Ga. House speaker aims regulations at 'pissed off' activists

Woodstock resident Jack Staver says he's not surprised House Speaker David Ralston is gunning for him and other activists.

Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, is pushing for more transparency into who funds tea party groups and other wildcat activists by requiring them to register and disclose their contributions and spending . That's what candidates and political action committees do in Georgia. Requiring some transparency into the doings of these groups levels the playing field, he said.

Georgia House Speaker David Ralston wants to see more transparency brought to activist groups that get involved in state politics.

Credit: Chris Joyner

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Credit: Chris Joyner

But Staver, who has his hands in several conservative forums and social media outlets, says he has nothing to report. He's running on frustration more than donations, he said.

"The reason this is all happening is people are pissed off," he told me. Yet those websites that track back to Staver and his associates carry prominently displayed "donate" buttons. 

Should activists be forced to say who funds their efforts? Read more on the efforts to regulate "dark money" politics here.