SAM ADAMS Alliance

Just promoted to primary and uber, crypto

odom prime mover; key in early catalyst of blog, twitter social networks to kickstart TP

---WIKI WIMPS 8 22<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Sam_Adams_Alliance">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Sam_Adams_Alliance</a>=spn dir:Yvonne Ralsky
executive director
<a class="orglink" href="mailto:info@samadamsalliance.org" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">info@samadamsalliance.org</a>400 West Erie
Suite 407
Chicago, IL 60654
Phone: (312) 920-0080
Fax: (312) 920-0090Alex Brant-Zawadzki Become a fan Journalist, Researcher, Politico, Student, Scallywag
Dawn Teo 
Anatomy of the Tea Party Movement: Sam Adams Alliance
Posted: 03/18/2010 5:12 am EDT Updated: 05/25/2011 <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Samuel Adams was the brewer and patriot who, in 1773, ginned up a mob of Bostonians dressed as Native Americans which conducted <a href="http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/teaparty.htm" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">history's original Tea Party</a>. The president of Sam Adams Alliance is <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/john-tsarpalas/4/ba/b24" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">John Tsarpalas</a>, former executive director of the Illinois State Republican party. Eric O'Keefe, SAA's <a href="http://action.samadamsalliance.org/popView.php?Table=Newsletters&Prefix=Newsletter&ID=35" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">chairman</a> and <a href="http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Eric_O'Keefe" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">CEO</a>, is a former executive director of the National Libertarian Party. He once worked for Citizens for Congressional Reform (<a href="http://www.michiganlp.org/Past%20Newsletters/Michigan%20Libertarian%20Vol%2020%20(BIB%201.1)%201991%20May-%20June.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">pdf</a>), a project of David Koch's Citizens for a Sound Economy. Along with noted Libertarian financier Howard Rich, O'Keefe sits on the board of directors of Americans for Limited Government.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Shortly before online activist Eric Odom helped kick-start the Tea Party movement, he was new media director for Sam Adams Alliance. This put him in charge of (among other things) setting up <a href="http://taxdayteaparty.com/2009/11/our-statement-about-tea-party-patriots/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">websites</a>, coordinating <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=69428711302" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Facebook groups</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/libertyalliance" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">managing</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/taxdayteaparty" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Twitter</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/blogivists" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">accounts</a> and other social networking tasks. Odom's first known acts as a Tea Partier were to set up the <a href="http://officialchicagoteaparty.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">OfficialChicagoTeaParty.com</a> site and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=152052919129" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Facebook</a> pages within hours of Rick Santelli's February rant, then spreading word through Twitter, initially utilizing #TCOT, a Twitter list and hashtag for <a href="http://www.kithbridge.com/tcot/index.php/about-the-list" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Top Conservatives on Twitter</a>.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Both Odom and another former Sam Adams Alliance staffer, Ken Marrero, are now leaders of American Liberty Alliance. Odom is executive director and Marrero is director of grassroots outreach and coalitions. Marrero was a regional new media specialist with Sam Adams Alliance. In <a href="http://hotair.com/archives/2008/07/31/the-ed-morrissey-show-sam-adams-alliance-eyeblast-porkbusters-project/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">July 2008</a> he described Sam Adams Alliance as "an outgrowth of, I think, visions and dreams from some people who started at Americans for Limited Government."<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">John Tillman served as president and director of Americans for Limited Government during its start-up phase as well. According to the Illinois Policy Institute, Tillman grew Americans for Limited Government "from a single, part-time employee in May of 2004 to a staff of approximately 25 that had a significant impact on political activity in 13 states in 2006."<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Tillman is also president and CEO of the <a href="http://www.illinoispolicy.org/content/?section=456&section2=463&page=463" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Illinois Policy Institute</a>. Within hours of Rick Santelli's rant, Kristina Rasmussen, who had just been hired as the Executive Vice President by the Illinois Policy Institute that morning, helped kick start the Chicago Tea Party by participating in a February 19 conference call to plan the event. Rasmussen, who was then the Director of Government Affairs at National Taxpayers Union, was the second speaker on the call. Tillman also serves on Sam Adams Alliance's board of directors and was president and COO of Sam Adams Alliance during its start up phase.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Odom formed American Liberty Alliance in March of this year through a combination of <a href="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2009-12-05-images-BlogivistsMovingOn.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the gift</a> of Sam Adams Alliance's <a href="http://blogivists.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">blogivists.com</a>, a conservative blog hosting hub, and the #DontGo movement, founded by Odom in 2008 to support offshore drilling.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">American Liberty Alliance is not the only Sam Adams Alliance affiliate in this fight, however. American Majority, a self-described "political training institute", is a "concept" of Sam Adams Alliance, which in turn describes itself as AM's "sponsor". American Majority staff includes former George W Bush speechwriter <a href="http://www.missourirecord.com/news/index.asp?article=10054" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ned Ryun</a>, regional field director for Bush/Cheney '04 <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/ppl/webprofile?vmi=&id=10478660&pvs=pp&authToken=BBCC&authType=name&locale=en_US&trk=ppro_viewmore&lnk=vw_pprofile" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lonny Leitner</a>, former Republican state legislator <a href="http://www2.ljworld.com/chats/2008/oct/09/shari_weber/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Shari Weber</a>, and former director of operations at the Oklahoma Republican Party, Matt Pinnell.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">American Majority also got involved this summer on Sam Adams Alliance's American Liberty Tour, offering organizer trainings prior to each tour event. The Tour itself was billed as a project of American Liberty Alliance, Sam Adams Alliance and Americans for Limited Government.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Long before Sam Adams Alliance's recent <a href="http://www.samadamsalliance.org/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">website redesign</a>, they altered an <a href="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2009-12-06-images-samadamsalliancekochconnection.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">internship recruitment page</a> that connected Sam Adams Alliance to Koch Industries: "Interested parties can apply for a Sam Adams Alliance internship through the Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow Program administered by the Institute for Humane Studies and the State Policy Network." The internship is still listed on the <a href="http://www.theihs.org/ContentDetails.aspx?id=645" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">IHS website</a>. Charles Koch founded the IHS. The internship page existed up until the site's ongoing redesign, but recently the Koch reference was absent from the Sam Adams Alliance website. An <a href="http://meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/03/did_playboy_just_disappear_an.php" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">article</a> in Playboy Magazine, taken down almost as soon as it was posted, claimed the Koch reference was scrubbed on Feb. 16. Three days later, Santelli's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEZB4taSEoA&feature=player_embedded" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">supposedly-spontaneous</a> rant kick-started the Tea Party movement, enabled by Odom's on-line assistance.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Read full coverage detailing the various parts of the <a ref="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380539.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Anatomy of the Tea Party Movement</a>:<ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px 20px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380567.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tea Party Patriots</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380575.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FreedomWorks</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380592.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tea Party Express</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380608.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Americans for Prosperity</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380626.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">American Liberty Alliance</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sam Adams Alliance</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380669.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">American Future Fund</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380687.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">RecessRally.com</a></li><li class="last" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380691.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Media</a></li><li class="last" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Read full coverage detailing the various parts of the <a ref="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380539.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 136, 195); line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Anatomy of the Tea Party Movement</a>:<ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px 20px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; font-size: 15px; list-style: none; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380567.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 136, 195); text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tea Party Patriots</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380575.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 136, 195); text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FreedomWorks</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380592.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 136, 195); text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tea Party Express</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380608.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 136, 195); text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Americans for Prosperity</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380626.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 136, 195); text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">American Liberty Alliance</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sam Adams Alliance</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380669.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 136, 195); text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">American Future Fund</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380687.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 136, 195); text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">RecessRally.com</a></li><li class="last" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380691.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 136, 195); text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Media</a></li></ul></li><li class="last" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; list-style: disc; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">==</li></ul><a href="http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/american-majority-part-astroturf-see-whats">

