The Wisconsin Club for Growth dropped at least $9.1 million supporting Governor Walker and legislative Republicans in the 2011 and 2012 recall elections, making it one of the top spenders in the state. Although the group does not disclose its donors, information that can be gathered from tax filings shows that Wisconsin Club for Growth group took in funds from some of the top Republican donors and Koch-connected dark money conduits in the country, and in turn shuffled millions to other organizations that spent money on ads in 2011 and 2012, all while keeping Wisconsin voters in the dark about the true source of the funds. At least one politically-active nonprofit, Citizens for a Strong America, was entirely funded by Wisconsin Club for Growth in 2011. That group, in turn, provided the majority of funding for a third nonprofit that was active in the recall elections, and also shuffled money to two other groups. Another nonprofit, the Jobs First Coalition, received half of its total funding from Club for Growth Wisconsin, and in turn made a large contribution to a third politically-active group. The scheme is reminiscent of a Koch-connected dark money shell game recently uncovered in California, and includes some of the same players, including the Center to Protect Patient Rights, a conduit for funnelling Koch money, which made a six-figure contribution to Club for Growth Wisconsin in 2011. The revelations also raise new questions about how much undisclosed Koch funds flowed into the state.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 16:56:58 +0000
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