Poor Howie Rich. The year began for him so well, full of such promise. An army of paid petition circulators stood at the ready. Little state operations, just large enough to put a state-based face and name on the project to give the look and feel of a grassroots plan, were primed. And a budget of $14 million-plus would fuel the entire works. By year's end, voting populations would bend to the will of a heretofore-anonymous Libertarian - to be flattering, a Libertarian intellectual, no less! - and in bending, those voters would break the backs of state legislatures across the land. By Thanksgiving, a new world order - one in the making for a generation - would have been birthed, thanks to millions of fooled midwives and nursemaids.
Instead, anonymous Howie Rich has been exposed by the nation's largest media outlets, and the millions of voters he counted on to deliver his agenda now recognize his name and turn away from it. His agenda was fractured in a half-dozen courtrooms, broken completely at the ballot box. Moreover, his beloved Americans for Limited Government has joined his beloved U.S. Term Limits, relegated to the dustbin of political relevance, and his alliances with Eric O'Keefe and recent locutor John Tillman have been rent asunder, all at his $14 million-plus expense. What a difference a year makes. It appears that only Grover Norquist, regarded hissingly by those paying attention around the world, defends poor Howie Rich now.
One imagines Sisyphus, eternally shouldering his boulder to the craggy hilltop, and finding it again at the foot of the hill in the morning.
Then one imagines that it is, thankfully, morning in America.
Plans for last Tuesday were well-laid, and Rich's American's for Limited Government were so confident in the few ballot initiatives remaining on actual ballots that they trumpeted an artificial victory to grease the skids for the real ones they anticipated. This is called hubris, constant reader: "Americans for Limited Government Wins Major Victory in Georgia," their press release heralded. "Initiative puts property rights back in Georgians' hands."
Huh? Georgia? Who knew Howie Rich was playing in Georgia?
"Voters in Georgia advanced the cause of liberty yesterday by overwhelmingly supporting an initiative to stop eminent domain abuse. Americans for Limited Government (ALG), a major force in galvanizing support and promoting the state initiative, is thrilled to see such a hard-fought battle won," the release says.
Galvanizing support and promoting the state initiative? Like you, constant reader, I was confused by this assertion. So I looked for any participation by Rich or his ALG in the Peach State. According to the Georgia State Ethics Commission, there was none! Perhaps I overlooked all that galvanizing and supporting in my haste, so I invite you to persue the GSEC's website here and dig for yourself: http://www.ethics.ga.gov/....
The release then offered this quote: "The voters' will is clear: Government should keep its hands to itself," said ALG Executive Director Bill Wilson. "This is a tremendous blow to overreaching state, city and local governments that will now have to think twice before unjustly seizing private property."
Now, amid all that boogedy-boogedy chest-thumping, constant reader, notice the attribution to ALG Executive Director Bill Wilson. Bill Wilson? Is this the same William Wilson whose name has been listed on ALG's Board of Directors? But I thought ALG's executive director was the tireless and longsuffering Eric O'Keefe of Spring Green, Wisconsin, whose relationship with Rich goes back to their ill-fated attempt to take over the National Libertarian Party in the late 1970s and early 1980s. What happened to O'Keefe? Was there an Election Night purge? Was O'Keefe removed in anger because his wife's nascent petition-circulation company failed to deliver the keep-`em-barely-alive amendment and the TABOR measure in Nebraska? (That did cost Rich more than $1.4 million, after all...)
The release continued: "Voters in Florida, Oregon, Michigan, North Dakota, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Arizona and Nevada also supported proposals to prevent the government from unfairly imposing land-use measures on private property."
Notice the absence of reference to the so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR, careful reader. That's because voters gave TABOR the broom on Election Day in the three states where they remained: Oregon, Nebraska and Maine. But notice further the addition of states where ALG played no real role beyond the writing of checks to political action committees: Florida, Michigan, North Dakota, New Hampshire, South Carolina. It is as if, dear friends, Howie Rich has adopted the posture of the rooster who takes credit for the sunrise.