</a>

<a href="http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/american-majority-part-astroturf-see-whats">http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/american-majority-part-astroturf-see-whats</a>

...

Who is the Sam Adams Alliance?

You may recognize the name if you've visited any Tea Party sites. Their logo usually rests alongside those of FreedomWorks, Americans for Prosperity, and other Republican sponsors.

Here are <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380662.html">some facts about the Sam Adams Alliance</a> published late in 2009:

<ol>

<li>The president of Sam Adams Alliance is <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/john-tsarpalas/4/ba/b24">John Tsarpalas</a>, former executive director of the Illinois State Republican party.</li>

<li> Eric O'Keefe, SAA's <a href="http://action.samadamsalliance.org/popView.php?Table=Newsletters&Prefix=Newsletter&ID=35">chairman</a> and <a href="http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe">CEO</a>, is a former executive director of the National Libertarian Party. He once worked for Citizens for Congressional Reform (<a href="http://www.michiganlp.org/Past%20Newsletters/Michigan%20Libertarian%20Vol%2020%20%28BIB%201.1%29%201991%20May-%20June.pdf">pdf</a>), a project of David Koch's Citizens for a Sound Economy. Along with noted Libertarian financier Howard Rich, O'Keefe sits on the board of directors of Americans for Limited Government.</li>

</ol>

Shortly before online activist <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=2&ved=0CB0QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sourcewatch.org%2Findex.php%3Ftitle%3DEric_Odom&ei=XzrVS9HnJozesgPquPX0CQ&usg=AFQjCNHgl6Dsd4u235e_C5IFOfTloxFnrA&sig2=RNGETxv9_QqrrABvR9Vtgg">Eric Odom</a> helped kick-start the Tea Party movement, he was new media director for Sam Adams Alliance. This put him in charge of (among other things) setting up websites, coordinating Facebook groups, managing Twitter accounts and other social networking tasks. Odom's first known acts as a Tea Partier were to set up the OfficialChicagoTeaParty.com site and Facebook pages within hours of Rick Santelli's February rant, then spreading word through Twitter, initially utilizing #TCOT, a Twitter list and hashtag for Top Conservatives on Twitter.

