The owners of the Democrats' big data firm have a side gig: working to elect far-right Republicans

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David Corn
@DavidCornDC
SCOOP: The owners of the Democrats' big data firm have an unknown side gig: working to elect far-right Republicans. This is an inside-baseball story about the most important stuff in politics. Please read/RT my latest.

The owners of the Democrats’ big data firm have a side gig: working to elect far-right Republicans
“This is pretty damning.”
motherjones.com
7:24 AM · Oct 27, 2021

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/10/owners-of-democrats-data-firm-targetsmart-worked-to-elect-far-right-republicans/

In US politics, data has become king. Firms that collect, analyze, enhance, and sell voter data—the information candidates and campaigns crave so they can effectively target voters—have achieved top-dog status in the elections industry. And one of the most important data outfits on the Democratic side—and, consequently, one of the more influential players in politics today—is a for-profit company that few Democratic voters, grassroots activists, or cable news junkies have ever head of: TargetSmart. It provides crucial services to the Democratic National Committee, state Democratic parties, and a wide assortment of progressive outfits and makes millions of dollars a year. On its website, the firm has posted a significant declaration: It “has always focused on the Democratic Party, Democratic candidates, and progressive organizations” and “does not work with Republican candidates.” But a Mother Jones investigation found that the owners and founders of TargetSmart also own a company that earns millions by helping to elect Republicans, including far-right GOP state legislators who have tried to overturn the 2020 election results, who were involved in the January 6 march on the US Capitol that turned into a seditious riot, and who have been part of the Republican crusade to skew election laws against the Democrats.

That is, the parent company of this vital Democratic data firm is profiting by aiding conservative and authoritarian political forces that seek to defeat the Democrats and progressives supported by TargetSmart.

The involvement of TargetSmart’s owners in electing right-wing Republicans has remained unknown among the political professionals within Democratic and progressive campaign circles. Informed about this, a former technology specialist for the Democrats says, “This is not a good look for TargetSmart.” And a union official notes, “This is pretty damning…In the world [TargetSmart] occupies, it couldn’t be much worse. A lot of Democratic consulting firms do work for corporations that don’t always support Democrats or progressives. But to have a sister company working on behalf of Republicans is not good for its standing.” Several Democratic data operatives point out that given the value of data these days—and the sensitivity about its usages—Democrats and progressives could be wary of retaining a data firm with a direct corporate link to a company aiding Republican candidates, even if TargetSmart is operationally distinct from the other firm. One Democratic strategist puts it this way: Because TargetSmart has so much “control over the crown jewels of the party—its data—to have have a sister company that pals around with insurrectionists is alarming.”

“TargetSmart is separate from and run independently of the other companies controlled by its owners,” a TargetSmart spokesperson says. He adds, “TargetSmart’s service agreement with clients is very clear: we do not allow our data to be used by any organization that is affiliated with the Republican Party.”

*snip*

[Budi]

1. Does Mother Jones name the 'alleged sister company?"

But a Mother Jones investigation found that the owners and founders of TargetSmart also own a company that earns millions by helping to elect Republicans, including far-right GOP ..

This is curious. Is this who gave HRC's voter data to Sanders' campaign in 2016? Who 'left the door open' long enough to dowload the million$$ data base?

I believe Silicon Valley (Thiel, et al) is an easy culprut in the business of buying/selling/profiting off the lucrative data commodity.

Btw, Sick that MoJones & Corn used that pic of Stacy Abrams in their graph.

[SheltieLover]

2. +1,000!