Rich crows in his own release, "I'm proud of the work that ALG and its state partners and allies have done in promoting the ideals of liberty. Our efforts have successfully raised voters' awareness about the need for fiscal restraint in the face of unchecked government spending and land grabs. We have helped lay the foundation for real advocacy on behalf of small landowners and taxpayers across the country, and our movement will only get stronger as more Americans awaken to the fact that state and local governments nationwide are out of control."
Can the Thomas Jefferson Prize for Nation Founding be far behind? Or perhaps the Mark Twain Award for Hyperbole?
O, there's more from Rich, in his own words: "Where we have succeeded, as we have in Georgia, you can be sure that we'll continue to build on that success. Where the initiatives to limit spending and protect homes and churches have come up short, you can be sure that we'll be back, stronger than before. This is a movement that will continue to grow."
As mold on wet newspaper, no doubt.
Well, reader, our curiosity regarding the fate of Eric O'Keefe was deepened by the receipt of an enigmatic letter from O'Keefe and Rich's recent locutor John Tillman, posted at www.samadamsalliance.org. Its text is rife with the propaganda you've come to expect from those fellas, but a couple of paragraphs report a seismic shift in the world of Howie Rich.
Read along with me:
"Change is in the air, and as such, we are pleased and proud to announce the formation of two new organizations: the Sam Adams Alliance and its partner C3 organization, the Sam Adams Foundation," it reads. "The Sam Adams Alliance has been formed to take the mission of empowering local volunteers and citizen networks to the next level... [O]ur primary aim is to empower those who seek positive change in our society, helping them to form freestanding, effective, and lasting networks in states across the nation."
"We aim, in short, to be the premier networking station for citizen volunteers, donors, and local leaders who want to make real change and put citizens back in charge of government."
"Our time with Americans for Limited Government has been rewarding, and has taught us valuable lessons. It has also laid the groundwork for what we believe is the necessary next step towards a citizen movement with true staying power. We wish ALG the best in their new office in Fairfax, Virginia as well as in their continued work for greater liberty across the country."
Eric O'Keefe, Chairman & CEO
John Tillman, President & COO
The Sam Adams Alliance
20 N. Wacker Drive, Suite 3330
Chicago, IL 60606
Egads! So the purge was real! Wilson succeeds O'Keefe as ALG exec because O'Keefe is gone from ALG! And Tillman with him! (Which begs the question, Who will speak for Howie Rich now? And whatever did happen to Heather Wilhelm after the Nebraska meltdown? Has anyone seen her?)
Whoa. So O'Keefe and Tillman have struck out on their own, presumably counting among their assets Renewal Voter Outreach, the petition circulation company begun by O'Keefe's wife Leslie Graves with Rich's $1.4 million for the Nebraska campaign.
And was the new O'Keefe-Tillman project, the Sam Adams Alliance, invented as the two men grieved over the election results, perhaps over a couple glasses of Sam Adams beer? (Let me guess: Boston Lager for O'Keefe, Pale Ale for Tillman?)
And will the Boston Beer Company sue for defamation of its product?
And Tuesday should have been such a different day for our protagonists, reader. Wall Street Journal reporter Chris Cooper, publishing an article that may win the booby prize for too-little-too-late enterprise reporting, tried his hand at prognostication and fell short in that category too, here http://online.wsj.com/.... "This may turn out to be a bad year for Republicans. But perhaps not for some of the conservative causes they support, thanks in part to a New York real-estate investor who has directed millions of dollars toward ballot initiatives to expand private-property rights, cut state budget growth, and impose term limits on judges."
O, Mr. Cooper. Did Mr. Fund help write this one? Notice, gentle reader, the tendresse with which Cooper addresses Howie Rich: "The millionaire behind many ballot measures this year is Howard Rich, a publicity-shy, libertarian-leaning businessman who has become the go-to man for supporters of conservative ballot initiatives. The group Mr. Rich chairs, Americans for Limited Government, as well as a handful of other organizations that he fully controls or bankrolls, have put more than $15 million this election season into ballot campaigns in 14 states, public records show. Mr. Rich and his supporters have sustained a number of setbacks, as many of his initiatives were kept from ballots because of vague wording or signature-gathering irregularities. But in nine states where the measures have survived, recent polling shows some chance of victory today."
