Good morning! Here’s your daily digest of money-in-politics news and the headlines of the day, compiled by BillMoyers.com’s John Light. (You can sign up to receive Morning Reads daily in your inbox!)
We had an election! –> Most returns for yesterday’s off-off-year election are in.
- Three good-government ballot initiatives — two in Maine and Seattle to minimize the power of special-interest money in elections, and a third on redistricting in Ohio — all passed.
- Republicans won two governorships in Kentucky and Mississippi. The Kentucky race had been a close one, with Matt Bevins, a tea partier who formerly ran to the right of Mitch McConnell in Senate primaries running to replace a term-limited Democratic governor — this time with the support of the Republican establishment’s well-oiled money operation, and from McConnell himself.
- A closely watched ballot measure to legalize pot in Ohio did not pass. One group that spent $25 million pushing it, ResponsibleOhio, may try and get the issue back on the ballot in 2016.
- Josh Harkinson at Mother Jones: “If you turned out to vote in today’s off-year general election, the chances are you voted for a bunch of white dudes. Not because you’re racist… But because the ballots are overflowing with white dudes.”
Better late than never –> In a recent interview at Harvard Law School, Justice Anthony Kennedy admitted that the “prompt disclosure” of political spending that he believed would hold elected officials accountable in the Citizens United decision was “not working the way it should.” HuffPo’s Paul Blumenthal explains why.
Good work with the muck rake –> Valerie Brown and Elizabeth Grossman at In These Times: “A 6-month investigation finds that the revolving door between government and the chemical industry has led the EPA to rely on easily manipulated research. The result? Toxic substances remain in everyday products.”
Digital advantage –> Democrats — and, particularly, Bernie Sanders — are doing a far better job than most GOP presidential candidates at using digital platforms to pull in small-dollar donations. Sanders raised $26 million as of the last fundraising report, and 88 percent was in donations of $200 or less. Eric Lichtblau and Nick Corasaniti report for NYT.
Murderous censorship –> In a longread at ProPublica, A.C. Thompson (in partnership with PBS Frontline) investigates the deaths of five Vietnamese-American journalists who were killed on American soil between 1981 and 1990. The FBI never made a single arrest.
Sketchy –> Senator Elizabeth Warren’s office has a new report out looking at the predatory side of the retirement industry. In return for encouraging people to store retirement savings in annuities unsuited for their needs, financial planners are offered a range of over-the-top “non-cash rewards and prizes” — like vacations, and, apparently, castles. Tina Nguyen reports for Vanity Fair.
Kochs’ morning show debut –> The interviewers were, shall we say, a bit soft. Media Matters for America’s Eric Hananoki offers “10 Of The Worst Moments From Morning Joe’s Fawning Koch Brothers Interview.” AND: the NYT’s Nicholas Confessore looks at how the Kochs chose to present their political philosophy and spending: “I expect something in return,” Charles Koch said. “I would love to have the government stop this corporate welfare. That’s what I want.” (The Kochs, of course, benefit quite a bit from corporate welfare themselves — to the tune of $88 million, by one count.)
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