Wednesday, June 28, 2017

GOP donors threaten to withhold funds unless their agenda is passed

http://www.salon.com/2017/06/26/gop-donors-threaten-to-withhold-funds-unless-their-agenda-is-passed/
"Large donors, not just the Koch brothers, have an immense influence in Republican politics. According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, the 20 largest donors to the political action committee controlled by Donald Trump accounted for nearly 15 percent of funds raised in the 2016 presidential campaign. The son of outsourcing pioneer Darwin Deason, Doug was one of several large GOP donors who tried to push reluctant Republican billionaires to increase their giving in support of Trump’s operations. “There is urgency,” Tim Phillips, president of the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity told the AP. “We believe we have a window of about 12 months to get as much of it accomplished as possible before the 2018 elections grind policy to a halt.” While the donors want the GOP to push their agenda faster, they also appear to be part of the reason why Republicans haven’t been able to deliver. Phillips, who somehow managed to survive as the leader of the organization despite his disastrous leadership in the 2012 elections, has been directing employees to lobby Senate Republicans to make the Better Care Reconciliation Act more conservative. Likewise, Americans for Prosperity is spending money on advertisements and rallies in 36 different states to boost support for an overhaul of the U.S. tax code."