Fwd: GMOM - Be a better-informed voter
Charlie Cooper
May 5, 2024
Colleagues,
We have candidate info you need before you vote
Early voting has started in Maryland. We have been compiling how candidates in key races (Senate, D2, D3, D6) have addressed important issues of protecting democracy, reducing money corruption, and strengthening political equality. We spoke to candidates at forums, recorded their answers to questions posed by in debates and forums, scoured their websites for position statements, and received emails from some candidates in response to our questions. Read the questions and answers HERE.
Self-funding can be profitable
The Baltimore Banner reports that U.S. Senate candidate David Trone (D, Congressional District 6) has lent his campaign $54 million. Trone paints this as an anti-corruption measure, and he says his opponents are not as pure as he because they must raise money from donors. On the other hand, Open Secrets tells us that self-funding candidates often get even more campaign donations after they are elected than they do before election day. And they can use this money to pay themselves back. Oh, and there's no legal limit on the interest they can pay themselves.
This new corruption portal was created in the wake of the decision of . . . wait for it! . . . the see-no-evil-from-rich-guys Supreme Court. In Federal Election Commission v. Ted Cruz, "The court ruled 6-3 that existing candidate loan repayment restrictions were unconstitutional after Cruz loaned his reelection campaign $260,000 during the 2018 cycle and his campaign repaid him $250,000 once the 20-day window passed, leaving $10,000 of the personal loan. In addition to repaying the $10,000 personal loan from Cruz for the 2018 general election, the Cruz campaign also paid him $545,000 for 2012 primary loans." Of course, we don't know whether Mr. Trone will repay himself or make a profit via interest charges, but we'll keep watching.
BIG: Evidence emerges from a court proceeding that certain Texas-based fracking companies withheld supply in concert with OPEC officials. This may have caused up to 27% of U.S. inflation in 2021.
Voting
Rights Lab: Here is an overview of election law
changes and interference threats heading into the 2024 general
electin.
Lincoln
County Newsletter: Maine has joined
the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Under the Compact, the
presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote would be
elected president. When states with 270 electoral votes join the
Compact, it would take effect, and those states would give their
electoral votes to the popular vote winner, regardless of election
totals in their own state. A vote in Maine would then count the same
as a vote in California, Texas, Wyoming, or Maryland. [With Maine now
in the Compact, 209 electoral votes have been secured, and states with
at least 61 more votes would be needed for the Compact to take
effect.]
GMOM and For the People -- Maryland teleconference
Meeting TBD
2 ways to join
|
|
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Onward together,
Charlie Cooper
-=-=-
Get Money Out - Maryland · Baltimore, MD 21209, United States
This email was sent to charlie...@gmail.com. To stop receiving emails, click here.
-=-=-
Created with NationBuilder, software for leaders.
