Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ron Johnson has spent a lot of time in the past week avoiding the various Tea Party
groups here in Wisconsin like the plague, but apparently he wasn’t too busy to jet off to Washington, D.C. yesterday for a fundraiser organized by the Bellwether Group, a Washington, DC-based professional fundraising firm. Among the hosts for the event? Washington D.C. lobbyists representing special interests such as the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association, Society of the Plastics Industry, Association of Oil Pipe Lines, the Oxygenated Fuels Association, not to mention others who have an extensive history lobbying on behalf of the health insurance industry.
Instead of hob-nobbing with special interest lobbyists in Washington, D.C., maybe Ron Johnson could find his way back to Wisconsin, where he could occupy his time doing any number of campaign-related activities, such as finally meeting with the Tea Party groups he’s been avoiding, or finally answering questions from the media, or heck….finally answering my question about whether or not he supported that $500,000 earmark the Oshkosh Opera House received, an earmark he undoubtedly knew about as treasurer of the Oshkosh Opera House foundation.
There’s a lot to do here in Wisconsin, Ron, so come home soon!
Russ Feingold has been spending a lot of time in Wash DC for the past 18 years! I think a few hours visit by Ron Johnson is nothing to get hysterical about. The US Supreme Court has determined that those groups of businesses have every right to get know and support candidates of their choice..just like AFSCME, SEIU, WEAC and the union that backed Tom Nelson, not to mention the “Greater Wisconsin Commitee” (aka Potawatomi casino $$$).
Thanks again Zach for posting Dave Westlakes daily talking points. That’s the number one reason I visit your site!! But I do find it provocative. BTW What was Dave’s position on the Domestic Partnership benefits paid for with Taxpayers dollars. Keep us posted. Dave I love ya!! But please go run for something you CAN win. Zach’s site is interesting; but his few hundred visitors a week is not gonna sell you enough orange t-shirts to compete!
I know you have already admitted to being unabashedly biased and unfair when it comes to these things, but Christian Schneider has a good piece about this hypocrisy over on his blog.
Here’s the most relevant piece:
“The total tally of special interest contributions collected by Feingold: 1,096 lobbyist contributions totaling $1,868,908. This from the self-professed King of Campaign Finance Reform. Seems to be working out well for him.
Among Feingold’s contributors:
•Goldman-Sachs
•American Dental Association
•American Federation of Government Employees
•AFSCME
•American Postal Worker’s Union
•Armenian American PAC
•Automobile Club of Michigan
•Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen
•California PAC
•Democratic Women of Santa Barbara County
•Engineers Union
•Florida Congressional Committee
•Georgia Peach PAC
•International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
•Land O’ Lakes
•Maryland Association of Concerned Citizens
•NARAL
•National Education Association
•The Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball
And on and on it goes – 1,096 contributions and $1.8 million long. And yet, according to Feingold, it is Ron Johnson, who’s been back in Oshkosh building his business from scratch, who is beholden to lobbyists. (Of course, Feingold will never be asked what the Democratic Women of Santa Barbara County have to do with creating jobs in Wisconsin.)”
http://www.christianschneiderblog.com/2010/06/23/feingolds-catching-the-vapors/
forgot, I thought the section after that was most amusing part of the piece:
I note that Biden is in town in support for Feingold. Doesn’t Biden live in Washington D.C.?
VP Biden lives in Washington DC like Senator Feingold lives in Washington DC. Did you miss the campaign coverage of his living in his home state and taking the train to work everyday?
Except when he’s causing a panic over the flu.