The 2012 election broke all sorts of records for money in politics. And now, Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei at Politico have found another $236 million spent by Freedom Partners, "an Arlington, Va.-based conservative group, whose existence until now was unknown to almost everyone in politics." The group, which Politico dubs "the Koch brothers' secret bank," has raised at least $256 million since its formation in November 2011, from "about 200 donors, paying at least $100,000 each in annual dues."
Allen and VandeHei know this because the group's president, longtime GOP operative Marc Short, gave them a soon-to-be-public IRS document. The 38-page filing, they write, "amounts to the Rosetta Stone of the vast web of conservative groups — some prominent, some obscure — that spend time, money and resources to influence public debate, especially over ObamaCare." Almost half the money, $115 million, went to the ObamaCare-fighting group the Center to Protect Patient Rights. Here's an excerpt from Politico's report:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Cicada-geddon: the fungus that controls insects like 'zombies'Under The Radar Expert says bugs will develop 'hypersexualisation' despite their genitals falling off
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion banSpeed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling BiblesSpeed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitnessIn Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
