January/February 1996 Issue

He Who Has the Gold Rules

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“You pay to go to GOPAC.”
–Suzy Katt, Golden Rule, on getting to Gingrich

“Every American ought to have an opportunity to belong to [an MSA] system.”
–Newt Gingrich on Golden Rule’s MSAs

Golden Rule has been betting big on the GOP for the past few years, and they’re getting ready to cash in their chips. The company is one of Gingrich’s largest donors, giving more than $200,000 to his various enterprises.

Golden Rule’s total political donations rose from $81,000 in 1989-90 to $277,000 in 1991-92, to a whopping $1,069,000 in 1993-94.

Here are some of Golden Rule’s bigger gifts in the last election cycle:

  • Republican Party soft money: $524,000
  • Campaign America (Bob Dole): $30,000
  • Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), early champion of MSAs: $24,600
  • William V. Roth (R-Del.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee: $10,000

Golden Rule has also financed lobbyists and “research” organizations that promote MSAs:

  • Council for Affordable Health Insurance: $100,000/year
  • National Center for Policy Analysis: $60,000/year
  • Lobbyist Robert Thompson: $250,000+

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We need your help. We’re halfway through our Summer Membership Drive, and only $35,000 toward our $200,000 goal. But there’s good news: This week only, every donation will be doubled, up to $50,000, thanks to a generous reader.

That’s twice the impact for intrepid reporting that peels back the layers to publish the truth—and the context you need to break it all down. It’s twice the fuel for investigations on voting rights and justice, critical in this midterm election year. And it’s twice the power for exposing the chaos and corruption of a White House trying to control the narrative.

This is a pivotal moment in our nation, with democracy on the line, and we can only do this work because readers like you step up. Every donation, of any amount, makes a difference here. And every donation will be doubled.

We cannot do this work without you. Join the fight. Double your donation to defend democracy.

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