Wisconsin Sunshine Group Exposed for Left-Wing Bias

Last weekend at Fighting Bob Fest, a left-wing get together in Madison, Mike McCabe of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign spoke to the progressive crowd about the perils of money in politics, lambasting corporate dollars and the Koch brothers. McCabe even alleged the onset of fascism in Wisconsin because of the “criminal enterprise” that is our political system. McCabe told the crowd:

You can’t tackle the jobs problem, the budget problem, the tax problem without tackling the first problem. Money in politics. It is corrupt. It is institutionally corrupt.

But just two days after decrying evil that is money in politics, McCabe and his organization the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign released their spending figures from this summer’s recall campaigns.

And what did they find?

A review of total spending by the outside groups, candidates, state parties, recall committees and two legislative leadership committees found Democrats outspent Republicans $23.4 million to $20.5 million.

That’s right, Republicans and conservative groups were outspent by Democrats and liberal groups by $3 million. Of those outside groups “hijacking” our elections that spent more than $1 million dollars, three of the six were left-wing groups. And the biggest spender in the recall elections? None other than the big-labor conglomeration We Are Wisconsin, which spent a whopping $10.7 million to win two state senate seats.

So where is the outrage?

The truth is, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign is no stranger to big money themselves, receiving a total of $216,000 in grants from left-wing foundations like George Soros’ Open Society Institute, the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation, the Massachusetts-based Proteus Fund, and the Wisconsin-based Brico Fund and Evjue Foundation.

In 2009, McCabe defended taking Soros money saying he couldn’t advance the “personal political agenda of Mr. George Soros.”

Mike McCabe and the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign’s attempt to follow the money in politics and packaging it neatly on a well-managed website is doing the public a service. But the hypocrisy of the organization and it’s leader deserves to be exposed.

When will Mike McCabe condemn the big money spent on the Left as well as the Right? Any chance McCabe will mention We Are Wisconsin’s name along with the Koch Brothers at the next Fighting Bob Fest when decrying big spenders? Perhaps Mike McCabe would condemn the political donations of his donor George Soros, who in 2004 spent $24 million and in 2008 spent $5.1 million in political donations?

No, we can only expect more hypocrisy.