</blockquote>

Since their last tax filing in November 2009, they've added a new director. His name is <a href="http://www.samadamsalliance.org/learn/board-of-directors.aspx?member=denis-calabrese">Denis Calabrese</a>. From his bio page:

Denis served as Washington D.C. Chief-of-Staff for the now retired Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Richard Armey.

</blockquote>

In the world of non-profits, large donors like to be on the board to oversee the donation they've given. In the past, the Sam Adams Alliance hasn't been a major player. In 2006 direct public support was $401,500. 2007 gifts and grants appear to be 1,822,458, but there are some discrepancies from one year to the next.

But in 2008, donations increased by a factor of ten. Total gifts and grants were $4,222,604. Denis Calabrese joins the board, and coincidentally happens to be Dick Armey's former chief of staff, and donations bloom into full-throated support for offshoots like America's Majority? Ah, the smell of astroturf in the spring.

Of the $4.2 million, $3.7 million was an "unusual grant".

Ordinarily, funds passing from one non-profit to another are listed on the donor's tax disclosures as a grant or gift. Unfortunately, in this case the identity of the donor is unknown, because the Sam Adams Alliance believes in free speech rights and intentionally conceals the identity of their donors. Why are they ashamed to admit who their donors are? What's bad about promoting liberty, small government, American values?<a href="http://www.facebook.com/AmericanMajority/posts/116409495049031"> </a>

The leadership at Sam Adams thinks it's perfectly okay to conceal the donors of four million tax-deductible dollars. That would be four million tax deductible dollars you and I have to suck up the tab on while they sally forth into tea-party land stirring up the angry hordes and passing millions through tax-exempt entities to other tax-exempt entities in the name of distinctly Republican politics and agitation.

Of course, the Ryun boys couldn't really admit that, because by their own admission, it would jeopardize their tax-exempt status and wreck the whole pretty picture.

Who are these Ryuns anyway?

Ryun insists he is not working for Republicans  explicitly or implicitly. In fact, he believes his brand of conservatism often gets lost in the pragmatism and compromise of everyday Republican Party politics.

"Part of the fight we are having right now is more with the Republican side than with the Democrat side," he said.

American Majority is based in Purcellville, Va., about 40 miles northwest of Washington, D.C. Ned Ryun, Drew Ryun's twin brother, is national director of the organization.

</blockquote>

The Ryuns have their own brand of Republican pedigree:

Jim Ryun, their father, was a famous Olympic runner in the 1960s who went on to become a conservative Republican congressman from Kansas. The family has a long history with the Republican Party. Drew Ryun, now a 36-year-old father of two, worked for the Republican National Committee as deputy director of grassroots in 2004. Ned Ryun was a writer for George W. Bush.

</blockquote>

Jim Ryun had his own set of ethical challenges in the wake of the Jack Abramoff scandal. You can read about his acquisition of a Washington, DC townhouse from a Jack Abramoff-funded nonprofit at <a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/000207.php">Talking Points Memo</a> (great collection there), and more about his dealings with Dennis Hastert, Mark Foley, and notable Republican PAC donors <a href="http://siegementality.blogspot.com/2006/10/jim-ryun-and-foley-scandal.html">here</a>.

Since the Citizens United decision specifically allows corporations to spend as much as they want, but still maintained disclosure as part of the deal, I wonder if the IRS will request additional information on the source of the funding bonanza to the Sam Adams Alliance. I also wonder if Dick Armey and his minions should be trusted with that kind of money, given <a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/04/horace_cooper_abramoff_scandal_figure_pleads_guilt.php">their own dicey ties to Abramoff and his racket</a>.

I think Matt Angle had it right when the Dallas News asked for his opinion of American Majority:

"What the Republicans are trying to do is put some political organization behind the mean wing of their party..."

</blockquote>

Updates:

Oh, now Erick Erickson is getting into the act. Here's his <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/4/26/111424/264">announcement about training camps</a>.

Also of interest: <a href="http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/rachel-maddow-big-money-pulling-strings-pr">Rachel Maddow's report</a> in 2009 about astroturf groups mentioning this one.

----

calabrese bio pulled from sam adams site:

patriot

Denis Calabrese is a communications consultant specializing in strategic planning, governmental affairs consulting, public relations and media relations. Denis has created, planned and managed multi-million dollar advocacy campaigns, and directed communications and public relations programs for extremely high profile business challenges and policy initiatives. He has also developed and managed the strategic, grassroots and public relations elements of sophisticated legislative and regulatory initiatives on the local, state and national levels.

Mr. Calabrese served as Washington D.C. Chief-of-Staff for the now retired Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Richard Armey. Mr. Calabrese has extensive experience in high-stakes, high-profile litigation, including asbestos, breast implants, diet drugs, employment discrimination, environmental, gasoline additives, lead paint, mold, and tobacco litigation. Mr. Calabrese also leads the strategic teams of a number of major public policy initiatives, including chief strategist for Texans for Lawsuit Reform.

