Gretchen Whitmer Loads ‘Council on Climate Solutions’ with Donors, Utility Lobbyist, Dark Money Group Exec
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has packed her “Council on Climate Solutions” with campaign donors and a major utility lobbyist and dark money group executive that boosted her 2018 campaign, a review of campaign finance records revealed.
Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-182 last September to create the board, which advises the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
“The science is clear, and message urgent: the earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, and human activities are largely responsible for this change,” the order said.
Members of the advisory board are tasked with creating the “MI Healthy Climate Plan,” which is to “serve as the action plan for this state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition toward economywide carbon neutrality.”
A review of appointed members and campaign finance records found 10 of the 21 members donated to Whitmer’s gubernatorial campaign:
- Kerry Duggan, founder and principal of SustainabiliD: $500
- James C. Harrison, director of renewable energy for Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO: $100
- Phyllis D. Meadows, senior fellow in health programming for The Kresge Foundation: $225
- Jonathan T. Overpeck, University of Michigan environmental professor: $155.98
- Phillip D. Roos, CEO of Great Lakes GrowthWorks, LLC: $2,300
- Justin Onwenu, organizer for Sierra Club: $31.15
- Charlotte Jameson, program director for Michigan Environmental Council: $50
- Douglas Jester, partner with 5 Lakes Energy: $10,500
- Charles J. Griffith, director of climate and energy program for the Ecology Center: $25
- Brandon Hofmeister, senior vice president of governmental, regulatory, and public affairs for Consumers Energy: $6,500
Hofmeister is a lobbyist for Consumers Energy, a leading energy company in the state, and vice president of a so-called dark money group known as Citizens for Energizing Michigan’s Economy (CEME).
Over a four-year period beginning in 2014, Consumers Energy gave CEME $43.5 million to boost candidates favorable to the utility, according to a 2018 report from the Energy and Policy Institute.
CEME’s IRS filing showed it then gave $300,000 to Progressive Advocacy Trust, an organization that spent $2 million to help elect Whitmer.
Mlive reported Consumers Energy’s parent company, CMS, had a net income of $680 million in 2019.
In December, the Whitmer-appointed Michigan Public Service Commission approved a requested rate hike by Consumers Energy. Customers will now pay nearly 12 percent more per month, according to the Detroit News.
As of the last campaign finance filing, other board members listed by Fox 17, including W. Frank Beaver, Mary F. Draves, Marnese K. Jackson, Tanya Paslawski, Cynthia Render-Williams, Derrell E. Slaughter, Samuel Stolper, Ronald Voglewede, Cory Connolly, Steven Holty, and Lauren T. Cooper have not financially supported the governor’s campaign.
Among other things, board members are charged with, “Identifying and recommending opportunities for the development and effective implementation of emissions-reduction strategies.”
While some boards have a defined time limit on their existence, there is no sunset on the Council on Climate Solutions.
Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. He is also host of “The Kyle Olson Show,” syndicated on Michigan radio stations on Saturdays — download full podcast episodes. Follow him on Parler.
Megadonors Pour Record Amount of Money Into ‘Get Out the Vote’ Effort for Dems
A rapidly growing $800 million dark money network helped anonymous donors pour a record amount of money into voter registration groups focused on increasing Democratic Party turnout ahead of the 2020 election.
The Tides Foundation, an organization that allows left-wing donors to fund political activism anonymously, raised over $800 million across its nonprofit network in 2019, a dramatic rise over previous figures.
Much of that money went to "Get Out the Vote" (GOTV) campaigns in the 2020 election cycle, including the Voter Registration Project, Rock the Vote, and the Voter Participation Center, which exploit IRS nonprofit rules to register new voters in Democratic-leaning areas that helped deliver key battleground states to President Joe Biden. The IRS considers voter registration a "charitable" activity for 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) nonprofits, provided it isn’t explicitly partisan.
But when self-identified progressive organizations target Democratic-leaning constituencies in battleground states during election years the effect is anything but nonpartisan. Their tax-deductible funding comes from undisclosed sources on the left and is passed through Tides, which caters strictly to left-wing political groups, and voter registration groups on the left vastly outnumber similar groups on the right. The vast sums poured into these efforts also run counter to the narrative on the left that it abhors dark money in politics.
Anna Massoglia, an investigative researcher for the Center for Responsive Politics, told the Washington Free Beacon that the "key issue is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit’s intent."
"It may raise questions if a 501(c)(3) nonprofit attempted to determine a potential voter's candidate preference or political party affiliation before encouraging them to vote," Massoglia said. But whether a nonprofit’s voter registration efforts were entirely nonpartisan is difficult to verify, unless it opts to publicly release that information.
The Voter Registration Project (VRP), which received $850,000 from Tides, targets African-American, Latino, Native American, low-income, and other likely left-leaning constituencies for mobilization. VRP also channels grants to state-based allies doing similar drives, including One Arizona, New Florida Majority, and New Georgia Project, founded by Stacey Abrams, a 2018 gubernatorial candidate and influential Democratic activist.
