The Rex Sinquefield funded PAC Grow Missouri’s moving billboard at the University of Central Missouri’s Skyhaven Airport near Warrensburg [October 2014 file photo].
Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission in support of a PAC in Missouri formed to oppose ethics reform (including redistricting reform) petitions which became the CLEAN Missouri initiative (Proposition 1) on the November ballot:
C180099 08/30/2018 Advance Missouri Missouri Republican Party 514 E High Street Suite 31 Jefferson City MO 65101 8/30/2018 $12,000.00
[emphasis added]
Why are we not surprised?
In the past:
C180099 04/30/2018 Advance Missouri Liberty Alliance 7509 NW Tiffany Spring Parkway Ste 300 Kansas City MO 64153 4/30/2018 $12,201.09
C180099 06/01/2018 Advance Missouri Fair Lines America Inc. 2308 Mount Vernon Ave Ste 716 Alexandria VA 22301 6/1/2018 $50,000.00
[….]On the surface, not much is known about Fair Lines America. The group hosted a workshop on redistricting at the December 2017 conference of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative, corporate lobbying group with a history advocating anti-voter legislation and strong ties to industrialists Charles and David Koch and their political network. Fair Lines America’s connection to ALEC gives it credentials within the conservative movement, but ALEC’s description of the workshop did not give any details on who they are.
A bit more digging reveals that the Alexandria, VA mailing address Fair Lines America listed on Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Constitution’s campaign finance report, P.O. BOX 26141, matches the address used by several super PACs that paid for attack ads directed at Donald Trump in the early stages of the 2016 presidential campaign. The PO Box and the ads were an issue in the 2016 Republican presidential primary and the super PACs were found to be affiliated with Trump foes Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina.
The PO Box also is connected to Christopher Marston, a Republican attorney, and his campaign finance compliance firm, Election CFO. Among the firm’s listed clients are several Republican members of Congress and political committees.
Fair Lines America also has Twitter account (@FairLinesUSA), although it has never tweeted. At this writing, the Twitter account has exactly one follower: the National Republican Redistricting Trust. This is a group set up by Republican officials to help the GOP in the 2021 redistricting process. According to a Politico article that announced the groups’ formation, the organization “will focus on data and legal efforts” to challenge Democrat-drawn districts. To completely conceal its donors, the National Republican Redistricting Trust is registered as a legal trust instead of a nonprofit or political action committee.[….]
The twitter account:
Fair Lines America @FairLinesUSA A non-partisan, non-profit supporting fair and legal redistricting through education, demography, data analysis, litigation, and reform.
Joined April 2018
You think they wrote that description with a straight face? Just asking.
Some of the (present) seventeen followers of that Twitter account:
Chris Young @ChrisYoungNV Secure Nevada’s Future | @GOP National Field Director ’16 | @GOP LA State Director ’14 | Team Nevada ’12 | @BobbyJindal ’07 & ’11 | Organizer |
Bobby Jindal, eh? That inspires great confidence.
Stephanie Bell @stephaniesbell Wife. Mom. Community Builder. Advocate. Lawyer. Conservative. ISTJ. #SoBoCo
Fair Districts La @fairdistrictsla Fair Districts Louisiana is a grass-roots, non-partisan alliance of citizens advocating for redistricting reform.
Riiiiight.
Trey Trainor @txelectionlaw Husband, father of six, Catholic, conservative. Advise elected officials, political organizations, and candidates on state and federal election regulations.
StLCountyRepublicans @StLCountyRepub St. Louis County Republicans. Happenings and More. Retweet if you like. Grassroots. News and information. You decide.
Alrighty then.
NRRT @TheNRRT The National Republican Redistricting Trust
They could form a right wingnut infinite feedback loop. Oh, wait, the Faux New Channel already exists.
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
What’s going on at @CNN is happening, to different degrees, at other networks – with @NBCNews being the worst. The good news is that Andy Lack(y) is about to be fired(?) for incompetence, and much worse. When Lester Holt got caught fudging my tape on Russia, they were hurt badly! 6:02 AM – 30 Aug 2018
…with a major in Fascism.
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
I just cannot state strongly enough how totally dishonest much of the Media is. Truth doesn’t matter to them, they only have their hatred & agenda. This includes fake books, which come out about me all the time, always anonymous sources, and are pure fiction. Enemy of the People! 6:11 AM – 30 Aug 2018
Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission in support of the initiative (Amendment 1) for campaign finance, lobbying, legislative open records, and redistricting reform:
C161298 08/28/2018 CLEAN Missouri National Education Association 1201 16th St, NW Washington DC 20036 8/27/2018 $250,000.00
….the classic ‘legal’ definition of chutzpah….a person who kills his parents and pleads for the court’s mercy on the ground of being an orphan….
This afternoon, via Twitter, from Mike Pence (r):
Vice President Mike Pence @VP
…Justice Antonin Scalia was confirmed 98-0 and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg received support of 96 Senators. If we lived in a more respectful time, Judge Brett Kavanaugh would be overwhelmingly confirmed by the United States Senate. #ConfirmKavanaugh 3:03 PM – 28 Aug 2018
Some of the responses:
If we lived in a better time, you’d be an anonymous potato farmer.
Actually he would be still be a DJ on a low-powered radio station somewhere in an Indiana cornfield.
