Today's Article
What is Big
Finance’s master
plan? To paint the
very well-known
Elizabeth Warren as
a friend to Big
Finance.
Finance’s master
plan? To paint the
very well-known
Elizabeth Warren as
a friend to Big
Finance.
The American Spark
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Who’s Funding Conservative Attacks On Elizabeth Warren?
By Cliff Montgomery - Dec. 28th, 2011
Crossroads ‘Grassroots’ Policy Strategies (GPS)--one among many neo-conservative ideological groups which
pretends to be run and funded by ordinary people, but in fact is funded primarily by financial and business
elites--is working to make you just hate Elizabeth Warren, one of the few liberals who is serious in her drive to
hold Big Finance accountable. Warren currently is a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in Massachusetts.
And what is Big Finance’s master plan? To paint the very well-known Warren as a friend to Big Finance.
If your head just exploded, try to pull yourself back together. Keep in mind that Republican point man Karl
Rove--who for eight horrid years served as the power behind the debacle that was the Bush Administration--
was one of the founding members of Crossroads GPS.
In other words, one simply should not expect an attack founded on reason, accountability or common sense.
To make things even more muddled, just last month Crossroads GPS’ ‘brain trust’ made an ad criticizing
Warren for being too chummy with the Occupy movement.
For her part, Warren understandably has simply called Crossroads GPS’ most recent advertisement “factually
wrong and morally wrong.”
Larry Sabato, who serves as director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, told OpenSecrets
that the two Crossroads GPS-produced attacks rank among the “least effective” he’s ever seen.
“Rarely do you see such diametrically opposing attacks made by the same group within a short period of time,”
Sabato declared to OpenSecrets.
“Given her liberal ideology, a viewer could believe that Warren had some sympathy for the Occupy Wall Street
demonstrators,” continued Sabato, “but to make her somehow sympathetic to big bankers and Wall Street?
That strains credulity.”
OpenSecrets is a web site published by the Center for Responsive Politics, “the nation's premier research
group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy,” according to its mission
statement.
For those readers who may not immediately remember the achievements of Elizabeth Warren, we’ll point out
that Warren was instrumental in creating Obama’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau--“a new regulatory
body that many finance sector interests spent heavily to oppose,” points out OpenSecrets.
Republicans further objected to installing Warren as leader of that new group. It was that fierce opposition
which convinced leading Democrats to recruit the lady as a major challenge to freshman U.S. Senator Scott
Brown (R-MA).
And that’s not all.
“Since launching her U.S. Senate campaign in August, Warren has pulled in more than $3.15 million--with a
whopping 57 percent of that sum coming from small-dollar donors who each contributed $200 or less,” states
OpenSecrets.
“According to research by the Center for Responsive Politics, Warren has raised just 3.5 percent of her war
chest, or $110,050, from interests in the finance, insurance and real estate sector,” added the web site.
That’s the ‘friend of Big Finance.’
All right, that may tell us much more about the real Elizabeth Warren. But what about Senator Brown?
“By contrast, the finance, insurance and real estate sector is Brown's No. 1 supporter,” points out
OpenSecrets.
“Since Brown jumped onto the national stage in 2009 when he began running to fill the Senate vacancy
created in the wake of Sen. Ted Kennedy’s death, Brown has raised about $23.6 million,” declares the web site.
And much of that massive sum has come from his close friends in Big Finance.
“According to the Center's research, Brown has relied on the finance, insurance and real estate sector for
about $1 out of every $8 he's collected,” continues OpenSecrets.
“The people and political action committees associated with the financial sector have given Brown $2.9 million
since 2009. That's 12.4 percent of his total war chest,” states the political and financial watchdog.
And then there’s Crossroads GPS...
“For its part, Crossroads GPS is not legally required to publicly disclose its donors, but its sister organization--a
super PAC known as American Crossroads--is. And American Crossroads has significant ties to the finance
sector and other wealthy business interests,” declares OpenSecrets.
Like what you're reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of The American Spark
e-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be
delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
By Cliff Montgomery - Dec. 28th, 2011
Crossroads ‘Grassroots’ Policy Strategies (GPS)--one among many neo-conservative ideological groups which
pretends to be run and funded by ordinary people, but in fact is funded primarily by financial and business
elites--is working to make you just hate Elizabeth Warren, one of the few liberals who is serious in her drive to
hold Big Finance accountable. Warren currently is a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in Massachusetts.
And what is Big Finance’s master plan? To paint the very well-known Warren as a friend to Big Finance.
If your head just exploded, try to pull yourself back together. Keep in mind that Republican point man Karl
Rove--who for eight horrid years served as the power behind the debacle that was the Bush Administration--
was one of the founding members of Crossroads GPS.
In other words, one simply should not expect an attack founded on reason, accountability or common sense.
To make things even more muddled, just last month Crossroads GPS’ ‘brain trust’ made an ad criticizing
Warren for being too chummy with the Occupy movement.
For her part, Warren understandably has simply called Crossroads GPS’ most recent advertisement “factually
wrong and morally wrong.”
Larry Sabato, who serves as director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, told OpenSecrets
that the two Crossroads GPS-produced attacks rank among the “least effective” he’s ever seen.
“Rarely do you see such diametrically opposing attacks made by the same group within a short period of time,”
Sabato declared to OpenSecrets.
“Given her liberal ideology, a viewer could believe that Warren had some sympathy for the Occupy Wall Street
demonstrators,” continued Sabato, “but to make her somehow sympathetic to big bankers and Wall Street?
That strains credulity.”
OpenSecrets is a web site published by the Center for Responsive Politics, “the nation's premier research
group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy,” according to its mission
statement.
For those readers who may not immediately remember the achievements of Elizabeth Warren, we’ll point out
that Warren was instrumental in creating Obama’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau--“a new regulatory
body that many finance sector interests spent heavily to oppose,” points out OpenSecrets.
Republicans further objected to installing Warren as leader of that new group. It was that fierce opposition
which convinced leading Democrats to recruit the lady as a major challenge to freshman U.S. Senator Scott
Brown (R-MA).
And that’s not all.
“Since launching her U.S. Senate campaign in August, Warren has pulled in more than $3.15 million--with a
whopping 57 percent of that sum coming from small-dollar donors who each contributed $200 or less,” states
OpenSecrets.
“According to research by the Center for Responsive Politics, Warren has raised just 3.5 percent of her war
chest, or $110,050, from interests in the finance, insurance and real estate sector,” added the web site.
That’s the ‘friend of Big Finance.’
All right, that may tell us much more about the real Elizabeth Warren. But what about Senator Brown?
“By contrast, the finance, insurance and real estate sector is Brown's No. 1 supporter,” points out
OpenSecrets.
“Since Brown jumped onto the national stage in 2009 when he began running to fill the Senate vacancy
created in the wake of Sen. Ted Kennedy’s death, Brown has raised about $23.6 million,” declares the web site.
And much of that massive sum has come from his close friends in Big Finance.
“According to the Center's research, Brown has relied on the finance, insurance and real estate sector for
about $1 out of every $8 he's collected,” continues OpenSecrets.
“The people and political action committees associated with the financial sector have given Brown $2.9 million
since 2009. That's 12.4 percent of his total war chest,” states the political and financial watchdog.
And then there’s Crossroads GPS...
“For its part, Crossroads GPS is not legally required to publicly disclose its donors, but its sister organization--a
super PAC known as American Crossroads--is. And American Crossroads has significant ties to the finance
sector and other wealthy business interests,” declares OpenSecrets.
Like what you're reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of The American Spark
e-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be
delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
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