Well, as it turns out, Jason Rae, one of five candidates for Chairperson of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, is now attacking me for exposing the ties between Thad Nation, the founder of consulting firm that he works for, Nation Consulting, and far-right political organizations, some of which are funded either directly or indirectly by the billionaire Koch Brothers.
Basically, Rae tried to claim on his personal Facebook page that I claimed that he’s a mole for the Koch Brothers, which isn’t what I actually claimed. What I actually claimed is this: First, Rae works for Nation Consulting, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based political consulting firm. Second, Nation Consulting is led by Thad Nation. Third, Thad Nation was the executive director of a group called Coalition for the New Economy (CftNE), according to a 2012 IRS 990 filing. Fourth, CftNE gave money to multiple right-wing organizations, some of which have been received funding either directly or indirectly by the Koch Brothers. Fifth, the fact that Rae works for Nation Consulting would represent at least an apparent conflict of interest if he were to be elected DPW Chair and remain employed by Nation Consulting. This is not a smear attack at all; it’s the cold hard truth about how Jason Rae’s employer, Thad Nation, has indirectly funded organizations that have run smear campaigns against Democrats and supported Republican candidates and causes.
Rae also stated that he doesn’t tolerate Democrats attacking other Democrats. I disagree with that idea, so as long as the attacks are valid, accurate, and constructive. For example, if I couldn’t attack other Democrats, I’d have little to talk about in regards to the politics of my home state of Illinois, given how morbidly corrupt the Illinois Democratic Party is, and how people like Rahm Emanuel and Mike Madigan are corporate hacks who are barely better than the Republicans and want to screw over hard-working Illinoisans at nearly every opportunity. Also, it’s quite hypocritical for someone like Rae to complain about Democrats attacking other Democrats, since Rae is a Democratic National Committee (DNC) member, and the Chairwoman of the DNC is Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who has openly attacked other Democrats over issues that are important to many progressives.
If there’s anyone waging a smear attack against anyone, it’s Jason Rae. In fact, he completely misrepresented what I said about his employer, Thad Nation of Nation Consulting, having indirectly given money to right-wing organizations that staunchly oppose Democratic candidates and progressive ideals. The fact that Rae can’t respond to my blog posts about his employer indirectly giving money to right-wing organizations without accusing me of smearing him and misrepresenting my blog posts proves to me that he does not have the temperament to be in a Democratic Party leadership position of any kind, let alone the state Democratic Party chair in a state that will likely decide control of both the White House and the U.S. Senate in 2016.
The Progressive Midwesterner 
That Jason Rae’s firm’s founder and senior partner gave Big Money to Koch-funded groups is a fact that Rae does not bother to deny. So, he changes the question, fabricating a charge you do not make.
Nothing wrong or illegal about Rae’s employer, Thad Nation of Nation Consulting LLC, making common cause with Koch brothers’-funded groups, except if Rae is running for the chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, which he is.
Nation Consulting is a corporate, insiders’ service club, exactly what the Dems do not need. In its webpage Nation Consulting brags about its access, writing in part, “Our team has worked on the ‘inside’ of the offices of Governors, Congressional members, and state agencies,” … and selling that access. See Government Relations – http://www.nationconsulting.com/strengths/
Hacks for hire.
Conflict of interest? I’d day conflict of mission, objective and aims, assuming one wants the Democratic Party to be a grassroots, progressive Party
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“Mr. Camp: I have read both your edited version of the second blog post, and the new post where you claim Jason Rae attacked you. Nowhere does Mr. Rae name you as the person or persons who are attacking him”
Mr. Foval- Your statement is correct. But you paint a false picture of what Jason Rae said. I’ll post it below. Rae portrays himself himself as a victim of false claims. The only false claims being made are from Jason Rae. Note- I read Rae’s FB page and I knew exactly who he was referring to. So did you.
False umbrage in the face of what’s really going on behind the DPW political curtain.
Rae’s comment: ”
Jason Rae
Yesterday at 1:13pm ·
This morning my secret was uncovered. After volunteering for more than 14 years as a party member and progressive activist, working on countless campaigns and issues, it was revealed I am a mole for the Koch brothers.
I just can’t help but laugh at these atrocious and outlandish lies that people are throwing in this campaign for DPW Chair. In reality I have no idea what any of this is about. It’s ludicrous. It’s insane and it’s sad.
Ask anyone who knows me. I’ve stayed out of the character attacks. But let me be clear as Party Chair and as a candidate for party chair I will not tolerate anyone who attacks our candidates and our leaders. I call on all my opponents to denounce this out and out smear attack. Or answer this question: Do you really believe I work for the Koch Brothers?
We are all Democrats, we are one party, debate is healthy. But let’s not forget in 28 days we will have one chair that will need to unify us and lead us to victory in 2016. That’s what I’m focusing on. I’m traveling the state laying out my vision and my detailed plans for how we win in 2016, 2018, and beyond.”
Really? That’s the response? False umbrage? Victim? High school style mocking?
This series clearly onnects the two DPW chair candidates and clearly demonstrates conflicts of interest?.
And this is Rae’s response?
Truth rains on the donkey; the blue paint gives way to stripes.
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Mr. Camp: I have read both your edited version of the second blog post, and the new post where you claim Jason Rae attacked you. Nowhere does Mr. Rae name you as the person or persons who are attacking him. You are now practicing in the lowest form of unprofessional and immature, ego-driven conduct by claiming victim status and asserting that Mr. Rae attacked you. Furthermore, your premise that Mr. Rae ‘has ties to the Koch Brothers’ has not at all been demonstrated by your edits, nor have you given evidence of a conflict of interest on Mr. Rae’s part. It is clear that you did not have journalistic ethics in mind when you started this mudslinging campaign. Why you would go even further to claim that Mr. Rae attacked you just boggles the mind. It is pretty clear that you are attempting to construct a false narrative about him, which in turn just discredits your own work in the eyes of the people who are reading your blog. If you truly wish to get it right, you should retract the inference of a conflict of interest unless you have some sort of evidence. Otherwise the result is a political hit job. My question for you really is this…what other candidate in this race are you working to have elected? Should you not be an objective outside observer and reporter? Or, are you just like all the other unethical bloggers out there who shoot first and ask questions later? Did you even attempt to contact Mr. Rae for his comments on your post? That’s what a well-disciplined professional journalist would do. Why not hold yourself to a higher standard than simple mudslinging on behalf of your preferred candidate? The way you have reacted to my note is disappointing, but not surprising. As someone who has been in the game a very long time, this is not the first time I have encountered someone who’s ego won’t allow them to admit that they are wrong. In a way you are behaving just as poorly as those whom you are criticizing, because you have chosen the very low road of the ‘victim’ role, when you know very well you initiated this barrage of negativity with your false narrative campaign against Mr. Rae. Again, I would challenge you to clean up your act and retract your posts linking Mr. Rae to the Koch Brothers,as you have done nothing but dig yourself a deeper hole. Your logic is flawed, and your evidence is wholly about a different person, not about Mr. Rae. What you are currently practicing in is character assassination. –Sincerely, Scott Foval
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