We covered this story here, with a nice link to Bloomberg, because it's news, and that's what we do. What does Jon Stewart do? He releases his inner Beck.
By the way, there's a serious side to this story, which Stewart's trip to Beckistan didn't tease out.
Corporations are "preparing the battlefield" of public opinion for Citizens United–style numbers. The NY Times:
As a “527” political association, the Republican governors’ group can raise unlimited amounts of money from corporate donors and individuals, and it was free to do so even before the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling this year in the Citizens United case. That ruling freed corporations to make direct political expenditures to influence campaigns, for instance, through media buys and commercials.Why does this matter to Republicans? The Bloomberg article John linked to above:
Dave Levinthal, a spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics, said seven-figure donations from anyone to “527” associations were unusual, but a $1 million donation from a news organization was particularly rare.
Republicans, fueled by record fundraising, are poised to win most of the state governorships in November, which would give them an advantage in congressional redistricting and a new pool of talent for national office. . . . [T]he governors will help redraw congressional and state legislative lines after the 2010 census.And the benefit to News Corp (aside from the usual Ailes-driven tastiness):
News Corp. opposes proposed federal rule changes that would weaken the position of its Fox network in negotiations with cable companies. Governors may have a stake in the issue. In March, for example, New York Governor David Paterson stepped in with a call for binding arbitration in a dispute over fees between Bethpage, New York-based Cablevision Systems Corp. and Burbank, California-based Walt Disney Co.’s ABC.There's a Wellpoint side to this story as well:
Wellpoint Inc., the biggest U.S. health insurer, contributed a total of $500,000 to the Republican group.This is just the beginning. Wait till the rest of America's 400 billionaires start flexing their muscles. There may not be enough fingers on the planet to fix this dyke.
GP
