That Washington
DSCC: Koch Solicitation was a "Staff Error."
Sen. Patty Murray's office referred PubliCola to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee about the frankly hilarious story we published late yesterday: Sen. Murray, chair of the DSCC, had solicited funds from Koch Industries, Inc., the firm that was demonized by Democrats like Murray for taking advantage of the Citizens United ruling to donate unlimited amounts of money to Tea Party causes.
Responding to Koch's biting letter about Murray's chutzpah for asking Koch to contribute money, the DSCC says the money request, which included a follow-up voice mail from Sen. Murray, was a mistake.
Murray, who was targeted by post-Citizens United secret donors during her 2010 reelection bid through groups such as Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS, co-sponsored the DISCLOSE Act, which was aimed at exposing groups like Rove's and Koch. (For more on Citizens United and Koch, start here .)
In the 2010 election season, Koch backed a nonprofit called Americans for Prosperity that funded Tea Party candidates nationally—and, as PubliCola first reported, also funded a conservative slate in Washington State's 2010 state legislative races. Democrats complained that the group reported its donations late and accused the group of failing to disclose all its funding.
I called Murray's office yesterday to ask what she was thinking. [pullquote]Why would she solicit money from a group that A) Backed the conservative Tea Party and B) She was trying to rein in by backing legislation in response to their donations?[/pullquote]
The DSCC just sent me their response to Koch's letter, which came from Koch government affairs director Phil Ellender.
Ellender himself has contributed to both Democrats and Republicans, including George W. Bush, Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), then-Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). However, most of Ellender's money—$36,250—has gone directly to Koch's political committee, which gives overwhelmingly to the GOP ($1.1 million in the 2010 cycle vs. $112,500, according to OpenSecrets.org ).
The DSCC letter to Ellender is about as snarky as Ellender's letter to Sen. Murray .
Editorializing for second here: Funny letter, but staff error? Weak.
Responding to Koch's biting letter about Murray's chutzpah for asking Koch to contribute money, the DSCC says the money request, which included a follow-up voice mail from Sen. Murray, was a mistake.
Murray, who was targeted by post-Citizens United secret donors during her 2010 reelection bid through groups such as Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS, co-sponsored the DISCLOSE Act, which was aimed at exposing groups like Rove's and Koch. (For more on Citizens United and Koch, start here .)
In the 2010 election season, Koch backed a nonprofit called Americans for Prosperity that funded Tea Party candidates nationally—and, as PubliCola first reported, also funded a conservative slate in Washington State's 2010 state legislative races. Democrats complained that the group reported its donations late and accused the group of failing to disclose all its funding.
I called Murray's office yesterday to ask what she was thinking. [pullquote]Why would she solicit money from a group that A) Backed the conservative Tea Party and B) She was trying to rein in by backing legislation in response to their donations?[/pullquote]
The DSCC just sent me their response to Koch's letter, which came from Koch government affairs director Phil Ellender.
Ellender himself has contributed to both Democrats and Republicans, including George W. Bush, Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), then-Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). However, most of Ellender's money—$36,250—has gone directly to Koch's political committee, which gives overwhelmingly to the GOP ($1.1 million in the 2010 cycle vs. $112,500, according to OpenSecrets.org ).
The DSCC letter to Ellender is about as snarky as Ellender's letter to Sen. Murray .
Dear Phil:
Thank you for your genuine, heartfelt concern about our recent solicitation and your request for clarification. Indeed, the form letter and follow-up solicitation you received was a staff error.
However, the bigger and more troubling mistake is the long political history of your employer, the Koch Brothers. As a (former?) Democrat, perhaps your time would be better spent looking into their efforts to privatize Social Security or their opposition to expanding the children's health insurance program. Or maybe, you can post a list of all of the anonymous contributions they have made to right-wing smear campaigns across the country. If you'd like to share voicemails from all the shady groups asking you for millions of dollars, we'd happily listen to those as well.
So, I write to make it clear that your invitation was an error and has been rescinded.
Sincerely,
Guy Cecil
Executive Director
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
Editorializing for second here: Funny letter, but staff error? Weak.
