Steve Kagen's Changing Sources of Campaign Cash

The Green Bay Press Gazette offers a look at the WI-8 race, but I'm not sure exactly what it is they are reporting. First, they offer this:

Kagen said there is a difference between PACs that contribute to him versus other candidates.

"I haven't accepted any donations from big oil, big banks, big health insurance companies," Kagen told the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "I want many legs under the economic table, and that's small business."

And then later in the same article

His support from PACs in 2006 totaled $316,000 and was largely from groups within the health industry, the national party and those with strong Democratic ties such as labor groups, according to FEC records.

So they include a quote from Kagen saying he doesn't accept donations from "big health insurance companies" and they note that much of his 2006 PAC money came from groups in the "health industry." It's no wonder voters are confused. If you go to OpenSecrets.org, you can check the numbers for yourself.

The fact of the matter is that in the 2006 the PAC money was dwarfed by Kagen's self-financing. He contributed about $2.5 million of his own money, so it' not hard to see why $300,000 doesn't really make much of a difference.

In this cycle, however, things have definitely changed. The Press Gazette let's Kagen tell you that he is against "big oil, big banks, big health insurance" but instead of just taking him at his word, perhaps we should check his actions.

Kagen voted in favor of the stimulus, Cap and Trade, and the Obama health reform. So while he is apparently against "big health insurance" he doesn't have any problem with big government.

He also doesn't seem to have a problem with big labor. The Sunlight Foundation, which advocates for transparency in government, reports that the Labor sector alone has contributed over $200,000 to Kagen during this election cycle.

Berry Laker considers the same article and concludes the PG gave Kagen a pass. I'd like to disagree, but it' really hard to do so. At the very least, the article presents a confused picture of what is going on in Kagen's campaign. Voters really need to educate themselves if they want to have any hope of making the right decision in Novemeber.