Remember Zippy Chippy, the race horse that lost one hundred consecutive races? That pretty much sums up the recent fortunes of Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.
But thanks to a two year old decision of the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance unearthed by the Boston Globe’s Scot Lehigh, things are about to get much, much worse for MassFiscal.
To provide a bit of background, MassFiscal was founded by Massachusetts businessman Rick Green as a kiddie corner Koch Brothers Network. Green and MassFiscal have raised millions in dark money to act as a cat’s paw for Green’s political ambitions.
Past tense. Let’s get to the part where things are getting much worse for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. Green and MassFiscal have a tender sympathy for the downtrodden of society, so they brought suit (through Green’s corporation, 1A Auto, Inc.) to force the state to provide underprivileged corporations a greater opportunity to influence politics in Massachusetts. But the Supreme Judicial Court, dominated by appointees of Republican Governor Charlie Baker, booted that one out of court. MassFiscal was represented by an Arizona legal non-profit tied to the right wing Mercer family, past funders of Stephen Bannon and Breitbart News.
Anyone can have a bad day in state court so Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance tried again in federal court, seeking an order to allow it to send out campaign literature in the 2018 elections without disclosing its dark money donors. Thanks to stalwart Massachusetts political commentator and Twitter-er Hester Prynne, we know that the federal court booted out MassFiscal again, stating “After-the-fact donor disclosure requirements have been routinely upheld…disclosure of the source of money behind a speaker promotes voter understanding and knowledge.” In this case, MassFiscal was represented by a different legal non-profit, this one tied to the Koch Brothers.
Hold on, we’re not there yet. Green ran for the open third CD congressional seat this year, where he was crushed by Lori Trahan. But in a desperate attempt to help Green break the thirty-five percent threshold MassFiscal got into the voter suppression business, in a despicable attempt to intimidate people of color in Lawrence, Lowell, Methuen, and Haverhill from voting. MassFiscal sent Secretary of State Galvin Bill Galvin its “Voter Integrity Project,’ a gossamer thin voter suppression tactic. But Galvin saw through the scheme and responded that “his office will respond promptly if there is any effort to target minority voters to prevent them from voting.”
You’ve been patient, but that’s not the bad part.
The bad part is that Boston Globe columnist Scot Lehigh, using his inexhaustible store of Massachusetts political knowledge, noted on Twitter that in 2016 Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance was ordered by the Office of Campaign and Political Finance to disclose one of its donors. So let’s go to OCPF’s order, CPF 16-20, addressed to MassFiscal’s Paul Craney:
But MassFiscal has never disclosed that donor. It has ignored a lawful directive of OCPF. That order is pursuant to the enforceable right of Massachusetts voters to be informed of who is trying to influence their votes.
For our public spritited encouragements to MassFiscal to live up to its legal obligations Mr. Lehigh and I have both been blocked on Twitter by Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. Won’t you please help us by tweeting that MassFiscal should obey the OCPF decision?
Day 827. OCPF held hostage by MassFiscal.
[Full disclosure: as an educator in the UMass system, I am a union member. I write about dark money – and sometimes, minority voter suppression.]