Cooper likely had access to Karl Rove's special poll data, no?
The fawning continues: "Over the years, Mr. Rich has granted few interviews and has become an almost mythic figure in certain political circles. He sits on the boards of the Cato Institute and the Club for Growth, and controls other groups such as U.S. Term Limits and Fund for Democracy, which in turn funnels millions of dollars into other organizations, such as America at Its Best."
Cooper gives a sop to the notion of fair and balanced reporting: "The collection of Rich-affiliated groups, and the fact that the organizations don't have to reveal their donors, have given ammunition to proposal opponents, who say the campaigns are sham citizen initiatives controlled by a reclusive out-of-stater attempting to usurp local authority."
But try as he might, Cooper can only find one soul - one single, solitary source - to claim common cause with Rich and to defend this defender of all that is good and holy in the world: Grover Norquist.
Stop hissing, reader, it's unbecoming in polite company.
And what does Norquist tell Cooper? As Cooper puts it, "Among Mr. Rich's defenders is Grover Norquist, of Americans for Tax Reform, a group that supports many of the same ballot measures. Mr. Norquist said Mr. Rich's reputation rests on the simple fact that he is a capable organizer who knows a lot of people and has the money to assist in grass-roots causes. It's not what opponents like to see, Mr. Norquist says. `So they say, 'He's from New York,' Mr. Norquist says, `but there's no there there. He's just a man you go to if you have a good idea: term limits, spending limits, property rights'."
New York is most definitely "there," Mr. Norquist. I've seen it. And your assertion that Rich is a capable organizer is suspect as well, as I've read the papers. They're there too.
And here's what they say.
They say voters rejected Rich's attack on the judiciary in Colorado, as the editors of the Denver Post report here http://www.denverpost.com/....
"Despite a resounding repudiation by Colorado voters, the author of the Amendment 40 assault on judicial independence has vowed he'll be back in 2008 to again try to impose term limits on judges. John Andrews' election-night pledge surely is exasperating to the many voices who worked to expose the idiocy of this idea.
"Andrews has been coy about who funded his campaign to apply 10-year term limits to the Colorado Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals. Much of the $828,000 came from a Golden-based non-profit called Colorado At Its Best. The group isn't required to reveal its donors. At least some money came from Howard Rich, a wealthy New York real estate investor who has poured funds into government-limiting causes around the country."
And I especially liked their saying, "Efforts to undermine the judiciary seem to be a plaything for wealthy ideologues who see the petition process as easy pickings. The will of the people must really make them mad, whoever they are."
They also say that voters rejected Rich's attempt to bankrupt the state of Idaho with a regulatory takings initiative, as intrepid reporter Shea Andersen tells us here http://www.boiseweekly.com/... calling its opponents' coalition "the clearest, most resounding victor of election day 2006."
"A diverse coalition of interests brought down what seemed like a moneyed juggernaut: Proposition 2, a property `takings' initiative. With as many as 76 percent of precincts reporting early Wednesday, Proposition 2 appeared to be headed to defeat, with 76 percent voting against the measure. After watching a New York businessman pour millions of dollars into Western states to push his Libertarian agenda, some Idahoans are wondering if the state's political processes are up to such challenges. Real estate tycoon Howard Rich was the primary backer of Proposition 2, pushed locally by anti-tax activist Laird Maxwell," Andersen writes.
By the way, in our opinion, Andersen distinguished himself this year as one of a handful of reporters nationwide to see Rich's influence early and to report on it consistently. He demonstrates, "Except for $50 donated by Maxwell, virtually the entire budget for his group, "This House is My Home," came from out of state, according to reports from the Idaho Secretary of State. Fully $100,000 came from Montana-based America At Its Best, a group that lists Maxwell as its treasurer. But $237,000 came from the New York-based Fund for Democracy, which is headed by Rich, a libertarian activist. In fact, Maxwell readily admits he started America At Its Best to help draw money from out-of-state donors. To get the measure onto the ballot in Idaho, Maxwell and Rich hired a Colorado-based signature-gathering firm, to scour Idaho for signatures, eventually winning a place on Idaho's ballot."
