Big Money Blog

Political Ghosts Past And Present

Friday, December 16, 2005

Irony sent Bill Proxmire to meet his maker and Chuck Chvala to jail on the same day. Two of Wisconsin's most notable political figures now begin to fade into memory. But Prox's name will forever be attached to the state's proud past and his memory will always evoke images of independence and integrity. He will be fondly remembered for his considerable wit, his legendary frugality, his tireless handshaking and, of course, those Golden Fleece Awards. His relatively modest list of legislative achievements will be forgiven. Bill Proxmire was the embodiment of Wisconsin's tradition of clean and open government.

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Atta Boy

Monday, December 12, 2005

Republican candidate for governor Mark Green finally submitted a revised campaign finance report in order to properly identify more than $387,000 in special interest campaign contributions listed in his initial January 2005 campaign finance report.

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The Connecticut-Kenosha Connection

Monday, December 05, 2005

When the Democracy Campaign reviewed Governor Jim Doyle's latest campaign finance report, we couldn't help but notice the amount of money he was receiving from Connecticut. Over three-quarters of the Connecticut money came from the Mohegan Indian tribe. This was not the first time Mohegan money showed up on a Doyle campaign report.

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He Owes His Soul To The Company Store

Thursday, December 01, 2005

While reviewing campaign finance reports filed by state candidates, the Democracy Campaign found that Republican candidate for governor Scott Walker often failed to follow state law by not disclosing the occupations and employers of contributors who made 114 donations to his campaign totaling $75,850.

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The Populist Face Of Plutocracy

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

As if Wisconsin did not already have enough phony front groups with motherhood-and-apple-pie sounding names flying under the radar and carpet bombing our airwaves and mailboxes with trashy ads, now a shadowy Milwaukee-area group that has specialized in removing local officials from office through recall elections is aiming to expand its sphere of influence statewide.

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The Survey Says...

Friday, November 18, 2005

An astonishing – and largely unreported – finding of the most recent statewide poll conducted by the St. Norbert College Survey Center for Wisconsin Public Radio is that political corruption is one of the most common answers people gave when asked to identify the most important problem facing the state of Wisconsin.

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A Canary In A Coal Mine

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

In his column about the recent People's Legislature rally for reform at the Capitol, Bill Lueders, news editor of the Madison weekly Isthmus, recounts an incident that alerts the unsuspecting to the toxic environment in the people's house.

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Hypocrisy Unlimited

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

To justify their stonewalling of campaign finance reform legislation that would reestablish public financing of state campaigns in Wisconsin, the mantra of the bosses at the Capitol is that it is wrong to spend taxpayer money on election campaigns when there are so many other pressing needs and so little money to meet them.

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The Accidental Reformer

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Of course back-to-back felony convictions of former lawmakers and protesters rallying against corruption on the steps of the Capitol have something to do with the sudden momentum behind reform legislation. But if a single individual can be credited for getting things moving on reform after years of stonewalling by legislative leaders, it has to be James H. Miller.

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Page 53 of 57
  • Fascism

    A guide for study and resistance

  • Big Money Bulletin

    This page serves as an archive for past Big Money Bulletins, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign’s bimonthly newsletter for members.

  • Influence Peddlers

    in our feature, “Influence Peddler of the Month,” the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign takes you behind the scenes and calls out the players.