Chasing the money trail

The Buffalo News posted a story today about money in politics & how much is being poured i to the state Senate races.

And it misses the point. Much as I expected it would.

It made a bit of a squeal about NYSUT - New York State United Teachers, a working class union with questionable leadership - and the money  & SuperPAC that it has.

First: the membership of NYSUT is made of of mostly NYS citizens that can actually vote in NY elections.  I know that along the borders there are teachers that come in from Pennsylvania,  Connecticut,   Massachusetts, and Vermont. These are a minority.  The majority of the members of the union are citizens that can vote in the elections. No reason to attack them at all.  They should be praised for their political activism. 

Now I can criticize the leadership of NYSUT for always supporting the Democrats and other issues,  like selling out on contract  negotiations in a number of instances.  I will refrain from that.  These are members of the working class getting active and supporting  policies that the capitalist owner of the News does not like, such as privatization of schools and mandated tests. Two policies with little to no evidence to show that they improve instruction and learning for the students and teachers.  Those policies are about making money for the 1%.

Second: the News fails to talk about all the fundraising that the politicians do out of state. Cuomo should not be visiting California for his campaign cash. New York alone or no go. And if the ads on tv, radio, & newspapers are too expensive, use the mail. You would get the same number of people paying attention as do now. I mute the tv or change the station when an ad comes on. Cost? High. Effectiveness? 0.

More important - the News should be highlighting the out of state groups that are raising money from people that can not vote in the election.  That is the real issue.  I can go to Project Vote Smart's OnPoint App,  look up a politician and see where they are gettingtheir money from. The Koch family has no interest in NY politics & should not be donating to the campaigns of NY politicians. Same with the Walton family & others.

If the news wants to make an issue of "dark money" - it needs to make an examination first of out of state money and groups and highlight the politicians that are accepting that money.  It touches on this a bit in the last few paragraphs with a mention about a realtor association in Chicago donating money to a candidate in Long Island.

Too little. Too late.  THAT is what this article should have been about.
The Buffalo News, as usual, blows it.
Then again, look at who owns it & his political agenda.