Koch Brothers gunning for Amendment 4, Florida Hometown Democracy ... by gimleteye

If there ever was a question of confused political agendas, it is the failure of The Tea Party, or any party for that matter, to speak up on Amendment 4, the single and once-in-a-lifetime measure to give Floridians a chance to express at the ballot box their disapproval of the special interest agenda of Growth Gone Wild that ran the Florida economy off the rails. Instead, a last minute, last ditch effort to thwart Amendment 4 is raising millions, if not tens of millions, against the ballot referendum right now. Donors include the Koch Brothers, whose principal aim is to reduce environmental regulation of their polluting industries that generate billions in private profit. The Orlando Sentinel picks up the scent of Koch money in Florida: worth a read here.Libertarian law firm to challenge electioneering law

The Institute for Justice, a Virginia-based libertarian law firm that’s received funding from the conservative Koch Foundation, is about to file a federal-court challenge to Florida’s new electioneering law, the group announced Tuesday.

Two attorneys for the group, and three Florida residents who say they want to buy a radio ad to oppose the so-called “Hometown Democracy” amendment on the Nov. 2 ballot, will hold a press conference in Tallahassee Wednesday morning to announce the lawsuit, according to a release.

The group complains that, under an electioneering law passed by the Legislature last spring, people who want to spend money to support or oppose a candidate, ballot amendment or other political issue must register with the state and disclose the identity of contributors. A previous version of the law was tossed out last year by a federal district judge as an unconstitutional restriction on free speech.

According to the release, the lawsuit marks the launch of the Institute for Justice’s Citizen Speech Campaign, “a nationwide effort to reclaim full First Amendment protection for grassroots political speech.”

The Koch Family Foundation, run by brothers Charles and David Koch who own Kansas-based Koch Industries, funded the Cato Institute and other liberatrian groups. The brothers, especially David Koch, have also given heavily to the Tea Party movement as well as Americans for Prosperity, which is spending heavily on behalf of Republican candidates nationwide.