Idahoans are left pondering the good health of their initiative system after its maltreatment by Rich, Andersen reports.
And the papers say that 54 percent voters in Maine rejected Rich's TABOR - and that came on a rainy day with a record 50 percent turnout!
WCSH editor Ken Christian cuts out the fluff here http://www.wcsh6.com/... "Maine voters said no to a citizen initiative to limit government spending."
But Mary Adams, the face of Rich's TABOR in Maine, fought to cram the fluff back in: "Mary Adams, who organized the petition drive that put TABOR on the ballot, vowed that the volunteers who worked on the campaign would continue to monitor state spending and taxes and make their presence felt. She said the group will be watching what happens in Augusta and -- in her words - `we are not going to go away.' Adams attributed the defeat to being outspent by the opposition and `scare tactics' about the impact on teachers and state and municipal employees."
I have to say, my kindergarten teacher was scary, at first. But then she brought us cupcakes with the alphabet printed in red letters on white icing, and we sang the alphabet song together, and then she wasn't so scary anymore.
Adams, by the way, was singing a different tune just 24 hours earlier, says reporter Trevor Maxwell here http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/.... "I've got great faith that it is going to be overwhelming," Adams told Maxwell. "I have felt all along there would be 60 percent for TABOR, and I still feel that way."
Time to get those feelers checked out, Ms. Adams. As Cara Bilodeau told Maxwell the same day, "Overwhelmingly, people that we have talked to are opposed to the Taxpayer Bill of Rights." I guess that while Ms. Adams was "feeling" that there would be great support for Howie Rich's TABOR in Maine, Ms. Bilodeau was actually talking to Mainers who were going to vote on it. Point, Ms. Bilodeau.
By Wednesday, after the vote count told the tale, Adams wasn't ready to accept the results yet, but she was ready to broadcast scare tactics of her own, according to the Associated Press here http://www.seacoastonline.com/.... "If this is voted down, then you'll see taxes increase because the other side will guess they can't be stopped," the AP quotes Adams.
And in case you're interested, reader, voters who rejected Howie Rich's TABOR in Maine also delivered Governor John Baldacci a second term of office AND gave his Democratic Party a 29-seat majority in the Maine House of Representatives, up from a precarious one-seat margin before the TABOR gambit. As reporter Susan Cover tells us here http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/... House Speaker John Richardson observed, "TABOR backfired as a strategy of putting it on the ballot."
I'll say. And so will House Republican Leader David Bowles: "I have failed and I feel very badly about that."
And so will Julie O'Brien, executive director of the Maine Republican Party: "To be honest, it took us by surprise."
Mmm-hm.
But some people don't learn from experience. Maine Heritage Policy Center leader Bill Becker, comrade-in-arms to Mary Adams, got only three hours of sleep on Tuesday night, maybe tossing and turning in turmoil, wondering what to tell Rich in the morning conference call, before getting up Wednesday with this groggy notion: Another ballot initiative, as soon as possible.
See what I mean?
But he'll have to manage it without Mary Adams. In another item that demonstrates his own value as a reporter covering this issue, reporter Trevor Maxwell - who couldn't have gotten much more sleep than Becker - filed this report without complaining http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/... telling us that Adams has now quit the effort to win Howie Rich's agenda in her state.
"Adams plans to keep supporting tax reform, but the campaign took its toll," Maxwell writes.
"I have devoted the last two years of my life to this," Adams told him. "During that time, a lot of things had to be let go. I have got so many things I want to do with my family."
Papers say that Nebraskan voters were even less kind to Rich, if you can believe that Nebraskans are capable of unkindness. Reporter Anna Jo Bratton tells us here
http://www.columbustelegram.com/... that "with 98 percent of precincts reporting, 70 percent of voters opposed Initiative 423, which would have tied increases in state government expenditures to cost-of-living and population changes. Opponents said the measure was too rigid and would result in higher property taxes and government inflexibility."
SEVENTY percent of Nebraskans voted against Howie Rich's TABOR. Now that's a thumpin'.
