Obviously, we need campaign finance reform in this country generally, and in Virginia specifically – unless of course you think that a democracy thrives when super-rich individuals (often VERY far-right) and corporations (including polluters and other bad actors) get to have a gazillion times more “speech” than the average citizen – 99.9% of us, that is. Case in point: check out some of the leading big-money donors to Glenn Youngkin’s “Spirit of Virginia” PAC (and to the Youngkin for Governor campaign) over the past couple years, and ask yourself if you’re comfortable with any of this.
- Future of Education LLC ($1 million) – As VA Sen. Scott Surovell put it, “We need to deal with dark money LLC’s – Gov’s PAC has reported a $1,000,000 donation from an LLC called ‘Future of Education LLC,” which is not incorporated in VA and doesn’t show in any records search I can do – who owns it, who put the money in…” Also, as DPVA Press Secretary Liam Watson says, “Dark money epitomized: the day before Youngkin accepted $1M from an unknown LLC, an LLC of the same name was incorporated in Delaware (a hot spot for LLC registration bc no state income tax) with a registered agent, so the name of the $1M donor would be hidden from view.”
- Thomas Peterffy ($1 million) – This billionaire CEO backed Trump in 2016, giving him around $250k. Peterffy is also “a Hungarian immigrant who hates Socialism and hangs out at Mar-a-Lago” and who believes that “American youth have no idea what they are talking about, they are completely too prone to emotional outbursts.” In 2012, this guy ran a bizarre ad that “suggest[ed] that we are on a slippery slope to socialism with Barack Obama.”
- Ronald Cameron ($250k) – This guy’s REALLY nasty. According to The New Yorker’s July 2020 article: “Cameron, the head of Mountaire, which critics call a ‘brutal’ employer, is one of Trump’s top donors…The jobs at Mountaire rank as among the most dangerous and worst paid in America….The secretive titan behind one of America’s largest poultry companies, who is also one of the President’s top donors, is ruthlessly leveraging the coronavirus crisis—and his vast fortune—to strip workers of protections…”When an old friend told him he was gay, Cameron responded: ‘And I also know you’re going to Hell.’ He turned his back and walked away.” Horrible.
- Robert Hugin ($100k) – This guy “supported Donald Trump‘s presidential candidacy, was the finance chairman of Trump’s New Jersey campaign, and donated $100,000 in 2016 to the Trump Victory Fund to help get Trump elected. Hugin also acted as a delegate supporting Trump’s nomination at the 2016 Republican National Convention.”
- Stephen Wynn ($100k) – As the Democratic Party of Virginia explains: “Youngkin’s PAC, Spirit of Virginia, reported a $100,000 donation from Steve Wynn, who is currently facing charges for allegedly operating as an unregistered foreign agent for the Chinese government…Taking money from an alleged Chinese foreign agent is only the latest in Youngkin’s long relationship with the Chinese Communist Party. In 2005, his firm, Carlyle, acquired a stake in a company that sold munitions to the CCP, which they used to crack down on pro-democracy protesters.”
- Crow Holdings Pool LLC ($50k) – Founded by Trammell Crow, whose son, Harlan Crow, “is the Chairman of the Board of Crow Holdings, a private family business established to manage the capital of the Trammell Crow family.” See below for more on Harlan Crow.
- Harlan Crow ($40k) – As the Democratic Party of Virginia explains: “Over the last week, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has made headlines for his cozy relationships with billionaires and GOP eccentrics, including Harlan Crow, whose large collection of Third Reich memorabilia and Nazi ephemera has made him an especially troubling relationship of Justice Thomas’. But, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, Justice Thomas isn’t the only person Harlan Crow has been lavishing with his vast wealth. In the past few years, Governor Glenn Youngkin has accepted at least $40,000 in donations from the GOP mega-donor and Nazi curio collector.”
A fine bunch, huh? But wait, you say, just because horrible people donate shit-tons of money doesn’t mean that Youngkin himself is horrible, right? I mean, uh, ok, suuuuuure. 😉 Let’s put it this way; I don’t often agree with former Governor and Senator George “Felix Macacawitz” Allen (R), but he’s absolutely right when he says, “You can tell a lot about people by the folks they stand with.” And in the case of Glenn Youngkin, if he doesn’t feel comfortable standing with people like the ones listed above, he can simply return their money, denounce them, etc. But of course he won’t do that, because he’s clearly got no problem with the Nazi memorabilia guy, the evil CEO who’s working “ruthlessly” to “strip workers of protections”; etc. And that really says it all about Glenn Youngkin.
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