Every Republican knows who George Soros is, right? But have as many Democrats ever heard of the 85 Fund from the Koch Brothers Freedom Works? Or, the new king of dark money, the CPI, the Conservative Partnership Institute?
Trump’s criminally charged former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, runs the CPI along with Jim Demint. He’s the former South Carolina senator who started the Tea Party.
Remember the Tea Party? Those were all those angry white folks who hated Obama for spending so much money. And then they quietly went away as Trump added $8 trillion to the debt.
The CPI created the Election Integrity Network, which has dumped tons of misinformation online about alleged voter fraud. And they hold these weird summits with GOP stars like Marjorie Taylor Greene, and they have a video production studio that creates propaganda for Newsmax and PragerU.
Dark Money: A Non-Profit?
The Conservative Partnership Institute is tax-exempt, illegally filing as a non-profit. They claim to be nonpartisan but notice the word conservative in their name.
And they refuse to disclose who their donors are. Their donors are giving them tens of millions of dollars.
They are buying up property in D.C. close to the capital at an alarming rate. Using LLCs to do this. They’re not even hiding it.
They’re calling it Patriots Row. They bought a luxury hunting and fishing lodge on the Maryland shore to whine and dine all those rich donors.
The CPI’s goal is simplest: To gain power and destroy the institutions that hold democracy together.
They are pushing Trump’s big lie. And that’s why 70% of Republicans still believe the 2020 election was stolen.
They’re also getting state legislators to pass voter integrity laws, which means they’ll have the power to toss out any election results they don’t like.
They’re just getting started. The CPI is creating a bunch of MAGA organizations, such as the America First Legal Foundation. Stephen Miller runs that. He’s the guy who thought it was a great idea to separate children from their families at the border.
Yes, George Soros gives a lot of money to Democrats. But seven of the top 10 donors in the last midterms gave to Republicans.
The Conservative Partnership Institute is going to make sure that money counts. The MAGA thing will not go away. They are doing everything they can to destroy democracy and will continue until they get their way. It’s imperative that we also continue endlessly fighting for democracy.