This is the same state, constant reader, where Rich's man-on-the-ground Mike Groene filed a massive Freedom of Information Act request of school districts and municipalities to find out of public employees talked to one another about Rich's agenda in emails. WOWT-TV reports here http://www.wowt.com/... that Groene has found a handful of emails - a molehill, let's say - that he says represent "blatant, blatant abuses" - ergo, a mountain.
So Groene, who may or may not actually be a native Nebraskan, has filed complaints (complaints!) with the state Accountability and Disclosure Commission and the Attorney General's Office. (Because this is capital crime we're talking about, boys! Emails were sent! Information exchanged! Heads must roll!)
"Among the allegations: Carol Logan, an employee for the Ashland-Greenwood School District, used her public e-mail account and her time at work on Sept 5 to `conduct political activities ... included arranging to use the public school defeat SOS in November.'
And this one: "Valley County Treasurer Janet Suminski sent an e-mail Sept. 12 to members of the state County Treasurers Association saying that `if this amendment would pass, it would result in serious state budget limits and cuts, which would mean a loss in revenue to counties and other entities. Loss of revenue to counties, schools, etc., would result in an increase in property taxes.'
Sounds like they were sharing public information to me. And furthermore, that they were offering a public service to real fellow Nebraskans about the potential impacts of Howie Rich's agenda. Oughta give `em a medal instead of dragging them to court, in my opinion. Where's the ACLU?
And the papers say that voters in Oregon dispatched Rich's ballot measures there most unceremoniously. Editors write here http://www.dailyastorian.info/... "Howard Rich is a wealthy New Yorker who bankrolled the spending limit measure and the term limits initiative. Loren Parks is a Nevada millionaire who has long dabbled in Oregon ballot initiatives, and he pitched in with Rich. Neither Rich nor Parks has run for office in this state. They have not even served on a community or schools budget committee. While Parks once lived in Oregon, Rich has never been a resident. We fervently hope that the utter failure of these disastrous ballot initiatives will cool the enthusiasm of these guys who have too much money and too little to do."
Reporters Steve Law and Peter Wong tell us here http://www.statesmanjournal.com/... that "New York real-estate investor Howie Rich came to the aid of Oregon limited-government forces, bankrolling ballot measures to cap state spending (Measure 48) and reinstate legislative term limits (Measure 45). Voters thumped both proposals by margins that even opponents never imagined."
And columnist Neal Peirce recaps the action in all three states - Oregon, Nebraska and Maine - here http://www.courant.com/.... "Three states had so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights (Tabor) amendments on their ballots, and all failed badly - in Oregon, the measure went down 71-29 percent; in Nebraska, 70-30 percent; and in Maine, 54-46 percent," he writes.
Peirce also notes that Rich's takings measure failed in California, yet another blow to Grover Norquist's notion that Rich is a "capable organizer."
"Nov. 7's `no' votes on the Oregon-like regulatory taking measures were 48-52 percent in California, 24-76 percent in Idaho, 42-58 percent in Washington. Only Arizonans, by a 65-35 percent margin, approved, possibly confusing the issue with eminent domain," he tells us.
And what of Rich's friends-for-pay down South, Governor Mark Sanford, schools superintendent candidate Karen Floyd and comptroller general Richard Eckstrom? Well, you already know from the amazing coverage on CNN that Sanford was turned away from his polling place on Tuesday morning for leaving his voter registration card at home and offering his drivers license instead - knowing that the address on it was different from the address on his voter registration card. (See, that's what you get for tightening up the ID requirements to intimidate voters from making the trip.) And if you saw the CNN coverage, you also heard his wife Jenny telling him off-camera, "I told you to bring your card." Heh heh. I'm not calling anybody shrewish, but what would Shakespeare have said?
But what you may not know, gentle reader, is that Sanford was suffering from temporary blindness, having undergone two nights an ordeal rivaling the Apostle Paul's own blindness on the road to Damascus! AP reporter Jim Davenport tells us here http://www.sfgate.com/... that Sanford "injured both eyes after being under stage lights for about an hour."
Sanford was a lucky devil, though. This catastrophe occurred at "a groundbreaking ceremony... for City of Light, the new headquarters and production facilities for Inspiration Networks, led by televangelist David Cerullo."
