Allowing unlimited corporate dollars in elections while dismantling nonpartisan GAB watchdog shows GOP agenda
MADISON
– After hours of debate yesterday on AB 387, a bill that will allow
unlimited corporations and billionaires to collude with candidates and
spend unlimited amounts in
state and local elections, Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison) released the
following statement:
“At
a time when Wisconsin citizens want the state legislature to focus on
creating family supporting jobs and revitalizing our lagging economy,
Governor Walker and his legislative
allies decided to use their power to line their campaign accounts,
exclude themselves from corruption investigations and dismantle our
ethics and elections watchdog, the GAB.
“Unless
special interest groups, corporations and billionaires say specific
words including “vote for” or “vote against” and make this type of
communication their major purpose,
they can keep their donors secret and not make any disclosures to the
public. And for the first time in Wisconsin history, candidates can
form, coordinate with and run entities that take secret corporate and
billionaire money. Wisconsin candidates now have
a legal tool, with which they can effectively circumvent any limits on
candidate campaign contributions, a previously unlawful tactic Governor
Walker allegedly employed during his recall campaign.
“AB
387 creates a conflict of interest for every legislator in the Capitol,
and Republicans had no business bringing it forward and voting on it.
How can we pass bills that
allow policymakers to collude with corporations and billionaires to
basically money launder and evade candidate campaign limits? Last
night, after Republicans rejected our attempts to eliminate these
conflict of interest provisions, I was proud to stand with
my 34 Democratic colleagues in recusing ourselves from voting on this
bill. The people of our state deserve legislators who are looking out
for the people’s interests, not their own political futures.”
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