The Tides Foundation granted another $206,000 to Rock the Vote and its lobbying arm, Rock the Vote Action Fund, which turn out young and far-left voters. Despite claiming to be nonpartisan, Rock the Vote has accused Republicans of fueling "dangerous conspiracy theories and hate." The group also supports abolishing the Electoral College. Tides has channeled at least $2 million to Rock the Vote since 2006.
Tides also gave $180,000 to the Voter Participation Center (VPC), a GOTV group that targets "unmarried women, millennials, [and] minorities" and spent at least $582,000 on pro-Democratic independent expenditures in the 2020 election. VPC has received roughly $2.1 million from Tides since 2008.
Other Tides grants in 2019 went to ACRONYM, whose data app Shadow Inc. infamously bungled the Iowa Democratic caucuses in February 2020; Catalist, a leading data company formed by Clinton family operatives that’s been accused of illegally offering left-wing groups services below market rates; and the Black Voters Matter Fund, a far-left GOTV group aligned with the socialist-led movement Black Lives Matter. The Tides Center, a branch responsible for spawning new advocacy organizations, took control of a top Black Lives Matter group (the BLM Global Network Foundation) last July, putting the far-left movement squarely in the middle of Tides’ professional activist network.
Since 2007, the Tides network has spent over $4.3 billion this way, almost all of it to the benefit of left-wing political groups.
Few of Tides’ donors are known. Previously identified donors to the network include the Ford Foundation, George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, all major donors to left-leaning causes and politically active nonprofits. But because Tides isn’t required to publicly disclose its donors—only its own grant recipients—the ultimate source of these grants is virtually impossible to identify, making the pass-through network one of the largest "dark money" donors on the left and a valuable service to liberal donors looking to support political causes anonymously.
The flow of "dark" dollars from anonymous donors to activists using a pass-through is a hallmark of the professional left, which boasts hundreds of such groups that form an outer web surrounding the Democratic Party. This echo chamber pushes the party further to the left on issues ranging from abortion on demand to gun control and campaign finance. Just how much Tides raised in 2020—which won’t be released until early next year—is expected to be even higher.
Labor Board Dismisses Union Misconduct Complaints Following Biden Purge
A federal labor arbiter abandoned two separate cases against a major labor union just weeks after President Biden ousted the agency's former leaders.
The National Labor Relations Board's top prosecuting office dropped a pair of complaints filed against two chapters of the politically powerful hospitality workers union UNITE HERE in January. The agency, which enforces federal labor laws, had been in the midst of investigating whether local labor officials in Boston and Seattle allegedly abused their power to force members to support the union's political and organizing activities. An agency spokesman declined to comment on the decision.
The withdrawal of the complaints comes shortly after Biden fired a pair of Trump appointees from the independent agency in an "unprecedented" move. Minutes after he was inaugurated, Biden demanded General Counsel Peter Robb's resignation. Robb, who had 10 months left in his term, refused to resign. Biden fired him as well as his successor, former deputy general counsel Alice Stock, within his first two days in office. Biden selected Peter Sung Ohr, a career employee, to serve as acting general counsel and temporarily lead the agency's legal team. Ohr's office issued filings to drop the complaint against the union officials on Jan. 29.
The National Right to Work Foundation, which is representing the complainants, decried the "shameful" decision to withdraw. Spokesman Patrick Semmens said the Biden administration is rewarding his political allies, pointing to the nearly $1 million that UNITE HERE spent in 2020.
"The Biden NLRB’s abandonments of these two cases … combined with his unprecedented firing of Robb just over a week ago, is a shameful power grab," he told the Washington Free Beacon. "These actions make it clear that independent-minded workers and their rights are completely expendable in the Biden administration’s push to reward the D.C.-based union bosses who helped install Biden in the White House."
The local chapters of UNITE HERE, a service-industry labor union with approximately 300,000 members, did not respond to requests for comment. The complaints accused the union chapters of abusing their power to force union representation on hotel employees and accused the hotels of cooperating with the union.
The Hilton hotel chain involved in the Seattle complaint told the Free Beacon that it cannot comment on employee-related matters. The Boston hotel chain did not respond to a request for comment.
Other labor watchdogs ripped the National Labor Relations Board for turning a blind eye to alleged union abuse under President Biden, who has pledged to be "the most pro-union president" in history.
Maxford Nelsen, director of labor policy at the Washington State-based Freedom Foundation, said that the NLRB's decision to abandon the unfair labor practice complaint in Seattle would only empower unions and weaken the rights of non-unionized workers. "The NLRB under Biden may return to past double standards, allowing employers to assist unions in organizing but prohibiting employers from assisting employee efforts to rid themselves of an unwanted union," he said.
"Joe Biden has acted quickly to deliver on his promise to be the most pro-union president in history," Nelson added. "Unfortunately, doing what is best for unions is not the same thing as doing what is best for workers."
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse ‘Biggest Hypocrite in Politics’ on Dark Money
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has served as one of the most vocal Democrat critics of “dark money’s” influence in politics, but the Rhode Island Democrat appears to be a significant beneficiary of dark money.
