The expensive and unscrupulous campaign to keep an anti-abortion Democrat in Congress
For several years, Popular Information has documented the incongruence between AT&T's stated values and their financial support for politicians behind abortion bans, anti-LGBTQ laws, and the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Last week, at the company's annual meeting, shareholders voted on a proposal to have AT&T produce a report explaining these inconsistencies. The board unanimously recommended that shareholders vote against the proposal. The results are in and, despite the board's opposition, 44% of AT&T shareholders voted in support of the proposal. While short of a majority, it is proof that an extraordinary number of AT&T's shareholders have significant concerns about the company's political activities. This is not a constituency that AT&T management can afford to ignore. Popular Information's reporting, slowly but surely, is breaking through. We want to redouble our efforts to hold AT&T and other powerful corporations accountable for their political activity. You can support this work with a paid subscription. To maintain our independence, Popular Information does not accept advertising. This newsletter only exists because of the support of readers like you. On September 24, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill to codify Roe v. Wade. The bill would preserve abortion rights for millions of women if, as expected, the Supreme Court overturns Roe in the coming weeks. It was opposed by 210 Republicans and one Democrat: Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX). Tonight, Cuellar faces a run-off election against Democratic challenger Jessica Cisneros, an immigration attorney, activist, and supporter of abortion rights. It is expected to be a close contest. In the March 2020 primary, Cuellar defeated Cisneros by a margin of 51.8% to 48.2%, securing the nomination. In the March 2022 primary, Cuellar received 48.7% to Cisneros' 46.6%. (A third candidate, Tannya Benavides, received the remaining votes.) Since neither candidate secured 50% of the vote, a run-off was scheduled for May 24. Tonight’s results is a case study in the power of incumbency. Cuellar has been in Congress since 2005 and his reelection campaign has attracted extensive support from wealthy donors, corporate PACs, and Democratic leadership. Will it be enough to convince Democratic voters to overlook Cuellar's policy positions? Since the March primary, an odd coalition of Super PACs, backed by a handful of very wealthy people, have spent millions on dishonest and misleading advertisements promoting Cuellar and attacking Cisneros. A Super PAC called Mainstream Democrats was established on February 10, 2022. The group's barebones website says it "was founded as the only Democratic group with the courage to consistently defend mainstream Democrats and defeat extreme candidates whose stated goal is 'to overthrow' the Democratic Party." Is Cuellar a mainstream Democrat? Cuellar opposes abortion rights but a recent poll found that 80% of Democrats think abortion should be legal in all or most cases. 93% of Democrats oppose overturning Roe. Cuellar also received an "A" rating from the NRA, an organization that adamantly opposes stricter gun laws, and 81% of Democrats support stricter gun laws. Nevertheless, in May, Mainstream Democrats spent over $750,000 in ads supporting Cuellar. These ads are designed to make Cuellar seem "mainstream" by misleading voters. For example, one ad by Mainstream Democrats bemoans that "women's rights [are] under attack by extremists" and claims that "Democrat Henry Cuellar makes it clear that he opposes a ban on abortion." new Cuellar ad funded by Mainstream Democrats PAC in #TX28 — his first ad that mentions women's rights as "under attack by extremists" and that he "opposes a ban on abortion." Cuellar was sole House D to vote against codifying Roe in 2021 (bill failed in Senate).
Major contributors to Mainstream Democrats include Reid Hoffman, the billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn, who donated $500,000 to the group. Another major contributor is Deborah Simon, heir to a shopping mall fortune, who donated $250,000. Simon is known as an adamant supporter of abortion rights and a significant donor to Planned Parenthood. Mainstream Democrats spending on the race has been dwarfed by spending from United Democracy Project, a new Super PAC created by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The name of the group, United Democracy Project, is ironic since AIPAC has endorsed 109 Republican members of Congress who voted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. AIPAC defended its endorsement of Republican objectors by saying it was laser-focused on America's relationship with Israel:
In April and May, United Democracy Project spent $1.85 million on ads supporting Cuellar and attacking Cisneros. None of these ads, however, mention Israel. Several ads, however, contain misleading attacks. One of the ads, for example, claims that Cisneros is "backed by groups" that support "cutting police spending." On the screen, however, only the words "Jessica Cisneros" and "cut police spending" appear. It's unclear what groups United Democracy Project is referring to since the only citation is FEC.gov, a government website that includes every political donation made to every candidate. This specious claim is then used to justify another United Democracy Project attack ad, which claims that Cisneros would cost Texas "thousands of jobs" because lower police funding would mean fewer jobs for police officers. All of this is a somewhat toned-down version of Cuellar's own attacks. Cuellar claims Cisneros "would defund the police." He makes these claims even though Cisneros "does not actually support defunding the police." Corporations take a sideMost major corporations have not weighed in on the leaked Supreme Court opinon that would overturn Roe. But numerous corporations have shown no reluctance supporting Cuellar in his primary