Koch donations: $43,000 to Scott Walker. $87,000 to Andrew Cuomo.

madfloridian

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Mon Mar-21-11 05:03 PM
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Koch donations: $43,000 to Scott Walker. $87,000 to Andrew Cuomo.

I did a search and saw that someone did post about this on the 18th. It did not get a lot of attention, and several called her a troll for posting about it.

That's how we lose our democracy, by ignoring things like this.

I don't know a lot about Cuomo as governor, but I do know he made a promise to go after the unions of public employees. He especially does not like teachers unions.

Andrew Cuomo, his running mate, and "New Democratic Party" to fight public employee unions?

It was just 24 hours after the debut of the "New Democratic Party" signs up here at the site of the party's convention in Westchester. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo was in midtown making public the results of his first critical deliberation as a candidate for governor. In choosing Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy as his running mate, Cuomo got a career cop who evidently turned around the city of Rochester by restoring public integrity, improving municipal services and cutting taxes. But that's not all.

..."In Duffy, Cuomo has chosen a potential lieutenant governor who stands for strong executive authority, especially in education. Duffy has been trying to follow in the footsteps of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who's taken power from local school boards and put it in the mayor's office.

..."The head of the local teachers' union, which vehemently opposes Duffy's approach, told local TV that Duffy's move sharply divided the community. No doubt what the teachers, some parents and community members see as a mayoral power grab, Duffy and advocates for mayoral control, such as Bloomberg, see as ensuring accountability.

That drive for accountability is also expressed in Cuomo's support for lifting of the state's cap on charter schools. So on education, the "New Democrats" are aligning with President Barack Obama, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Bloomberg, Reverend Al Sharpton, and even New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in backing the expansion of charters.

Ok, that really got my attention. But there was more...from the state convention of New Democrats.

"What the Democratic Party is all about is growth and change," Cuomo said. "It's a new day. There are new problems that need new approaches. And that is what's meant by the new Democratic Party."

Erie County Democratic Chairman Len Lenihan is attending the convention. When asked about the "New Democratic Party" theme, he said the party will be going in a new direction. One change from the "old" Democratic party seems to be the willingness of Cuomo and his running mate Robert Duffy to take on a powerful constituency -- the public employee unions. Duffy has battled with union leaders in Rochester over some of his controversial proposals, including his call for more control of city schools. Cuomo says he respects that.

"Yes, he tangled with public employee unions," Cuomo said. "Guess what, we're going to be tangling with public employee unions going forward."

For now, the Civil Service Employees Association says it won't be endorsing Cuomo or any other gubernatorial candidate, anytime soon.

From an education blogger at Norm's Notes:

The contributions from Mr. Koch and his wife Julia to the Cuomo campaign totalled $87,000. In comparison Koch only spent $43K on Gov. Scott walker of Wisconsin.

He has some comments and links to the few sites that have covered this. One is a right wing site and one is a union site.

The contributions from Mr. Koch and his wife Julia to the Cuomo campaign totalled $87,000; In comparison Koch only spent $43K on Gov. Scott walker of Wisconsin.
Koch brothers in total gave Cuomo $92K. Explains why he’d rather cut education funds than tax the rich.

Where has the MSM been on this? have you seen any stories in the papers?

Only one I can find is Dan Janison of Newsday here: http://www.newsday.com/columnists/dan-janison/koch-brothers-become-new-political-players-1.2745933

See also http://theunionlegion.blogspot.com/2011/02/andrew-cuomo-koch-problem.html

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2010/09/david-koch-funds-andrew-cuomo

Comments from the Union Legion website:

Andrew Cuomo's Koch Problem

I was handed the flyer below by a student at yesterday's rally in support of Wisconsin Public Employees and Worker's Rights by a student. I foolishly forgot to ask his name so that he could get proper attribution for his work. However, he did some leg work I was planning on doing and, low and behold, he found what I expected would be the case -- Andrew Cuomo has a Koch habit.

As you can see in the pdf below, Cuomo has accepted $92,000 from the Kochs -- yes those Kochs who are working as hard as possible to eliminate the Human Right of Collective Bargaining in Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinios, and New Jersey. The very same people, so addicted to greed that they feel entitled to trample on the lower and middle classes in their quest to acquire more.

In case you were wondering if this was faked, I went and checked it out myself. Granted, the first time I did it was the really dumb, hard way of scrolling through names (I didn't see the link for the search page!). As this student demonstrates, there is an easier way. You can check for yourself by going to the New York State Campaign Financial Disclosure Database's Search Page and entering the search criteria he outlined above (Andrew Cuomo 2014, Inc.; 1/1/2009 to 1/1/2011; donations from $1 to $100000). If you want to skip entering everything online, you would get this page. Then, just hit <alt>F in your browser to find text and enter "Koch". You can see for yourself.

Union Legion blog

One of the links, the Union Legion site, has the search page for donations at the New York State Board of Elections.

Cuomo's Koch problem

In fact the chart shows that the total Koch family donation to Cuomo was $92,000,

Koch donations: $43,000 to Scott Walker. $87,000 to Andrew Cuomo.

Cuomo Budget Cuts Education Funding For Blind, Deaf And Disabled Children