It’s called the information war, and the greedy, radically left and failure-ridden teacher unions get it. And so they spend a lot of money effectively and put troops on the ground. Republicans and conservatives need to do the same. Here’s Jason Hart at Watchdog.org (with a h/t to The Daily Signal):
The 2015 American Federation of Teachers annual report shows a left-wing political machine humming on all cylinders — with teachers buying the gas.
For the fiscal year ending June 30, the union reported $37.6 million in political activity and lobbying expenditures, a $12.7 million increase from the previous year.
Even more political spending was tucked away elsewhere in AFT’s annual U.S. Department of Labor filing, reported as “Contributions, Gifts and Grants,” “General Overhead” or “Representational Activities.”
AFT paid union president Randi Weingarten, one of the nation’s most prominent “progressive” activists, a total of $497,118. The union reported only 2 percent of her time as political activity.
Other expenditures suggest AFT’s decision to endorse Weingarten’s friend Hillary Clinton for president — a move that angered many AFT members — had been made long before it was announced in July.
AFT donated $250,000 to the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation in February, $125,000 to Clinton Global Initiative in April and another $125,000 to Clinton Global Initiative in May. In December, AFT paid Clinton-allied opposition research group American Bridge 21st Century $100,000.
The American Bridge payment was reported as a political expense. The payments to the scandal-ridden Clinton family nonprofits were not.
Read more: Watchdog.org
Image credit: www.watchdog.org — photo caption: “CASHING IN: AFT president Randi Weingarten was paid $497,000 last year.”