campaign against Cisneros. For the 2022 campaign, more than one-third of the Cuellar campaign's $2.7 million war chest comes from corporate PACs. Cuellar recieves extensive support from the fossil fuel industry including the American Petroleum Institute ($1,000), Chevron ($10,000), Conoco Phillips ($11,000), Exxon Mobil ($5,000), Halliburton ($10,000), Hess ($15,000), Koch Industries ($8,500), Marathon Oil ($3,500), Marathon Petroleum ($7,500), Occidental Petroleum ($7,500), Phillips 66 ($5,000), Southern Company ($6,000), and US Energy ($5,000). Cuellar has a 50% lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters — the lowest of any House Democrat. He routinely opposes environmental legislation. Other corporate PAC donors to Cuellar include AT&T ($5,000), Comcast ($1,500), Dell ($5,000), Wendy's ($5,000), Toyota ($7,000), and Walmart ($2,500). Cisneros does not accept corporate PAC money. She has also signed the "No Fossil Fuel Money" pledge, "which prohibits candidates from accepting contributions over $200 from oil, gas, and coal industry executives, lobbyists, and political action committees." Democratic leadership takes a sideHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi has endorsed Cuellar, saying she supports all her incumbent members. He also has the backing of the second-most powerful Democrat in the House, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD). The third-ranking House Democrat, Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC), campaigned with Cuellar earlier this month. "We have a big-tent party, and if we’re gonna be a big-tent party, we got to be a big-tent party," Clyburn said, “This whole notion that you’ve got to agree with everybody on everything is pretty sophomoric to me.” After the Supreme Court opinion overturn Roe leaked, Cisneros called on Democratic leadership to recind their endorsements. "With the House majority on the line, [Cuellar] could very much be the deciding vote on the future of our reproductive rights and we cannot afford to take that risk," Cisneros said. Cisneros has won the support of six members of Congress, including Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). She is also backed by Emily's List, NARAL, the League of Conservative Voters, and the Texas AFL-CIO. |
Key phrases
Older messages
Major cinema chain brings the Big Lie to theaters nationwide
Monday, May 23, 2022
More than 18 months after the 2020 presidential election, the Big Lie — the discredited claim that Trump won but was the victim of voter fraud — lives on. The Big Lie has staying power because it has
Secrets and lies
Thursday, May 19, 2022
In the last month, Popular Information exposed Ron DeSantis' lies about elementary school math textbooks (prompting the Florida Department of Ed…
The man who could rig the 2024 election
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Pennsylvania Republicans have nominated State Senator Doug Mastriano to be the next governor. Mastriano is one of the most radical gubernatorial candidates ever to receive a major party nomination.
Supreme Court greenlights corruption
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
There are few meaningful limits remaining on money in politics. As a result, politics has become increasingly dominated by the wealthy. The average US Senator is a multi-millionaire. On Monday, the
The right's embrace of a deadly racist conspiracy theory
Monday, May 16, 2022
The "great replacement theory" can be traced back at least to Theodore G. Bilbo (D-MS), the brazenly racist US Senator who held office from 1935 to 1947. Bilbo, an antisemite who acknowledged
You Might Also Like
Are we going to see more nonprofit newsrooms team up?
Friday, April 26, 2024
PLUS: How Ben McCarthy built a Salesforce-focused media company with 400000 monthly readers ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Would you choose cohabitation over marriage?
Friday, April 26, 2024
Plus: Home Planet, Trudeau's plan to fight populism, and more. Each week, a different Vox editor curates their favorite work that Vox has published across text, audio, and video. This week's
The jeans we’re wearing this spring
Friday, April 26, 2024
If you miss skinny jeans ... ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Haunted by breaches, Microsoft says it’s ‘putting security above all else’
Friday, April 26, 2024
Bill payment company Doxo disputes FTC lawsuit | AI fuels hot streak at UW's Institute for Protein Design ADVERTISEMENT GeekWire SPONSOR MESSAGE: Science Firsthand: Learn how Bristol Myers Squibb
☕ Just like a movie
Friday, April 26, 2024
Francis Ford Coppola: the 'accidental hotelier.' April 26, 2024 Retail Brew It's Friday, and the economy's got the jitters. The combination of slowing GDP growth and continued inflation
My conversation with former Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO)
Friday, April 26, 2024
I sit down with recently retired Representative Ken Buck (R-CO). My conversation with former Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) By Isaac Saul • 26 Apr 2024 View in browser View in browser I'm Isaac Saul, and
Ums, an AI Election Tracker, and Clouds Under the Sea
Friday, April 26, 2024
Ten stories that have given us creative inspiration this week ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
LEVER TIME: Amazon Is Eating The Economy
Friday, April 26, 2024
In a landmark lawsuit filed last year by the Federal Trade Commission, the government accuses Amazon of long being engaged in illegal market behavior. LEVER TIME: Amazon Is Eating The Economy By Arjun
GeekWire Startups Weekly
Friday, April 26, 2024
News, analysis, insights from the Pacific NW startup ecosystem View this email in your browser Presented by CIBC Tech Moves: Seattle tech vet Dave Parker named CEO of Entrepreneurs' Organization
Language Bandits
Friday, April 26, 2024
Have you heard the buzz? Language Bandits By Caroline Crampton • 26 Apr 2024 View in browser View in browser Where The Language Changes Bathsheba Demuth | Granta | 25th April 2024 For a thousand miles