Support Initiative 168
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Editor,
Petitions are circulating to put Initiative 168 on the November ballot. This “Sunshine in Political Spending Act” is “to bring integrity back to Montana politics through transparency and accountability of political contributions and expenditures …”
I-168 would eliminate “dark money,” which is unlimited and unidentified campaign money fueling secret organizations which often circulate untrue information against candidates. It is a tool of both parties, so this is a bi-partisan issue.
Some of these secret organizations exist only with a post office box address and were used to attack a number of candidates for public office in Montana in 2012. It is a disastrous result of the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in favor of Citizens United.
A federal and state election law attorney in Terre Haute, Ind., shepherded Citizens United through the U.S. Supreme Court. This decision gave him the opportunity to interfere in 60 election-related cases around the country including Montana.
A Montana attorney with close connections to American Traditions Partnership, an organization that churned out massive false propaganda, teamed with the Indiana attorney to successfully overturn Montana’s Campaign Finance Law. This created an uncontrollable mechanism for the secret organizations, fueled by unidentified “dark money,” to circulate untrue information against a number of candidates in 2012.
Individuals have been fooled into supporting these actions as “freedom of speech.”
Issuing slanderous misinformation in attacks against a candidate is abuse of free speech. It has enabled a leadership that attempts to intimidate into subjection legislators of its clique. This is the sort of subversion we read about in other countries.
To end this form of corruption, support the petition drive to put Initiative 168 (I-168) on the November ballot. While it does not go far enough, it will let our legislators know that we insist on honesty, transparency, and reasonable campaign finance laws. Hopefully the legislature will create reporting guidelines and move on to set limits on what individual candidates can spend in election campaigns.
Give notice to our legislators in the 2014 session that we want legislation for transparent campaign financing. Get information and a petition from http://stopdarkmoney.com.
Mimi Milheim
Dayton