Mr. Calabrese is a graduate of Rice University with majors in both Economics and Political Science, and taught a course on political communications at his alma mater.

ties to mackinac and pacific:

<h2>Ties to the <a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Franklin_Center_for_Government_and_Public_Integrity" title="Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity">Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity</a></h2>

The Pacific Research Institute is listed as hosting <a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Franklin_Center_for_Government_and_Public_Integrity" title="Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity">Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity</a> "investigative journalists." <a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mackinac_Center_for_Public_Policy#cite_note-13" title="">[14]</a> The Franklin Center funds reporters in over 40 states.<a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mackinac_Center_for_Public_Policy#cite_note-14" title="">[15]</a> Despite their non-partisan description, many of the websites funded by the Franklin Center have received criticism for their conservative bias.<a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mackinac_Center_for_Public_Policy#cite_note-15" title="">[16]</a><a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mackinac_Center_for_Public_Policy#cite_note-16" title="">[17]</a> On it's website, the Franklin Center clams that it "provides 10 percent of all daily reporting from state capitals nationwide." <a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mackinac_Center_for_Public_Policy#cite_note-17" title="">[18]</a>

<h3>Funding</h3>

The Franklin Center was launched by the Chicago-based <a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sam_Adams_Alliance" title="Sam Adams Alliance">Sam Adams Alliance</a> (SAM),<a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mackinac_Center_for_Public_Policy#cite_note-18" title="">[19]</a> a 501(c)(3) devoted to pushing free-market ideals. SAM gets funding from the <a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=State_Policy_Network" title="State Policy Network">State Policy Network</a>,<a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mackinac_Center_for_Public_Policy#cite_note-19" title="">[20]</a> which is partially funded by The Claude R. Lambe Foundation.<a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mackinac_Center_for_Public_Policy#cite_note-20" title="">[21]</a> <a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Charles_Koch" title="Charles Koch" class="mw-redirect">Charles Koch</a>, one of the billionaire brothers who co-own Koch Industries, sits on the board of this foundation.<a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mackinac_Center_for_Public_Policy#cite_note-21" title="">[22]</a> SAM also receives funding from the <a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rodney_Fund" title="Rodney Fund">Rodney Fund</a>. The Franklin Center also receives funding from the Wisconsin-based <a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Lynde_and_Harry_Bradley_Foundation" title="Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation">Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation</a>,<a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mackinac_Center_for_Public_Policy#cite_note-22" title="">[23]</a> a conservative grant-making organization.<a href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mackinac_Center_for_Public_Policy#cite_note-23" title="">[24]</a>

<h2>Personnel</h2>

-----

Eric attended Koch event:

<a href="http://palingates.blogspot.com/2010/10/secret-meetings-of-koch-industries.html">http://palingates.blogspot.com/2010/10/secret-meetings-of-koch-industries.html</a>

----

official

Joseph G. Lehman is president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, an independent, nonprofit research and educational institute based in Michigan.

Mr. Lehman is the author of numerous public policy articles and is a commentator on free-market policies.

Prior to his public policy career, Mr. Lehman was an engineer and project manager for nine years at the Dow Chemical Company. He is an engineering graduate from the University of Illinois and a registered professional engineer.

Mr. Lehman and his wife, Karen, are the founders of Midland County Habitat for Humanity. He twice received the Dow Chemical Vice President's Award for Community Service. He is an ordained deacon in the Presbyterian Church in America.

----

boingboing correction on net neutrality

Or, you know NOT REALLY

"nonetbrutality.com" is the product of one Kristin McMurray, who is that? Hmmm

Let's see:

<a href="http://www.kristinmcmurray.com/references" rel="nofollow">http://www.kristinmcmurray.com/references</a>

Sam Adams Alliance

Sunshine Review

Who are They?

<a href="http://www.samadamsalliance.org/">http://www.samadamsalliance.org/</a>

Eric O'Keefe is chairman and CEO of the Sam Adams Alliance.

Under his leadership, the Sam Adams Alliance (SAM) has established some of the most active and respected organizations in the freedom movement. Most recently, SAM set up American Majority to train potential candidates and campaign organizers and the Franklin Center, which helps train and place investigative journalists in non-profit organizations. The alliance also launched Judgepedia, Ballotpedia, and Sunshine Review, Wikipedia-style websites which have had more than 19 million page views for their 128,000 pages of politically important information. To help Americans understand and support free-market-based principles and policies, SAM will continue to raise awareness for the cause of liberty and to build capacity in marketing and public relations for like-minded organizations.

Eric also works closely with grassroots advocates such as Americans for Prosperity and with the State Policy Network to promote transparency and accountability in state and local governments. He serves on the board of directors of the Institute for Humane Studies, the Center for Competitive Politics, and Wisconsin Club for Growth.

He authored the book Who Rules America, which won praise from Milton Friedman, and hosts a new podcast series, Engaging Democracy.

When not promoting political reform, Eric is a private investor residing in rural Wisconsin with his wife Leslie Graves.

Denis Calabrese

Denis volunteers his time leading the strategic teams of a number of major public policy initiatives, including Texans for Lawsuit Reform. He also provides pro bono advice for pro-liberty organizations.

