-- by Mary Bottari and Sara Jerving

The fossil fuel industry has paid a hefty price for the privilege of framing the political discourse about America's energy future. Hundreds of millions have flowed into campaign coffers from energy companies attempting to purchase complete freedom to drill, frack, and burn. Huge "dark money" groups, the Koch's, Karl Rove, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, join dozens of oil and gas industry associations in pouring money into television ad campaigns demanding "energy independence," while trashing wind and solar.

Press Release: The Center for Media and Democracy is joining with more than fifty other organizations to address two critical threats to our democratic system: the distorting effect of money in U.S. elections and the wave of efforts to make it harder for Americans to vote. Under the banner "Money Out, Voters In" the organizations announced that they would be jointly working to mobilize after Election Day to challenge dark money in elections and restore Americans' voting rights.

Although the Einhorn Family Foundation admitted to being the "private family foundation" behind the controversial "Voter Fraud is a Felony!" billboards that recently appeared in neighborhoods of color in Milwaukee and two Ohio cities, news broke Wednesday they secured the funds for similar billboards in 2010 from the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation, a major funder of right-wing organizations that push the voter fraud myth.