Common Cause To Alert Donors, Reveal List (FL Redistricting Initiative)

[seafan]

Common Cause To Alert Donors, Reveal List

By MICHAEL FECHTER [e-mail]

Published: Feb 14, 2006

TAMPA - Common Cause pledged Monday to release the names of donors who provided $2.6 million to a campaign to change Florida's Constitution.
The announcement comes after a growing assault from state Republicans, who oppose the group's effort to take legislative districting out of lawmakers' hands.

If the Florida Supreme Court upholds the initiative's language, voters will get to choose in November whether to create a 15-member commission to draw congressional and legislative districts. Advocates say allowing legislators to draw districts strips competition from elections, noting that congressional incumbents recently enjoyed a re-election rate above 98 percent. No incumbent was defeated in any of Florida's 2004 congressional or legislative elections.

Common Cause officials originally said they would release the donor list Monday. The organization now says it will release the list once it has a chance to alert its donors, spokeswoman Mary Boyle said.

snip

Republicans have derided the campaign as a partisan power grab and since last week have demanded to know who is financing it. In a meeting with The Tampa Tribune's editorial board Monday, Gov. Jeb Bush described "a group of Secret Squirrel liberals who go to some fancy resort somewhere, and they divvy up the states and the ballot initiatives. They write large checks; they launder the money through places like Common Cause, ironically."

Bush raised money in Florida for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's attempt to pass a similar measure in California in November.

snip

http://news.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBQ7O5NNJE.html

[soup]

1. 'Secret Squirrel' liberals?

jeb, jeb, jeb. *sigh.
Better check yourself.

Any word on the court's ruling yet?

[Solly Mack]

2. Did Jeb just accuse Common Cause of money laundering?

of unethical - if not also illegal - fund raising practices?

Isn't that what he is basically saying?

That this initiative was a Delay/Abramoff-esque tactic?

[soup]

4. Solly, Have I told you lately that I love you?

Only some elite secret squirrel left-wing conspiracy would want to see this on the ballot, donchya know. We Floridians just loooove that they carve out their own made-to-order districts. So there Has to be questionable ethics (at the very least) involved.

>>"They didn't invite me to their secret squirrel meeting at the fancy resort. You know the vast left-wing conspiracy meets to decide all these things, I wasn't invited. It's a secret squirrel meeting so I wasn't invited. But the fact that they're disclosing is great and I applaud them for it," Bush said.<<

Abbreviated jeb rant - and believe me, I could go on...

jeb, You are a hypocritical ass hat in the first degree.

[Solly Mack]

5. Awwwww!!!! blushing madly :o)

He wasn't invited 'cause he's a weasel

[soup]

3. Update - List released.

Common Cause lists big donors

The group pushing a redistricting initiative responds to Gov. Bush's assertion it's funded by anonymous liberals.

By ADAM C. SMITH, Times Political Editor
Published February 15, 2006

Under attack by Gov. Jeb Bush for hiding "secret squirrel" liberal donors, Common Cause on Tuesday released a list of donors who gave the national public interest group at least $5,000 last year.

The more than 40 donors accounted for about half of $2.6-million Common Cause has spent in Florida on a ballot initiative aimed at making the process for drawing the state's political districts less partisan.

Bush opposes the measure, which could help Democrats be more competitive in legislative district elections, and in recent weeks has hammered Common Cause for keeping its donors secret.

But if Bush was hoping to find a labor union or famous liberal stalwart like George Soros bankrolling Common Cause, this list didn't produce it.

The biggest individual donor? The late George J. Finney, a retired librarian with the U.S. Information Agency, who last year willed Common Cause more than $181,000.
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/02/15/State/Common_Cause_lists_bi.shtml

--

BITE IT, jeb.

[tanyev]

6. Another round for librarians!

:toast:

[seafan]

7. Thank you, soup! I was about to post this when I saw your update.

More from your article:


snip

Bush's latest criticism of Common Cause's campaign came Monday in a meeting with the Tampa Tribune editorial board. He spoke of "a group of secret squirrel liberals who go to some fancy resort somewhere, and they divvy up the states and the ballot initiatives. They write large checks; they launder the money through places like Common Cause, ironically."

On Tuesday, before the list of donors came out, the governor applauded Common Cause's decision to disclose them.

"They didn't invite me to their secret squirrel meeting at the fancy resort. You know the vast left-wing conspiracy meets to decide all these things, I wasn't invited. It's a secret squirrel meeting so I wasn't invited. But the fact that they're disclosing is great and I applaud them for it," Bush said.

Bush is bashing Common Cause's campaign in Florida. But he helped Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger raise money for a similar effort Common Cause backed in California last year that would have helped Republicans make gains had it passed. Common Cause spent only about $13,000 on that California effort, but aggressively campaigned for it.

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/02/15/State/Common_Cause_lists_bi.shtml


Squirrel-y is as squirrel-y does, Jeb.