If we lived in a more respectful time, all records would be released #WhatAreTheyHiding
#UnindictedCoConspirator doesn’t get to pick his own judge.
Remind us again how many votes Merrick Garland got.
If we lived in a more respectful time, you would not be Vice President.
If we lived in a more respectful time, Judge Merrick Garland would have been overwhelmingly confirmed by the United States Senate instead of being back burnered for months and months by your party. What a hypocrite!
Manafort’s top draft pick.
Сделать Америку великой Снова.
Well blame your boss for not living in respectful times.
Traitor says what?
If the documents had all been released already we’d have no problem beginning hearings. This nominee lied in confirmation hearings held on his appointment to the circuit court. We will not seat a man of no integrity.
Trump once said, “Most people aren’t worthy of respect.” His behavior toward others continues to demonstrate this belief. The lack of respect is coming from the top. If you wanted to live in more respectful times, you shouldn’t have helped him into the WH. #MerrickGarland
If we lived in a more respectful time, your boss would not Tweet hate towards everyone except those who bow at his feet. #YourBossIsUnindictedCriminal #NoKavanaughUntilMuellerIsDone
This is disgusting. If we lived in a more respectful time, the GOP would have given Merrick Garland A HEARING. And in a more respectful time, Trump would not be sitting in the Oval Office, and you, as transition head, would not have ignored bipartisan concerns over traitor Flynn.
what about MERRICK GARLAND? where was the respect owed him? where was his vote?
garland’s not on the record perjuring himself. garland wasn’t working in concert to hide 85% of his records from congress. garland didn’t say that a POTUS couldn’t be indicted.
Um…and Elena Kagan had to show ALL her papers from when she was an advisor the White House. THAT is the holdup over Kavanaugh. Republicans are damming up the flow of those documents that will be incriminating against Kavanaugh. Respect has nothing to do with it; documents do.
What was the final vote for Merrick Garland?
Was the president who nominated them under investigation for committing treason and working with Russia to make himself president?
If we lived in a more respectful time, you wouldn’t be in office. #complicit
Judge Merrick Garland deserved the support of every member of the United States Senate. If we lived in a more respectful time, Garland would have been easily confirmed. Your hypocrisy knows no bounds. #ReleaseTheRecords
NOPE Sorry Kremlin Ken. We don’t want a Putin appointed president to decide who sits on our highest court.
How DARE you complain about times not being “respectful”. The man you are enabling and hiding behind is the least respectful and most abusive person in our government, and is the top reason why our country is so divided and disrespectful. Get HIM to change, or stop your whining
“If we lived in a more respectful time…” With all due respect Mr. Vice President, get bent.
Only if we lived in less corrupt days.
have you had your irony surgically removed, or are you just that incapable of understanding it?
You have got to be kidding me. Tell me this is a joke.
Two words: Merrick Garland. Three more: so shut up.
Merrick. Garland.
A president under investigation should not pick his judge. #NoHearings
If we lived in a more respectful times, Merrick Garland would be a Supreme Court Justice, actual Nazis wouldn’t be running for public office, and Donald Trump wouldn’t be either a celebrity or a president.
Yep. Justice Merrick Garland fully agrees.
The ABSURD posturing around blocking Merrick Garland’s nomination and refusing to even let a vote happen has left your party with ZERO moral high ground to complain about lack of cooperation with Supreme Court nominations, you jackass
Not forgetting the confirmation vote for Merrick Garland, you pompous, purpose-less poser.
The hypocrisy runs deep in this one.
Merrick Effing Garland you putz
Merrick. Garland.
You set the standard.
Now live with it.
The difference is Scalia and RGB we’re appointed by a democratically elected administration. #NoNewAppointments
You’re a stooge, a crook and a flunky, Pence. Everybody knows it, even those who pretend otherwise to your face.
It goes on and on.
Mike Pence (r) is a putz. And probably the only reason why Donald Trump (r) won’t be impeached, convicted, and removed from office.
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
Google search results for “Trump News” shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake New Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal? 96% of… 4:24 AM – 28 Aug 2018
Illegal, eh? Up late, eh?
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
….results on “Trump News” are from National Left-Wing Media, very dangerous. Google & others are suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good. They are controlling what we can & cannot see. This is a very serious situation-will be addressed! 4:34 AM – 28 Aug 2018
“…This is a very serious situation-will be addressed!”
Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission in support of the initiative (Amendment 1) for campaign finance, lobbying, legislative open records, and redistricting reform:
C161298 08/27/2018 CLEAN Missouri Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes 4401 W. 109th St Suite 200 Overland Park KS 66211 8/27/2018 $50,000.00
Senator Claire McCaskill (D) commented, via Twitter, on the death of Senator John McCain:
Claire McCaskill @clairecmc
I feel so fortunate that I had a chance to learn from him and laugh with him. He was a tremendous role model for our democracy and gave his life to the public good. My love to the McCain family.There’ll never be another like #JohnMcCain. 7:58 PM – 25 Aug 2018
Some of the responses:
Well said Claire. So much respect for his service and for putting his country first over his party.
How thoughtful, please share a story of #JohnMcCain Thanks in advance.
Beautifully stated. Thank you for being much like him.
There were also a couple of not so nice responses.
