After spending his career going to the mat for special interests, it’s no surprise that the irresponsible Koch-funded front group American Future Fund is rushing to try and prop up lobbyist Jeff Gorell’s campaign. Whether it’s his opposition to increasing the minimum wage, support for a pledge that protects tax breaks for millionaires and big corporations, or allowing insurance companies to deny coverage of preventative health care for women, the Koch Brothers know they have a rubberstamp for their agenda in Gorell.
“As a professional puppet of special interests like Big Oil, lobbyist Jeff Gorell is getting propped up by the Koch Brothers because of his long career of stacking the deck for special interests and hurting Ventura county women and middle class families,” said Tyrone Gayle of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Unfortunately for Jeff Gorell, no amount of Koch Brothers ads will help him rewrite his well-documented record of putting special interests’ priorities first and Ventura County last.”
BACKGROUND:
Gorell Received $5,000 from Koch Industries PAC. In June 2014, Gorell received $5,000 from KochPAC, the political action committee of Koch Industries. [FEC.gov, 6/27/14]
Koch Brothers Announced $834,000 in Cable TV Time in Support of Jeff Gorell. “Less than 24 hours after I wrote in my previous post that conservative SuperPACs had yet to engage in Ventura County’s 26th Congressional District race comes word that the Koch Brothers-affiliated group the American Future Fund has reserved $834,000 in cable TV time to aid the campaign of Republican Jeff Gorell.” [Timm Herdt’s 95 Percent blog, Ventura County Star, 10/11/14]
2014: Charles and David Koch Serve as Chairman of the Board and CEO and Executive VP, Respectively, of Koch Industries. [Koch Industries website, accessed4/21/04]
2012: AFF Received 92 Percent of its Revenues from Organizations Connected to the Koch Brothers. “American Future Fund, a politically active nonprofit based in Iowa that reported spending more than $25 million in last year’s elections on ads and other communications benefiting Republicans, received more than 92 percent of its 2012 revenues from two organizations connected to Charles and David Koch.” [Opensecrets, 12/09/13]
FPPC Assessed $1 Million Fine Against Group that Used AFF to Funnel Koch Money into State Against Anti-Labor Proposition. “In a case seeking to unmask the murky multimillion-dollar trail of money pouring into state and national political campaigns, California’s political watchdog agency on Thursday announced the largest fine in its history for campaign reporting violations and ordered two political action committees to pay the state $15 million for failing to properly report the source of funds spent in the 2012 election… The California Fair Political Practices Commission called the two groups that will pay the $1 million fine ‘part of the ‘Koch Brothers Network’ of dark money political nonprofit corporations.’ The reference is to billionaire brothers Charles and David H. Koch, who have given millions to conservative causes across the country…The $15 million in payments ordered to California’s general fund stem from separate out-of-state contributions last fall that drew scrutiny from state regulators… — $4 million that went to the Iowa-based California Future Fund for Free Markets Yes on Proposition 32 through the American Future Fund, which received the money from the Center to Protect Patient Rights. That money also was not reported to the state.” [Associated Press, 10/24/13]
Gorell Voted Against Increasing the Minimum Wage. In April 2013, Gorell voted against AB10, which stated, “Existing law requires that, on and after January 1, 2008, the minimum wage for all industries be not less than $8.00 per hour. This bill would increase the minimum wage, on and after July 1, 2014, to not less than $9 per hour. The bill would further increase the minimum wage, on and after January 1, 2016, to not less than $10 per hour.” [California Assembly AB10 Vote; 9/12/13; California AB 10, Enacted 9/25/13]
Gorell Has Said He Would Repeal the Affordable Care Act. The Ventura County Star reported that Gorell said, “If given an opportunity to repeal it, I would do so.” [Ventura County Star, 5/8/14]
The Affordable Care Act Prevents Insurance Companies from Denying Coverage of Mammograms, Screenings for Cervical Cancer, Birth Control, and Other Preventive Health Care for Women. The Department of Health & Human Services notes that these preventive services for women are now covered by the law. [Department of Health & Human Services, 8/1/11]
Gorell Signed Americans For Tax Reform Pledge To Oppose Tax Increases on Millionaires. According to the ATR database, Gorell has signed the ATR Pledge, which binds him “to oppose any and all tax increases.” [ATR Database, accessed 8/08/14; ATR website, accessed 8/08/14]