Denis is a principal in The Patriot Group and works from their Houston office. He is a communications consultant specializing in strategic planning, governmental affairs consulting, public relations, and media relations. Denis has created, planned, and managed multi-million dollar advocacy campaigns, and directed communications and public relations programs for high-profile business challenges and policy initiatives. He has also developed and managed the strategic, grassroots, and public relations elements of sophisticated legislative and regulatory initiatives on the local, state, and national levels. Denis has extensive experience in high-stakes litigation, including asbestos, breast implants, diet drugs, gasoline additives, lead paint, and tobacco litigation.

Denis served as Washington D.C. Chief-of-Staff for the now retired Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Richard Armey.

Joe Lehman

Joseph G. Lehman is president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, an independent, nonprofit research and educational institute based in Michigan.

Mr. Lehman is the author of numerous public policy articles and is a commentator on free-market policies.

Prior to his public policy career, Mr. Lehman was an engineer and project manager for nine years at the Dow Chemical Company. He is an engineering graduate from the University of Illinois and a registered professional engineer.

(AKA an Astroturf Organization)

as for "the Sunshine review"

From <a href="http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Press_Room" rel="nofollow">http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Press_Room</a>

Are you affiliated with any other organizations?

* In the past Sunshine Review was a project of the Sam Adams Alliance (SAM), but in 2010 we separated from SAM and launched our own organization dedicated to educating the public about affirmative disclosure and other open government initiatives.

(is it any wonder the contact name for sunshine review is kristinpedia?)

from sunshine;

Eric Odom is a conservative new media strategist. He is a leader in the <a href="http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/DontGo" title="DontGo">DontGo</a> movement and is President of Strategic Activism LLC<a href="http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Eric_Odom#cite_note-0">[1]</a>, an internet consulting firm. Eric also manages <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://newsplatoon.com/">NewsPlatoon</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://blogivists.com/">Blogivists</a>, and is Director of <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.rootshq.com/">RootsHQ 2009</a>.

Throughout 2008, Odom worked on a variety of new media projects for the <a href="http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Sam_Adams_Alliance" title="Sam Adams Alliance">Sam Adams Alliance</a>.

Odom previously worked for Citizen Outreach<a href="http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Eric_Odom#cite_note-1">[2]</a>.

In 2007, Odom coordinated the 2007 Conservative Leadership Conference in Reno, <a href="http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Nevada" title="Nevada">Nevada</a>.

<h2>[External links</h2>

<ul>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.samadamsalliance.org/about/id.394/default.asp">Sam Adams bio of Eric Odom</a></li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.conservablogs.com/">Conservablogs</a></li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.blogivists.com/">Blogivists</a></li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://newsplatoon.com/">NewsPlatoon</a></li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://taxdayteaparty.com/">Tax Day Tea Party</a></li>

</ul>

<h2>[] References</h2>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a href="http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Eric_Odom#cite_ref-0">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://strategicactivism.com/">Strategic Activism</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Eric_Odom#cite_ref-1">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.citizenoutreach.com/">Citizen Outreach</a>

</li>

</ol>

Just how stupid can one org get?

Hide the whois and the pdf gives up the author who is then linked to a series of astroturf groups. They must live for the stupid or something.

<h1>Playboy dips a toe into investigative journalism</h1>

<h5 class="author">By Megan McArdle</h5>

</div>

<div class="articleText">This morning, my twitter feed was all abuzz with <a href="http://www.playboy.com/blog/2009/02/backstabber.html">this piece</a> from Playboy purporting to prove that the Tea Party phenomenon was all a Koch-funded astroturf operation, with the implication that the initial Santelli rant that touched it off was some sort of a plant.

What's that you say?  The link is dead?  Indeed it is.  Fortunately, as it happens, I happened to have a second browser open with the article; text below the fold. </div><div class="articleText">

<div class="articletitle"><a href="http://www.playboy.com/blog/2009/02/backstabber.html" title="Backstabber: Is Rick Santelli High On Koch?">Backstabber: Is Rick Santelli High On Koch?</a></div>

<div class="bodytext">By Mark Ames and Yasha Levine

<blockquote>See web-only content:

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2009/03/playboy-dips-a-toe-into-investigative-journalism/4770/

Last week, CNBC correspondent Rick Santelli rocketed from being a little-known second-string correspondent to a populist hero of the disenfranchised, a 21st-century Samuel Adams, the leader and symbol of the downtrodden American masses suffering under the onslaught of 21st century socialism and big government. Santelli's "rant" last-week calling for a <a href="http://chicagoteaparty.com/" target="blank" title="z">"Chicago Tea Party"</a> to protest President Obama's plans to help distressed American homeowners rapidly spread across the blogosphere and shot right up into White House spokesman Robert Gibbs' craw, whose smackdown during a press conference was later characterized by Santelli as <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/26/matt-lauer-calls-out-rick_n_170252.html" target="blank" title="z">"a threat" </a>from the White House. A nationwide "tea party" grassroots Internet protest movement has sprung up seemingly spontaneously, all inspired by Santelli, with rallies planned today in cities from coast to coast to protest against Obama's economic policies.

