Well, <a href=\"/article-19515-issue-of-the-week-national-voucher-group-meddles-in-milwaukee-democratic-primaries.html\" target=\"_blank\">I predicted it.</a> <br /><br />Well-funded, national voucher groups tend to dump huge sums of money into local races after traditional campaign finance reporting deadlines so that the influx of cash will escape scrutiny.<br /><br />And it happened again this week when the Republican-led, pro-voucher group <a href=\"http://www.federationforchildren.org/\" target=\"_blank\">American Federation for Children</a> just reported spending a whopping $101,100.13 in five Democratic primaries to be held on Aug. 14.<br /><br />AFC is headed by <a href=\"http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=The_American_Federation_for_Children\" target=\"_blank\">Amway heiress and Republican activist Betsy De Vos</a> and has ties to ALEC and the Walton (Wal-Mart) family. It lists one of its senior advisors as <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Jensen\" target=\"_blank\">Scott Jensen</a>. You know, the disgraced-former-Republican-lawmaker-turned-lobbyist Scott Jensen.<br /><br />Did Betsy De Vos and Scott Jensen just become Democrats? If not, why is AFC so interested in these Democratic candidates? (<a href=\"http://www.thenation.com/blog/162613/right-wing-billionaires-invest-wisconsins-recall-elections-save-school-privatization-age#\" target=\"_blank\">Things that make you go hmmm…</a>)<br /><br />AFC's spending is in the form of independent expenditures, which means that the candidates don't have to list it on their campaign finance reports. And AFC is free to do whatever it wants with its money.<br /><br />Its beneficiaries are:<br /><br /> <ul> <li><strong>Elizabeth Coggs</strong>, candidate for the 6th Senate District: $10,606.41 plus $2,000 for get out the vote efforts</li> </ul> <ul> <li><strong>Millie Coby</strong>, candidate for the 10th Assembly District: $10,552.34 plus $2,000 for GOTV</li> </ul> <ul> <li><strong>Jason Fields</strong>, candidate for the 11th Assembly District: $21,685.71 plus $2,000 for GOTV</li> </ul> <ul> <li><strong>Tracey Dent</strong>, candidate for the 17th Assembly District: $13,797.52 plus 2,000 for GOTV</li> </ul> <ul> <li><strong>Jarett Fields</strong>, candidate for the 18th Assembly District: $25,458.15 plus $11,000 on GOTV and direct mail</li> </ul> <p><br />This arrives on the heels of about $12,000 already invested in these races.</p> <p>Why do you think the AFC is spending six figures on these five (allegedly Democratic) candidates? I'm willing to bet that it isn't because the candidates have promised to support public schools over voucher schools.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> </p>
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