Heinrich the hypocrite

It is hardly a surprise to anyone that follows New Mexico (or national) politics that officially-speaking Sen. Martin Heinrich opposes so-called “dark money.” What this means in practice is people expressing their strongly-held views by giving to non-profit organizations (like Rio Grande Foundation) that provide research and express opinions about what happens in Washington and Santa Fe.

At the Rio Grande Foundation we differ on that professed position of Heinrich’s, but we also note that Heinrich is a hypocrite on the issue. As energy analyst Robert Bryce points out in a recent column  one of the most notable groups Heinrich aligns himself with, Rewiring America, is also a major “dark money”-funded organization. For example, Heinrich co-chairs the “electrification caucus” in the US Congress, a project with heavy involvement of Rewiring America.

As Bryce notes, “Rewiring America, which has about 40 employees, is among the most prominent members of this dark money network. The group doesn’t publish its budget or file a Form 990 (the Rio Grande Foundation does this). Instead, it is a sponsored project of the Windward Fund, a 501c3 non-profit that does not disclose its donors. Nor does it reveal how much it is giving to Rewiring America.”

The group DID recently hire failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacy Abrams to push its message though.