Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Tuesday slammed Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s (D-RI) attack on “dark money,” noting that Fortune 500 companies and Wall Street “overwhelmingly favor” Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden. Whitehouse attacked dark money’s alleged influence in American politics and elections. The Rhode Island Democrat spent his 30 minutes allotted for questioning Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s qualifications for the Supreme Court by attacking conservative institutions such as the Federalist Society. During his time, he failed to ask Barrett one question. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) just “questioned” Judge Amy Coney Barrett for approximately 30 minutes. ACB word count in the exchange: 0 — Guy Benson (@guypbenson) October 13, 2020 Cruz noted that most super PAC spending during the 2016 presidential election benefitted Democrats over Republicans. He explained: Our Democratic colleagues when they address the issue of free speech, of so-called ‘dark money,’ and campaign finance contributions, are often deeply, deeply hypocritical. And, they don’t address the actual facts that exist. Here are some facts, of the top 20 organizations spending money for political speech in the year 2016, 14 of them gave virtually of their money to Democrats. And another three split their money evenly, so only three of the top 20 gave money to Republicans, what did that mean in practice? That meant that the top 20 super PACs donors contributed $422 million to Democrats and $189 million to Republicans. “Those who give those impassioned speeches against dark money don’t mention that their side is funded by dark money with a massive differential,” Cruz added. Breitbart News’ John Binder reported in September that “all the big banks” on Wall Street have backed Biden over Trump during the 2020 presidential election. CNN wrote : The securities and investment industry donated just $10.5 million to Trump’s presidential campaign and outside groups aligned with it, ...
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Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse ‘Biggest Hypocrite in Politics’ on Dark Money
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has served as one of the most vocal Democrat critics of “dark money’s” influence in politics, but the Rhode Island Democrat appears to be a significant beneficiary of dark money. Whitehouse has frequently criticized the alleged nefarious effects of dark money on politics, particularly as it relates to conservative and Republican dark money. Dark Money refers to political spending in which the source of the money is not disclosed. Political groups typically use dark money through political action groups such as 501(c)(4)s, and the federal government does not require those groups to disclose their donors. “Opaque” nonprofits and shell companies may also give unlimited donations to super PACs. The transparency organization OpenSecrets noted that while the Federal Election Commission (FEC) usually requires super PACs to disclose their donors, “some of these groups are effectively dark money outlets when the bulk of their funding cannot be traced back to the original donor.” Whitehouse most recently criticized conservative groups, allegedly funded by dark money, for launching attacking ads against President Joe Biden’s nominees. Whitehouse asked rhetorically, “Dark money groups running ads complaining about dark money. Hilarious. What are the chances they will support S.1 and DISCLOSE Act to get rid of dark money? Nil.” Dark money groups running ads complaining about dark money. Hilarious. What are the chances they will support S.1 and DISCLOSE Act to get rid of dark money? Nil. https://t.co/F3f7Izx8JJ — Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) February 18, 2021 Whitehouse also told former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) in January 2020 how then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) kept the Senate Republican Conference in line using dark money: Whitehouse also attacked the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in November 2019, claiming that the organization was using its dark money to attack efforts to combat alleged ...
Anti-Trump Professor: ‘Dying’ GOP ‘Replicating’ Soviet Communist Party
The Atlantic published an op-ed on Thursday comparing the GOP to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union of the late 1970s, claiming that Republicans — like the last Soviet-era holdouts in the Kremlin — are “growing more aggressive and paranoid” as the “dying” Republican Party is described as “more of a danger to the United States than to the world.” The essay , penned by Harvard professor and prominent anti-Trump voice Tom Nichols, is titled, “The Republican Party Is Now in Its End Stages” and begins by claiming that the GOP “has become, in form if not in content, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union of the late 1970s.” Clarifying his intent, Nichols writes that “the Republicans have entered their own kind of end-stage Bolshevism, as members of a party that is now exhausted by its failures, cynical about its own ideology, authoritarian by reflex, controlled as a personality cult by a failing old man, and looking for new adventures to rejuvenate its fortunes.” After describing the Soviet Union’s Communist Party as “a vehicle for a cabal of elites, with a cult of personality at its center” whose members could be denounced or fired if they “questioned anything, or expressed any sign of unorthodoxy,” Nichols writes “This should all sound familiar.” Nichols goes on to accuse the GOP of hypocrisy and idolization. “The Republican Party has, for years, ignored the ideas and principles it once espoused, to the point where the 2020 GOP convention simply dispensed with the fiction of a platform and instead declared the party to be whatever Comrade—excuse me, President—Donald Trump said it was,” he writes. “Like Brezhnev, Trump has grown in status to become a heroic figure among his supporters.” "Like Brezhnev, Trump has grown in status to become a heroic figure among his supporters. If the GOP could create the rank of 'Marshal of the American Republic' and strike a medal for a 'Hero of American Culture,' Trump would have them both by ...
Annika Sorenstam’s return to golf brings ‘Tiger feeling’ after 13-year absence
(CNN) After 13 years away from the LPGA Tour, the return of Annika Sorenstam to the course definitely had her competitors fired up. The 10-time major winner, who retired from golf in 2008, announced earlier this month that she was to make her comeback at the Gainbridge LPGA Championship which began on Thursday. Sorenstam shot a 75 in her return, and just the sight of the 50-year-old hitting shots and striding down the fairways had some of the younger players in awe. READ: Grief over her father's death helped drive golfer Danielle Kang to major success Sorenstam hits a shot from the 12th tee during the first round of the Gainbridge LPGA Championship. Patty Tavatanakit -- who won Sorenstam's college event in Minnesota -- said it felt like "a Tiger feeling a little bit" having her back, while Gaby Lopez called it a "dream come true" to be in the same field as her. Read More "Just being with her gave me this kind of peaceful environment and just reminded me of how blessed and how thankful I am to have this opportunity to be able to compete with her, just because I remember the seven-year-old Gaby chasing her down the golf course to get a signed golf ball," the Mexican golfer told the media afterwards. "Her role in this game, at this time of her career, I guess, is just keep inspiring girls. I played with her at Diamond Resorts, and I can tell that you she's still as competitive as probably when she was 20 years ago. "You can see that her short game; putting is still on. That's something that she has in her veins and is going to shine forever. She said that she's probably not hitting it as far or straight as she was before, but at the end of the day, I'm going to say it again: she's my superhero. Her and Lorena are probably why I'm here. Being able to share this with them, with her specifically, is just unbelievable." Sorenstam stepped away from golf in 2008 to start a family. And with her children Will and ...
