Wisconsin needs more dark money in politics, say Republican lawmakers
http://www.commoncausewisconsin.org/2014/03/horrendous-anti-electioneering.html
Horrendous Anti-Electioneering Disclosure & Lobbyist Contribution Measures Unveiled Monday and Get A Public Hearing Wednesday
A sudden, surprise attack on the ability of Wisconsin citizens to know who is trying to influence their vote at election time was launched without notice yesterday, when State Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) and State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) introduced Senate Bill 654. They also introduced another horrible measure – Senate Bill 655 – that would lift the current limitations on a lobbyist's ability to make campaign contributions and allow them to contribute more frequently.
And they are rushing both of these awful measures to a public hearing in the Capitol on Wednesday with the intention of trying to get them passed and enacted into law during the few remaining days the Wisconsin Legislature is in session this year. They should be opposed and stopped cold. An executive session on the measures could occur as early as this Thursday.
Senate Bill 654 would take Wisconsin in exactly the opposite direction that the rest of the nation is headed in the wake of the 2010 Citizens United vs. F.E.C. decision. It would codify into Wisconsin law "protection" from disclosure of phony issue ads. It does not take a genius to see that all outside groups would head in that direction in order to influence elections and escape disclosure of their donors.
The end result would be that Wisconsinites will have no idea who is behind almost all of the money from outside special interest groups seeking to influence their vote in elections in Wisconsin. The money could come from anywhere inside or outside of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin voters would not know it's origin. No other state is headed in this direction.
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