Praise the Lord. So you just KNOW there were legions of televangelists there, arms outstretched, ready to lay hands on their beloved governor for healing. Unfortunately, Davenport does not tell us whether there was an actual laying-on of hands, or whether any snakes were injured in the ceremony.
In the end, an oddly-blinking Sanford rode his $8 million campaign budget to a victory over his opponent, who had a $3 million campaign budget. This is basic arithmetic.
As for Eckstrom, he won re-election. And Floyd? She won her own home county by fewer than 200 votes - you know, `cause they know her well there and all - but she trails her Democratic opponent, apparently a genuine education proponent, Jim Rex, by about 250 votes statewide. Recount is scheduled for this week.
One poor fella who relied on Rich's network in South Carolina to he'p him came up short, say the editors of the State here http://www.thestate.com/.... "The Buzz was amused to notice Wednesday morning the vote total for petition candidate Michael Letts in House District 79. This summer, Letts gathered 2,428 signatures to land his name on the ballot. He was aided by South Carolinians for Responsible Government. The group claims `grass-roots' support but refuses to release its donor list and has ties to New York real estate executive Howard Rich. Pushing tax credits for private school students has been the group's prime goal. On Tuesday, Letts garnered only about half the number of votes as he had signatures on his petition. Note to petition candidates: Remind the people signing your petition to vote for you."
Speaking of South Carolina, editor Cindi Ross Scoppe delivered a salient note here http://www.thestate.com/... asking, "What do all those donations buy the out-of-state millionaires?"
"I have no problem with New York real estate magnate Howard Rich giving money to South Carolina candidates whom he believes share his disdain for public schools, local governance and government in general. What I have a problem with is the way they shuffle money around to circumvent our law, which is supposed to stop anyone from giving more than $3,500 to a statewide candidate per election. The way you do that is to give $3,500 from every business or partnership you're associated with. A few South Carolinians have done this over the years, but the degree to which we're seeing it being done by outsiders now raises questions of whether we should only allow donations from actual people, or at least bar gifts from limited partnerships."
"What I have a bigger problem with is the way these folks can underwrite even larger campaign efforts without anyone ever being able to prove they're doing it. There are indications that Mr. Rich is bankrolling the voucher lobbying group SCRG, which has spent more than the candidates in several legislative races and has sent out mail pieces pushing education superintendent candidate Karen Floyd and attacking her opponents all year.
"What I have the biggest problem with is the candidates who are willing to accept so much money from these folks. According to The Post and Courier, and my own initial review of the most up-to-date reports: Ms. Floyd has accepted at least $31,500 from Mr. Rich and another $17,500 from Mr. Cranberg. Mr. Sanford has accepted $21,000 from Mr. Rich. Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom has accepted $11,500 from Mr. Rich and $18,000 from other prominent out-of-state libertarians with close ties to Mr. Rich.
"Mr. Rich and Mr. Cranberg are trying to influence state politics in states wherever they think they can. South Carolina is a handy little lab rat for their radical experiments because we're a small state with a pliable governor, whom Mr. Rich has fancied since he took his cot to Capitol Hill for a self-limited six-year stay.
"You can argue that $21,000 out of $8 million won't indebt Mr. Sanford to anyone. Besides, he had pretty much adopted Mr. Rich's agenda before the money came in -- term limits, vouchers, arbitrary limits on government spending; I don't know which is chicken, which is egg and which is just a couple of like-feathered chickens flocking together. But when I learned about Mr. Rich's rich investments in so-called `regulatory takings' fights in other states, I no longer wondered what had gotten Mr. Sanford all hot and bothered about that issue.
"But what of Mr. Eckstrom? He received all those Rich-related donations after he single-handedly blocked the State Ethics Commission from tapping a reserve fund to fight a lawsuit SCRG filed over state disclosure requirements. And what of Mrs. Floyd? Anti-Rich blogger Ross Shealy says he can tie $56,000 in Floyd donations to Mr. Rich. If he's right (and he appears to be), then Mr. Rich and Mr. Cranberg supplied Ms. Floyd with $73,500 of the $676,000 she had raised through mid-October.
