Big donor just wants to serve Man
by Tom Sullivan
We're not exactly envious of the state of Oklahoma where Charlie Pierce ends his regular peek into the Laboratories of Democracy. Let's just say there's some serious experimentin' he's missed going on in the Tarheel State. A major donor Republican donor earlier this week put a fountain pen to his temple and told North Carolina's GOP legislators that if he doesn't get the tax and spending cuts he wants, their $25,000 donation gets it:
Raleigh businessman Bob Luddy, who chairs the board of the conservative Civitas Institute think tank and is an influential financial supporter of conservative candidates, emailed a sharp critique of the House budget to House Republicans, who are in the majority.
Luddy complained that the budget advancing to a major vote on Thursday does not include new tax cuts and extends tax breaks for specific industries. He called the spending plan too “liberal” and said he’s decided to withold his planned, annual donation to the House Republicans’ campaign committee.
Posting on the Civitas web site, Luddy wrote:
I had planned to donate $25,000 this year to the House Republican Caucus to help re-elect a conservative super-majority.
Unfortunately, after seeing the $1.3 billion in additional spending and no across the board tax relief in the proposed house budget I had to reconsider.
Today, I decided to give the $25,000 intended for the House Caucus to Americans for Prosperity NC to fight the Liberal House spending plan.
It's not as if Luddy phoned in an order for legislation drafted to his specifications the way Michael Eisenga did in Wisconsin. That wealthy donor recruited a state lawmaker to write a bill that would lower his child support payments. No, Luddy, who owns a $300 million heating and ventilation company and chairs a chain of charter schools, was slightly more subtle.
"Special interests" really get under this deluxe, extra-special donor's skin, the Raleigh News and Observer reported:
He added that his own involvement isn’t based on self-interest. “I don’t want anything from them except good government,” he said. “You won’t see me advocate for anything beyond better education, lower taxes and good government.”
Luddy the Benevolent just wants To Serve Man.
Calling Luddy's maneuver "borderline illegal," the Charlotte Observer's editorial board wrote:
It’s no secret that money has always talked loudly in politics. But thanks to rollbacks in campaign finance laws, along with the Supreme Court’s ill-advised Citizens United ruling, wealth has as big of an influence as ever – regardless of party. Luddy’s outburst this week is a reflection of how emboldened big donors have become.
No kidding.