U.S. Common Sense

Source:  The Democratic Party - 10/1/2007

Thoughts: I have addressed the issue of California’s Electoral Votes in the past, but I found this article to be too funny not to pass up. Not because the write was attempting to be humorous, but because she’s being serious. “A shadowy group of right-wing Republicans,” while comical, represents the authors view on the proposal to end the winner-takes-all practice of awarding Electoral Votes to Presidential Candidates during an election. Unfortunately, there is “A shadowy group of left-wing Democrats” doing the exact same thing in the North Carolina Senate. Is the author equally upset about that? Or is it ok since North Carolina doesn’t have the same amount of votes as California (plus it’s a Republican state, so who really cares)? Ok, I might be a little harsh here, but I just wanted to point out the hypocrisy in this case. And for those of you who might be offended, don’t fear. The Republicans have voiced the same objections in North Carolina as well.

Article:  “Giuliani’s Top Fundraiser Was Sole Backer of Right-Wing Power Grab in California”
By Stephanie Taylor

A shadowy group of right-wing Republicans recently sponsored a ballot initiative that would have changed the way California distributes its electoral votes. They believed that the change would have allowed them to pick up the equivalent of another Ohio in electoral votes, winning the White House in 2008.

(Article continues.)

The initiative failed, but now we’ve learned that Rudy Giuliani’s top fundraiser, New York hedge fund billionaire Paul E. Singer, was its sole financial backer–raising new questions about Rudy Giuliani’s ties to the effort. From the Los Angeles Times:

A confidant of Republican presidential contender Rudolph W. Giuliani, and one of the candidate’s biggest donors, was the source of a mystery $175,000 donation to a stalled initiative proposal seen as an attempt to help the GOP win a portion of California’s 55 electoral votes.

…Singer oversees Elliott Associates, a Wall Street investment fund, and is chairman of Giuliani’s Northeast fundraising operation. Singer and people who work for Singer-related entities donated at least $182,000 to Giuliani in the first six months of the year, a Times review of Giuliani’s campaign finance statements shows. One of his companies leases jets used by the GOP front-runner. Singer also is one of the former New York mayor’s advisors and friends.

Singer laundered the money through Giuliani donor Charles A. Hurth III, who was the registered agent for the Missouri-based “Take Initiative America” group and had no connections to California politics. Hurth was also one of the funders behind a right-wing group called “Choices for America,” which tried to put Ralph Nader on the ballot in 2004 to help Bush win the presidency.

For more on Paul Singer’s past financial dealings, read our research document.