Sat, Jul 05 2008
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Published April 12, 2008 06:48 pm - Sen. Gary Nodler called me in mid-January and told me that he received some donations from political groups organized by Rex Sinquefield, the retired financial analyst who made news by creating and funding 100 political action committees. Joe Hadsall: Billionaire’s money makes way into politicians’ hands By Joe Hadsall Globe columnist Sen. Gary Nodler called me in mid-January and told me that he received some donations from political groups organized by Rex Sinquefield, the retired financial analyst who made news by creating and funding 100 political action committees. Nodler, a Joplin Republican, received the donations after the January reporting deadline, he said. He called to explain why I might see records of those donations elsewhere, before showing up in his committee fund-raising reports. A few days before the call, I wrote a column about Sinquefield’s 100 PACs and how they appeared to be dedicated to the issue of school choice, which is a theory of giving parents money from the state to fund personal decisions for their children’s education. Critics say the theory is simply a euphemism for vouchers, which take taxpayer money away from private schools. In that January column, I reported that Nodler, who is chair of the influential Senate Appropriations Committee, and speaker-elect Rep. Ron Richard, also a Joplin Republican, said they favored bringing such voucher bills up for debate. The crux was that both legislators held that view before the formation of Sinquefield’s committees. On the phone, Nodler said he knew why he was receiving money from the groups, even though he already demonstrated sympathy for the issue. “I suspect those donations are related to your column,” he said. Those donations showed up in Nodler’s April committee report, as he said they would: He reported $9,750 in donations from Sinquefield’s groups Missourians Supporting Teaching Excellence and Your School Your Choice. Of the 18 donors listed in his April report, 15 of them are regional branches of those two groups. Those groups don’t have much of a Web presence. A Google search yielded blogs created with the popular, free Blogspot site. Both blogs had similar — and in some cases, duplicate — entries and mailing addresses. But neither blog offered information on where their funds come from, whom their directors are or any other pertinent information. Sinquefield has long championed the issue of school choice through the Show Me Institute, of which he is the president. The institute is a think tank dedicated to researching free-market, business-like options for public policy. School choice is one of the institute’s pet issues. It has published research that advocates tax credits for parents who want to educate their children in schools other than their public school. According to reports from the Missouri Ethics Commission, Sinquefield’s groups MSTE, YSYC and Missourians Needing Educational Alternatives have given at least $136,200 to Missouri candidates since January. Fast forward to last week: Two representatives nearly came to blows after debating a measure that would have given state funding for special-needs students to switch schools. 
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