"Mrs. Floyd says she doesn't have a private school choice plan of her own. Rather, she plans to bring together all the `stakeholders' to craft the best plan for South Carolina. I can't help wondering whether those stakeholders include the two people who contributed one out of every nine dollars that she collected for her campaign."
Whew. Hate to get on Scoppe's bad side.
For more information on Floyd, you can't go wrong here http://www.metrobeat.net/.... I've re-read it a couple of time for sheer entertainment.
Finally, constant reader, a tangent. Because I've published a little series on Rich's most successful friends in business, Charles and David Koch, I was intrigued to see this note from the Wichita Eagle reporter Brent Wistrom last week http://www.kansas.com/....
"In the race for the state's top law enforcement office, Wichita's lawyers and car dealers gave large checks to challenger Paul Morrison, helping fuel a string of feisty political ads between him and incumbent Phill Kline. People and businesses with Wichita addresses have given at least $140,000 since late July in large donations to the two attorney general campaigns, according to The Eagle's review of donations of $1,000 or more.
"Businesses and individuals can only contribute $2,000 per reporting period to a statewide candidate. But several people in one family can give the maximum donation, as can several businesses -- even if they are owned by the same company. It's common for several maximum contributions to come from one company and its subsidiaries. Companies owned by Koch Industries Inc., for example, gave at least $12,000 to Kline.
"We give to candidates regardless of political affiliation, and our support consistently has been with candidates that are open to market-based solutions to public policy issues," said Katie Stavinoha, a Koch spokeswoman.
Google Phill Kline and you learn a lot more than you wish you had. Google Phill Kline's and Bill O'Reilly's names together and you learn more. Then you celebrate the fact that Kansans went to the polls on Tuesday.
All in all, it was a good year.
ARIZONA
http://www.azcentral.com/...
Reporter Monica Alonzo-Dunsmoor, "Cities brace for property law's effect"
COLORADO
http://www.denverpost.com/...
Editors, "Voters protect the judiciary"
IDAHO
http://www.boiseweekly.com/...
Reporter Shea Andersen, "The Props Go Down: Idahoans ponder the initiative process after elections"
KANSAS
http://www.kansas.com/...
Reporter Brent Wistrom, "Koch backs Kline; many city lawyers fund Morrison"
MAINE
http://www.wcsh6.com/...
WCSH Web Editor Ken Christian, "Voters Reject TABOR"
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/...
Reporter Susan Cover, "House results stun Maine GOP"
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/...
Reporter Trevor Maxwell, "TABOR backers will keep pushing"
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/...
Reporter Trevor Maxwell, "Both sides of TABOR projecting confidence"
http://www.seacoastonline.com/...
Associated Press, "Voters turn down TABOR initiative"
NATIONAL
(No link)
Press release, Americans for Limited Government
www.samadamsalliance.org
Letter from Eric O'Keefe and John Tillman
http://online.wsj.com/...
Reporter Christopher Cooper, "How Mr. Rich Spreads The Republican Word: Millionaire Investor Who Leans Libertarian Pushes Conservative Ballot Initiatives in 14 States"
NEBRASKA
http://www.columbustelegram.com/...
AP Reporter Anna Jo Bratton, "Nebraskans blow lid off Initiative 423"
http://www.wowt.com/...
WOWT Editors, "Spending Lid Battle"
OREGON
http://www.dailyastorian.info/...
Editors, "Go away, Howard Rich, Loren Parks: Voters nixed the schemes of two guys with too much money and too little to do"
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/...
Reporters Steve Law and Peter Wong, "Local trends, developments and keys to success arise from vote: Oregon matches national patterns, sets some of its own"
http://www.courant.com/...
Columnist Neal Peirce, "Voters Reject Efforts To Tie Government's Hands"
SOUTH CAROLINA
http://www.metrobeat.net/...
Reporter James Shannon, "Blonde Ambition: The REAL Karen Kanes Rogers Armor Floyd"
http://www.thestate.com/...
Associate Editor Cindi Ross Scoppe, "What do all those donations buy the out-of-state millionaires?"
http://www.sfgate.com/...
AP Reporter Jim Davenport, "S.C. Governor Suffers Eye Injury"
http://www.thestate.com/...
Editor, "The Buzz"