But was Santelli's rant really so spontaneous? How did a minor-league TV figure, whose <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-rosenthal-23-feb23,0,6124753.story" target="_blank" title="z">contract</a> with CNBC is due this summer, get so quickly launched into a nationwide rightwing blog sensation? Why were there so many sites and organizations online and live within minutes or hours after his rant, leading to a nationwide protest just a week after his rant?

What hasn't been reported until now is evidence linking Santelli's "tea party" rant with some very familiar names in the Republican rightwing machine, from PR operatives who specialize in imitation-grassroots PR campaigns (called "astroturfing") to bigwig politicians and notorious billionaire funders. As veteran Russia reporters, both of us spent years watching the Kremlin use fake grassroots movements to influence and control the political landscape. To us, the uncanny speed and direction the movement took and the players involved in promoting it had a strangely forced quality to it. If it seemed scripted, that's because it was.

What we discovered is that Santelli's "rant" was not at all spontaneous as his alleged fans claim, but rather it was a carefully-planned trigger for the anti-Obama campaign. In PR terms, his February 19th call for a "Chicago Tea Party" was the launch event of a carefully organized and sophisticated PR campaign, one in which Santelli served as a frontman, using the CNBC airwaves for publicity, for the some of the craziest and sleaziest rightwing oligarch clans this country has ever produced. Namely, the Koch family, the multibilllionaire owners of the largest private corporation in America, and funders of scores of rightwing thinktanks and advocacy groups, from the Cato Institute and Reason Magazine to FreedomWorks. The scion of the Koch family, Fred Koch, was a co-founder of the notorious extremist-rightwing John Birch Society.

As you read this, Big Business is pouring tens of millions of dollars into their media machines in order to destroy just about every economic campaign promise Obama has made, as reported recently in the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123561083268377547.html" target="blank" title="z">Wall Street Journal</a>. At stake isn't the little guy's fight against big government, as Santelli and his bot-supporters claim, but rather the "upper 2 percent"'s war to protect their wealth from the Obama Adminstration's economic plans. When this Santelli "grassroots" campaign is peeled open, what's revealed is a <a href="http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000003054985" target="blank" title="z">glimpse of what is ahead</a> and what is bound to be a hallmark of his presidency.

Let's go back to February 19th: Rick Santelli, live on CNBC, standing in the middle of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, launches into an attack on the just-announced $300 billion slated to stem rate of home foreclosures: "The government is promoting bad behavior! Do we really want to subsidize the losers' mortgages?! This is America! We're thinking of having a Chicago tea party in July, all you capitalists who want to come down to Lake Michigan, I'm gonna start organizing."

Almost immediately, the clip and the unlikely "Chicago tea party" quote buried in the middle of the segment, zoomed across a well-worn path to headline fame in the Republican echo chamber, including red-alert headlines on Drudge.

Within hours of Santelli's rant, a website called ChicagoTeaParty.com sprang to life. Essentially inactive until that day, it now featured a YouTube video of Santelli's "tea party" rant and billed itself as the official home of the Chicago Tea Party. The domain was registered in August, 2008 by Zack Christenson, a dweeby Twitter Republican and producer for a popular Chicago rightwing radio host Milt Rosenberg--a familiar name to Obama campaign people. Last August, Rosenberg, who looks like Martin Short's Irving Cohen character, caused an outcry when he interviewed Stanley Kurtz, the conservative writer who first "exposed" a personal link between Obama and former Weather Undergound leader Bill Ayers. As a result of Rosenberg's radio interview, the Ayers story was given a major push through the Republican media echo chamber, culminating in Sarah Palin's accusation that Obama was "palling around with terrorists." That Rosenberg's producer owns the "chicagoteaparty.com" site is already weird--but what's even stranger is that he first bought the domain last August, right around the time of Rosenburg's launch of the "Obama is a terrorist" campaign. It's as if they held this "Chicago tea party" campaign in reserve, like a sleeper-site. Which is exactly what it was.

ChicagoTeaParty.com was just one part of a larger network of Republican sleeper-cell-blogs set up over the course of the past few months, all of them tied to a shady rightwing advocacy group coincidentally named the <a href="http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/19/the-sam-adams-project/" target="_blank" title="z">"Sam Adams Alliance,"</a> whose backers have until now been kept hidden from public. Cached google records that we discovered show that the Sam Adams Alliance took pains to scrub its deep links to the Koch family money as well as the fake-grassroots "tea party" protests going on today. All of these roads ultimately lead back to a more notorious rightwing advocacy group, FreedomWorks, a powerful PR organization headed by former Republican House Majority leader Dick Armey and funded by Koch money.

On the same day as Santelli's rant, February 19, another site called Officialchicagoteaparty.com went live. This site was registered to Eric Odom, who turned out to be a veteran Republican new media operative specializing in imitation-grassroots PR campaigns. Last summer, Odom organized a twitter-led campaign centered around DontGo.com to pressure Congress and Nancy Pelosi to pass the offshore oil drilling bill, something that would greatly benefit Koch Industries, a major player in oil and gas. Now, six months later, <a href="http://elizabethcrum.blogivists.com/2008/08/11/david-goliath-and-the-new-media/" target="_blank" title="z">Odom's DontGo movement</a> was resurrected to play a central role in promoting the "tea party" movement.

