COURSEY: In politics, money talks

<p>One of the primary themes of the Occupy movement, and one of the primary complaints of voters in this primary election season, is that wealth wields too much power over today's politics.</p><p>It's hard to argue against that premise when a single wealthy Las Vegas casino owner can keep Newt Gingrich's “all 50 states” campaign on life support by pumping $10 million into a pro-Gingrich PAC in January alone.</p><p>In the face of all the hand-wringing over the influence of wealth and the legal anthropomorphism of corporations, you might think that our political leaders would jump at the chance to change the system.</p><p>But you would be wrong.</p><p>The California Assembly on Tuesday failed to pass a simple bill requiring greater disclosure of the money, organizations and individuals behind political advertisements. The legislation, AB 1148, fell two votes short of the required two-thirds super-majority. Our region's Democratic assemblymembers – Michael Allen, Wes Chesbro and Jared Huffman – all voted yes, as did every other Democrat but one. Every Republican, except Nathan Fletcher of San Diego, voted no. </p><p>The bill's opponents said it impinges on freedom of speech.</p><p>And maybe they're right. More and more, money equals speech in politics. During election season – and it's always election season – nothing speaks louder than a big check. Consider the news out of the presidential primary campaigns at the end of the latest reporting period:</p><p>- Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, a staunch advocate of Israel, has provided $10 million to “Winning Our Future,” a group that is not affiliated with but nevertheless is working on behalf of Newt Gingrich in his quest for the Republican nomination for president.</p><p>- Hedge fund managers are the top four contributors to “Restore Our Future,” which has raised almost $18 million since July to support Mitt Romney's quest for the Republican nomination, although it is not affiliated with the candidate.</p><p>- Harold Simmons, the Dallas businessman who financed the “swift boat” campaign that helped sink John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election, has given $7 million to “American Crossroads” as that group prepares for the general election campaign against Barack Obama. The group, backed by Karl Rove, will not be affiliated with any particular candidate, of course.</p><p>- It's not just a Republican phenomenon. President Obama's coffers are overflowing with money from people such as former New Jersey Gov. John Corzine, who in his non-political life oversaw the collapse of the financial firm MF Global. Obama also lists among his contributors two fund-raisers linked to the solar firm Solyndra, which got $528 million in federal loans and then declared bankruptcy.</p><p>These names were all in the paper this week, but they won't be on the advertisements that appear on TV and radio and in your mailbox as election day draws near. AB 1148 sought to change that by requiring any ad or mailer to disclose the top financial contributors behind the piece.</p><p>I, for one, think that's important information. Whether it's someone contributing millions to the presidential campaign, or someone giving hundreds to an Assembly or city council candidate, I want to know the source of that cash. Identifying a candidate's major donors, or learning which groups support a particular ballot measure, often can give a clearer picture of the candidate or measure than any campaign speech or mailer can provide.</p><p>If corporations now are “people” who can contribute unabated to political campaigns, and if “independent expenditure groups” can spend obscene amounts of money to influence campaigns as long as they remain “unaffiliated,” then the voters need to know where that money is coming from, and who are the people behind it. </p><p>Because, as Assembly Republicans know, money talks.</p><p><i>Chris Coursey's blog offers a community commentary and forum, from issues of the day to the ingredients of life in Sonoma County. </i></p>