MEDIA WINNER: Ed Lavandera

CNN senior nationwide correspondent Ed Lavandera uncovered how two Texas billionaires are propelling the state’s a ways-right political shift.

In a brand new CNN documentary unique, Deep in the Pockets of Texas, Lavandera traced the cash path between a small group of Texas billionaires and the state’s some distance-proper political shift.

On account of Texas’ campaign finance law, Texas billionaires, including Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, can underwrite remarkable sums for their chosen candidates, now and again providing a majority of their whole contributions.

“They don’t must win the election to have moved the needle in Texas,” Quorum File editor Scott Braddock instructed Lavandera.

“Let’s say you’re a Republican representative in the Texas House and also you get a neatly-funded challenger and that challenger is funded via a few of these West Texas billionaires, and, due to this fact, you have a tricky race — you’ll undertake some positions that you just in any other case may now not have adopted.”

“They power Republicans to the right, whether they win or lose,” Lavendera replied.

“That’s proper,” Braddock agreed.

These billionaires have additionally donated closely to races with extra of a nationwide impact. Wilks and his brother Dan Wilks provided about two-thirds of the funding for the Super PACs that backed Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) 2016 presidential marketing campaign and Dunn backed a $1 million loan that helped stable a chief win for Lawyer Basic Ken Paxton (R-TX), who spearheaded a lawsuit attempting to overturn the 2020 election and spoke at the Jan. 6, 2021 rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol.

Lavandera impressively uncovered how these families have been leveraging their wealth into enormous influence, in some way disclosing that “a handful of billionaires” may try this in a state of 30 million people.

Correction: This part has been updated to replicate that Dunn backed the mortgage to Paxton and the Wilks brothers donated to the Cruz Super PACs.

MEDIA LOSER: Charles Barkley

Charles Barkley needs us to disregard Saudi Arabia’s abysmal human rights file.

After admitting that he would possibly resign from TNT to join Saudi-backed LIV Golf, the NBA legend went after critics of the league, announcing they will have to center of attention on “civil rights right here in the US.”

“Everybody picks and chooses. I just assume it’s funny they’re extra worried about civil rights in Saudi Arabia, a spot 99.9 p.c of individuals in america have by no means been and all of a sudden they’re concerned about civil rights in Saudi Arabia,” he instructed sportscaster Dan Patrick on Sunday.

In all probability Americans are “involved” taking into account U.S. intelligence businesses have concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Any concern relating to the Saudi’s violation of human rights, on the other hand, gives Barkley “a giggle.”

“I say you don’t concern about civil rights of individuals right here in the US,” he mentioned. “However rapidly when guys start taking money you’re like ‘I’m extra involved about civil rights in Saudi Arabia.’ And that simply makes me snicker.”

It sounds as if unable to seize how one can be concerned or fascinated with more than one things directly, Barkley went on to suggest that American citizens worry concerning the U.S. “prior to we concern about what’s occurring in Saudi Arabia.”

Barkley has additionally already admitted that his decision to probably join the league is propelled through money he does not even want.

“Good day, I don’t want the money. I want to kinda — I want the kinda cash they throwing around although,” Barkley instructed Gary McCord.

Barkley additionally joked that he would “kill a relative” for $a hundred and fifty million while on The Next Spherical.

And whether or not or no longer Barkley joins as a broadcaster, he is set to play within the LIV Tour Pro-Am event at Trump National in Bedminster, New Jersey.

 

Links We Like:

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– Theodore R. Johnson, Bulwark

 

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