Up until last month, Odom was officially listed as the "new media coordinator" for the Sam Adams Alliance, a well-funded libertarian activist organization based in Chicago that was set up only recently. Samuel Adams the historical figure was famous for inspiring and leading the Boston Tea Party--so when the PR people from the Chicago-based Sam Adams Alliance abruptly leave in order to run Santelli's "Chicago Tea Party," you know it wasn't spontaneous. Odom certainly doesn't want people to know about the link: his name was scrubbed from the Sam Adams Alliance website recently, strongly suggesting that they wanted to cover their tracks. Thanks to google caching, you can see the SAA's before-after <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20080120181121/samadamsalliance.org/about/id.394/default.asp" target="_blank" title="z">scrubbing</a>.

Even the Sam Adams' January 31 announcement that Odom's fake-grassroots group was "no longer sponsored by the Alliance" was shortly afterwards <a href="http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:l8t8mmvSmeYJ:www.samadamsalliance.org/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D926%253Ablogivists-moving-on%26catid%3D1%253Alatest-news%26Itemid%3D56+site:www.samadamsalliance.org+www.samadamsalliance.org+%22eric+odom%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us" target="_blank" title="z">scrubbed</a>.

But it's the Alliance's scrubbing of their link to Koch that is most telling. A cached page, erased on February 16, just three days before Santelli's rant, shows that the Alliance also wanted to cover up its ties to the Koch family. The <a href="http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:fRoZx4D9IQUJ:www.samadamsalliance.org/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D916%26Itemid%3D79+samadamsalliance.com+koch&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us" target="_blank" title="z">missing link</a> was an announcement that students interested in applying for internships to the Sam Adams Alliance could also apply through the "Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow Program" through the Institute for Humane Studies, a Koch-funded rightwing institute designed to scout and nurture future leaders of corporate libertarian ideology. The top two board directors at the Sam Adams Alliance include two figures with deep ties to Koch-funded programs: Eric O'Keefe, who previously served in Koch's Institute for Humane Studies and the Club For Growth; and Joseph Lehman, a former communications VP at Koch's Cato Institute.

All of these are ultimately linked up to Koch's Freedom Works mega-beast.Freedomworks.org has drawn fire in the past for using fake grassroots internet campaigns, called "astroturfing," to push for pet Koch projects such as privatizing social security. A New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/17/politics/17mom.html?r=1&ei=1&en=9fc511a24ef86ae0&ex=1104320536&pagewanted=print&position=" target="blank" title="z">investigation</a> in 2005 revealed that a "regular single mom" paraded by Bush's White House to advocate for privatizing social security was in fact FreedomWorks' Iowa state director. The woman, Sandra Jacques, also fronted another Iowa fake-grassroots group called "For Our Grandchildren," even though privatizing social security was really "For Koch And Wall Street Fat Cats."

If you log into <a href="http://www.freedomworks.org/petition/iamwithrick/index.html" target="_blank" title="z">FreedomWorks.org</a> today, its home page features a large photo of Rick Santelli pointing at the viewer like Uncle Sam, with the words: "Are you with Rick? We Are. Click here to learn more."

FreedomWorks, along with scores of shady front organizations which don't have to disclose their sponsors thanks to their 501 (c)(3) status, has been at the heart of today's supposed grassroots, nonpartisan "tea party" protests across the country, supposedly fueled by scores of websites which masquerade as amateur/spontaneous projects, but are suspiciously well-crafted and surprisingly well-written. One slick site pushing the tea parties, Right.org claims, "Right.org is a grassroots online community created by a few friends who were outraged by the bailouts. So we gathered some talent and money and built this site. Please tell your friends, and if you have suggestions for improving it, please let us know. Respectfully, Evan and Duncan." But funny enough, these regular guys are offering a $27,000 prize for an "anti-bailout video competition." Who are Evan and Duncan? Do they even really exist?

Even Facebook pages dedicated to a specific city "tea party" events, supposedly written by people connected only by a common emotion, obviously conformed to the same style. It was as if they were part of a multi-pronged advertising campaign planned out by a professional PR company. Yet, on the surface, they pretended to have no connection. The various sites set up their own Twitter feeds and Facebook pages dedicated to the Chicago Tea Party movement. And all of them linked to one another, using it as evidence that a decentralized, viral movement was already afoot. It wasn't about partisanship; it was about real emotions coming straight from real people.

While it's clear what is at stake for the Koch oligarch clan and their corporate and political allies--fighting to keep the hundreds of billions in surplus profits they've earned thanks to pro-rich economic policies over the past 30 years--what's a little less obvious is Santelli's link to all this. Why would he (and CNBC) risk their credibility, such as it is, as journalists dispensing financial information in order to act as PR fronts for a partisan campaign?

