used in Wisconsin elections.

On January 25th, the night before the State Elections Board meeting, Mark Green transferred $1.3 million from his federal account to his state account to try and bypass these new rules.

Included in the money that Mark Green transferred that would be illegal are PAC contributions from such notorious sources such as Enron, Halliburton and Congressman Tom Delay.

“Banning this illegal, special interest Washington DC money from flooding into the Governor’s race was a common sense vote by both members of both parties on the Elections Board,” said Linda Honold, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “Now Republicans in the Legislature have gone back and overturned the Elections Board rule to allow Mark Green to put his illegal, special interest money from Washington DC into the system.”

Unlike the claims of the Green campaign, these transfers have been illegal up to recently.

Under the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform, these federal to state account transfers were banned from taking place. However, the ban was repealed as part of a 3,300 page spending bill that was never subject to public debate or a hearing. No member of Congress has ever been identified for inserting this repeal into the bill although Congressman Mark Green is the only member of Congress that has taken advantage of this provision.

By repealing this Elections Board rule, Mark Green will be afforded special fund raising exceptions that no other candidate has:

PAC donations raised in Wisconsin can only come from PAC registered in Wisconsin. Green will be allowed to use Washington DC PAC donations that are unregulated in Wisconsin.
Total PAC donations are limited to an overall PAC limit of $485,000 for the cycle. All of Green’s PAC donations would be transferred as a lump sum and would not be counted towards the $485,000 total PAC limit. That will allow Green to raise nearly $1.3 million in total PAC dollars for the race.

Personal donations in Wisconsin are limited to $10,000. All of Green’s personal donations would be transferred as a lump sum and would not be counted towards the $10,000 limit. That would potentially allow Green to raise at least $14,000 from individuals.

“If Mark Green wants to be Governor, he should play by the rules like everyone else. He shouldn’t have to rely on Legislative Republicans to create special loopholes for his $800,000 in special interest PAC money to flood into Wisconsin,” concluded Honold.


EXAMPLES OF NON-WISCONSIN PACs THAT HAVE DONATED TO MARK GREEN

COMMITTEE
TOTAL AMOUNT

Advanta Corp Employees Political Involvement Fund
2000

AFLAC Inc PAC
2000

Allianz Life Insurance Co/Fireman's Fund Insurance Co
1750

Alltel Corp PAC
1000

Alteria Group Inc PAC
24500

America's Bankers Association PAC
20000

American Conservative Union PAC
2500

American Express Company PAC
3500

American Financial Services Association PAC
2000

American Success PAC
1000

Anheuser-Busch Companies PAC
2750

Arthur Anderson PAC
2250

Aventis Pharmaceuticals Products Inc PAC
500

Bank of America Corporation PAC
2000

Bayou Leader PAC
1500

Bellsouth Corporation Employees Federal PAC
8000

Boeing PAC
1500

Brownbuilders PAC of Brown & Root Employees
4000

Building Our Bases (BOB) PAC
5000

Business Industry PAC
5000

Champions of Good Government of Champion Inter. Corp
6000

Cigna Corporation PAC
8500

Cincinnati Bell Inc Federal PAC
1000

Citigroup Inc PAC
2000

CNA Financial Corp. Citizens for Good Government
2000

Conocophillips Spirit PAC
2000

Conservative Victory Fund
962

Countrywide Financial Corp PAC
2000

Tom Delay Congressional Committee
1000

Deloitte & Touche Federal PAC
14000

El Paso Corporation /Coastal Employee Action
1000

Eli Lilly and Company PAC
5500

Enron Corporation PAC
1500

Exxon Mobil Corporation PAC
1500

The Freedom Project
35000

Freedom Works PAC
19000

Hardwood Federation PAC
5000

HSBC North America PAC
5000

Illinois Tool Works for a Better Government Committee
4000

JP Morgan Chase & Company PAC
31000

JP Morgan Chase & Company Federal PAC
4500

JP Morgan Chase & Company State and Federal PAC
5500

Koch Industries Inc PAC
7500

KPMG Partners/Principals & Employees PAC
11000

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co PAC
2500

May Department Stores Company PAC
4500

MBNA Corporation Federal PAC
4000

Metlife Inc Employees PAC Fund A
5500

Microsoft Corporation PAC
9500

Monday Morning PAC
10000

Motion Picture Association of America PAC
1500

NACS PAC
17500

NAMIC PAC
2000

NCR Corporation Citizenship Fund
8500

PAC of Employees of DOW Chemical
3000

PennyPac-JC Penny Corp. Inc PAC
2500

Pfizer Inc PAC
7000

Political Action by Coors Employees
500

Praxair Inc PAC
1500

Pricewaterhouse Coopers PAC I
9500

Pricewaterhouse Coopers PAC II
1000

Procter & Gamble Company Good Government Committee
6200

RJ Reynolds PAC
11500

Rely On Your Beliefs Fund
3000

Safari Club International PAC
8500

Smithkline Beechem Corporation PAC
9000

Sony Pictures Entertainment PAC
2000

Term Limits America PAC
5000

Thyssenkrupp Budd Company Citizenship Committee
4000

USINPAC
2000

Venture PAC
10000

Wal-Mart Stores Inc PAC for Responsible Government
5000

Washington Fund
2000

Washington Mutual PAC
5500

Wells Fargo and Company Employee PAC
5500

Weyerhaeuser Company PAC
4000

[sybylla]

1. You know the Pukes can't ever win fair and square.

If they didn't game the system, they'd be relegated to Libertarian status by now.

And you know, it's this kind of crap that makes me boil everytime I hear my lug-head relatives claim "all politicans are the same, they're all crooks."

[gizmo1979]

2. That list of donors reads

like a list of corporate fraud and greed.Is every rotton company on it. Enron wal-mart etc

[LiberalFighter]

3. I hope this makes all the Wisconsin newspapers

now and during the campaign.

I don't see how federal contributions can be used in a state campaign?