Popular Information - Taking it to the Banks
Yesterday's newsletter incorrectly reported that Attorney General Merrick Garland had declined to prosecute former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for lying to Congress. The initial decision was made in January 2020 by Attorney General Bill Barr. Popular Information relied on a report from Government Executive that said the decision was made during the Biden Administration. That report, and a similar report from the Associated Press, was wrong and has subsequently been corrected. This doesn't mean, however, that Garland's view of Ross' conduct is irrelevant. Barr's decision is not binding on Garland and Garland has the authority to prosecute Ross. But despite Barr's politicization of the Department of Justice, Garland has shown substantial deference to Barr's decisions. We can't promise you that Popular Information will never make mistakes. But we can promise that, when we do, we will own up to it and issue a prominent correction. We believe in accountability, and that includes holding ourselves accountable. A member of the House Republican leadership who, earlier this year, advised his party to rebuff support from corporate PACs has subsequently accepted tens of thousands in corporate PAC donations. Congressman Jim Banks (R-IN) is the chairman of the influential Republican Study Committee (RSC), a caucus of conservative House members that includes most of the Republican caucus. Part of the job of the RSC is to provide strategic advice to help its 153 members get reelected. So when many RSC members faced a backlash for voting to overturn the election on January 6, they turned to Banks for answers. Banks, who is a close ally of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), laid out his political game plan in a March 30 memo. Banks' overall message was for Republicans to continue to align themselves with Trump, writing that the party should "hug the agenda that differentiated President Trump," including "a hard line on immigration," "opposition to China," and "anti-wokeness." Banks argued that these positions will cement Republicans as the "Party of the Working Class." But what about the corporate PACs that were pledging to cut off support for Republican objectors? Banks was dealing with the issue himself because he objected to the certification of the Electoral College. In his memo, Banks suggested that Republicans should repudiate corporate support and use the issue to attack Democratic opponents.
Banks' memo received a floodofpress attention. During an April 11 appearance on Fox News, Banks bragged about his fundraising success after "moving away" from corporate PAC donations.
A website set up by Banks, Working Class GOP, highlights a Tucker Carlson segment where Carlson praises Banks for calling for the party to distance itself from corporate America. Banks' campaign finance filings, however, tell a different story. FEC data compiled by End Citizens United and provided to Popular Information, show that, since authoring the memo, Banks has accepted $49,000 from corporate PACs. Since April 1, Banks has received corporate PAC money from L3Harris Technologies ($10,000), BAE Systems ($5,000), Lockheed Martin ($2,000), General Dynamics ($2,000), Booz Allen Hamilton ($1,000), and Duke Energy ($1000), among others. One simple step to increase the vaccination rateWith the highly contagious Delta variant spreading rapidly in areas with low vaccination rates, there is renewed interest in convincing more people to get vaccinated. According to a new poll, a significant portion of the unvaccinated population (24%) could be convinced to get vaccinated if they received paid time off to receive the vaccine. Giving workers paid time off is much more effective than other tactics including celebrity endorsements or community outreach. This finding is consistent with a Kaiser Family Foundation survey from June which found that workers that received paid time off were much more likely to have been vaccinated. "Three-quarters of those who got paid time off say they’ve received at least one dose of the vaccine compared to about half (51%) of those who did not have this benefit," the survey found. On April 21, recognizing that concerns about missed work are a barrier for many people, President Biden called on "every employer in America to offer full pay to their employees for any time off needed to get vaccinated and for any time it takes to recover from the after-effects of vaccination." Companies with less than 500 employees are eligible for a tax credit "to provide full pay for any time their employees need to get a COVID-19 vaccination or recover from that vaccination." Larger companies, however, are on the honors system. But, as Popular Information reported in May, many major employers are not providing paid time off to get vaccinated or recover from any side effects. CVS, for example, is "is not offering additional paid time off for vaccination." A CVS pharmacist told Popular Information that the “company made it very difficult to figure out if they offered additional time off for the vaccine,” describing CVS’s lack of support as “extremely disappointing.” Some local governments are making paid time off mandatory. Workers in the City of Los Angeles, for example, are "entitled to paid time off to get vaccinated for COVID-19, including traveling to and from the appointment, as well as recovering from the side effects of vaccination, if it prevents the employee from being able to work or telework." On Monday, Popular Information reported that Lockheed Martin had become the top corporate donor to Republicans who voted to overturn the election. A few hours later, Lockheed Martin was trending on Twitter. On Tuesday, Popular Information’s reporting was picked up by the New York Times. This is a small, scrappy newsletter with a demonstrated ability to hold powerful corporations accountable. With your help, we can do even more. You can support this work with a paid subscription. If the cost of this newsletter ($6/month or $50/year) would create any kind of financial strain, please stay on this free list. But, if you can afford it, consider becoming a paid subscriber. |
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Department of Injustice
Tuesday, July 20, 2021
During the Trump administration, numerous officials flouted the law to advance their ideological agenda. Now that Trump is out of office, will any of them be held accountable? It's not looking good
Lockheed Martin is now the top corporate donor to GOP objectors
Monday, July 19, 2021
In the first six months of 2021, Lockheed Martin has already donated to 53 members of Congress who voted on January 6 to overturned the election results. The defense contractor has donated to more GOP
A strategy, not a stunt
Friday, July 16, 2021
To demonstrate their support for Trump's false claims about voter fraud, Republican elected officials in Texas are determined to make it harder to vote. There is no evidence that voter fraud is a
How corporations give Republicans a massive financial advantage in state politics
Friday, July 16, 2021
Over the last decade, public corporations have given Republicans at the state level a financial advantage that exceeds $200 million, according to new research provided exclusively to Popular
The obscure foundation funding "Critical Race Theory" hysteria
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
Critical Race Theory (CRT), once a little-known academic concept, is now at the center of the national political discussion. CRT is discussed incessantly on Fox News. It is featured in campaign
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