Whitehouse has frequently criticized the alleged nefarious effects of dark money on politics, particularly as it relates to conservative and Republican dark money.
Dark Money refers to political spending in which the source of the money is not disclosed. Political groups typically use dark money through political action groups such as 501(c)(4)s, and the federal government does not require those groups to disclose their donors.
“Opaque” nonprofits and shell companies may also give unlimited donations to super PACs.
The transparency organization OpenSecrets noted that while the Federal Election Commission (FEC) usually requires super PACs to disclose their donors, “some of these groups are effectively dark money outlets when the bulk of their funding cannot be traced back to the original donor.”
Whitehouse most recently criticized conservative groups, allegedly funded by dark money, for launching attacking ads against President Joe Biden’s nominees.
Whitehouse asked rhetorically, “Dark money groups running ads complaining about dark money. Hilarious. What are the chances they will support S.1 and DISCLOSE Act to get rid of dark money? Nil.”
Dark money groups running ads complaining about dark money. Hilarious. What are the chances they will support S.1 and DISCLOSE Act to get rid of dark money? Nil. https://t.co/F3f7Izx8JJ
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) February 18, 2021
Whitehouse also told former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) in January 2020 how then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) kept the Senate Republican Conference in line using dark money:
Whitehouse also attacked the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in November 2019, claiming that the organization was using its dark money to attack efforts to combat alleged climate change.
Whitehouse and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) also introduced legislation in July 2020 that would require dark money conservative judicial groups to disclose their donors.
“A decades-long effort by big corporations and partisan donors to rig the courts using dark money is working; they’ve won over 80 partisan, 5-4 decisions,” Whitehouse said.
Despite his partisan grandstanding over dark money’s allegedly nefarious effects, Whitehouse has received significant contributions from dark money organizations.
Since 2005, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), a dark money environmentalist group, has served as Whitehouse’s largest donor. LCV has contributed $187,861 and an additional $12,062 from PACs associated with LCV to Whitehouse.
Despite decrying dark money and moneyed interests influencing campaigns, he raised $5 million more than his Republican counterpart during his 2018 reelection campaign. The Center for Responsive Politics found that Whitehouse’s top contributors come from law firms, retirees, and the finance sector.
Whitehouse also hoped in February 2019 that “liberal dark money” groups such as LCV and Demand Justice would donate to his campaign:
Whitehouse has had a long history with the American Constitution Society, which includes providing keynote speeches and publishing on their website. The American Constitution Society is funded by dark money.
Whitehouse spent his allotted 30 minutes during the confirmation hearing of Judge Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court to attack conservative judicial groups, alleging that they are funded by dark money. However, the Wall Street Journal noted that Whitehouse is a significant beneficiary of dark money. The Journal explained:
[O]n Tuesday Mr. Whitehouse refused to abide by the normal practice for congressional witnesses of answering questions.
Mr. Whitehouse knew that, if he answered questions, he was under legal obligation to tell the truth. House Republicans might have asked him about the dark-money outfit Arabella Advisors. This for-profit entity oversees nonprofits including the Sixteen Thirty Fund and the New Venture Fund, which together reported nearly a billion dollars in revenue in 2017 and 2018.
Arabella affiliate Demand Justice ran a smear campaign against Brett Kavanaugh and is now calling for Democrats to pack the Supreme Court. Demand Justice bills itself as a “project” of the Sixteen Thirty Fund and the New Venture Fund, and in public disclosures it lists the same office address as the two nonprofits.
Mr. Whitehouse’s silence about his own ties to dark-money networks shows his goal isn’t to clean up politics. He wants to silence those who disagree with him. If Mr. Whitehouse holds power in the Senate majority next year, do not expect what Joe Biden says will be a new era of comity and fair play.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) also noted during that hearing that Fortune 500 companies and Wall Street firms largely favor donating to Democrats over Republicans. He said:
Our Democratic colleagues when they address the issue of free speech, of so-called ‘dark money,’ and campaign finance contributions, are often deeply, deeply hypocritical. And, they don’t address the actual facts that exist. Here are some facts, of the top 20 organizations spending money for political speech in the year 2016, 14 of them gave virtually of their money to Democrats. And another three split their money evenly, so only three of the top 20 gave money to Republicans, what did that mean in practice? That meant that the top 20 super PACs donors contributed $422 million to Democrats and $189 million to Republicans.
“The senator from Rhode Island spoke about big corporate powers, without acknowledging that the contributions from the Fortune 500 in the presidential election overwhelmingly favors Joe Biden and the Democrats,” Cruz said during the confirmation hearing.
Comfortably Smug, a conservative Twitter pundit, asked Whitehouse, “So are you going to demand that the Dem dark money groups release the names of their donors???? @SenWhitehouse is the biggest hypocrite in politics, and that’s saying something.”
So are you going to demand that the Dem dark money groups release the names of their donors????@SenWhitehouse is the biggest hypocrite in politics, and that's saying something https://t.co/OTfHJbkxT3
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) February 18, 2021
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
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