As noted above, Santelli's contract with CNBC runs out in a few months. His 10 years with the network haven't been remarkable, and he'll enter a brutal downsizing media job market. Thanks to the "tea party" campaign, as the article notes, Santelli's value has suddenly soared. If you look at the scores of blogs and fake-commenters on blogs (for example, Daily Blog, a slick new blog launched in January which is also based in Chicago) all puff up Santelli like he's the greatest journalist in America, and the greatest hero known to mankind. <a href="http://dailybail.com/home/2009/2/19/absolutely-must-see-cnbc-bailout-video-a-call-to-arms-from-y.html" target="_blank" title="z">Daily Bail</a>, like so much of this "tea party" machine, is "headquartered nearby" to Santelli, that is, in Chicago. With Odom, the Sam Adams Alliance, and the whole "tea party" nexus: "Rick, this message is to you. You are a true American hero and there are no words to describe what you did today except your own.  Headquartered nearby, we will be helping the organization in whatever way possible."

It's not difficult to imagine how Santelli hooked up with this crowd. A self-described "Ayn Rand-er," one of Santelli's colleagues at CNBC, Lawrence Kudlow, played a major role in both FreedomWorks and the Club for Growth.

So today's protests show that the corporate war is on, and this is how they'll fight it: hiding behind "objective" journalists and "grassroots" new media movements. Because in these times, if you want to push for policies that help the super-wealthy, you better do everything you can to make it seem like it's "the people" who are "spontaneously" fighting your fight. As a 19th century slave management manual wrote, "The master should make it his business to show his slaves, that the advancement of his individual interest, is at the same time an advancement of theirs. Once they feel this, it will require little compulsion to make them act as becomes them." (Southern Agriculturalist IX, 1836.) The question now is, will they get away with it, and will the rest of America advance the interests of Koch, Santelli, and the rest of the masters? [end snip? then some's comments?

</blockquote>

My thoughts:??

1)  The smoking gun, to the extent that there is one, is the "chicagoteaparty" domain.  But the timing doesn't work.  No one in August knew that there were going to be massive bailouts and stimulus packages against which they could protest.  On the other hand, if you think that taxes are going to go up, it's not crazy for founding-fathers-obsessed conservatives to start registering any domain that involves tea parties.  That doesn't mean that they then orchestrated an elaborate ruse in order to give them an excuse to deploy the domain; it's just as likely that they simply leaped in when opportunity arose.  Domain squatting is ubiquitous these days, particularly among political groups, and there are probably dozens out there now just waiting for the right catchphrase to make them relevant.

2)  I don't see any evidence offered that Koch money funds FreedomWorks, or any astroturfing organization.[WTF?]  They may--a lot of groups do it, including groups on the left--but there's precious little evidence of it in this article.  Koch is pretty open about their connection with institutions like IHS, but from what I know of them, astroturfing doesn't really seem like their style.  I've seen Koch in action at private events, and though I'll respect the privacy, I'll say that even in the company of other like-minded rich people, he displayed rather a mania for honest dealing.  That's not to say that it's impossible that they do fund FreedomWorks--I'm not particularly conversant with the world of 501(c)(3) funders.  But Freedomworks doesn't publish its donor list, and there's no source offered for the claim.

3)  The accusation against Santelli is potentially libelous, which is, I assume, why the article disappeared this morning.  If I were Santelli, I'd sue.  Aside from the fact that I have absolutely no reason to question Santelli's sincerity, I find it pretty hard to believe that any private group would be willing to front enough money to make it worth a television correspondent's while to risk all his future salary payments.

4)  I have no doubt that there has been involvement of various right-wing groups with the tea parties.  So what?  Groups--often funded by God knows who--coordinate protests.  The article implies that the people who participated were therefore insincere.  I know some of the people who went to these things, and trust me, they hate taxes and government every bit as much as they claimed.

5)  The claim that Odom's name was "scrubbed" from the Alliance seems weak.  Usually, when people leave an organization, the organization takes their name off the website.  My name has been "scrubbed" from multiple sites by employers because, erm, I'm no longer associated with them.  The implication of that paragraph is that Odom hasn't really quit, but is being paid to run a front group.  But that's a big claim, and there's no sourcing offered.

6)  Likewise, the Koch fellows program is not some dark secret.  Koch funds interns to work at various market-friendly groups.  The fellows application process may have been closed, or Koch may have chosen to stop funding interns at the Sam Adams alliance.  But I doubt that they took the name down because it provided a shadowy link to someone who no longer works there.

I presume that the people who put this blogpost up thought they had a big muckracking scoop.  But take out the innuendo, and nothing's sourced, not even to the level of "people close to the organization tell us" or "it is rumored"; they just assert major factst hat are not, so far as I know, in evidence.  You can get away with that on a personal blog, because, really, is Santelli going to bother to sue you?  But for a major media organization, things like this require a little more care.  Investigative journalism is quite hard, and involves more than printing things you think are probably true, which is why people who are good at it, like Spencer Ackerman, are so valuable--and why organizations that do a lot of it have big legal staffs and experienced editors to make sure they can back up what they say.

This is the sort of thing that has always haunted media organizations that start blogs.  It's bad enough if an employee says something that you, as an organization, regret.  But paid staffers can also say things that put you on the hook for big payouts.

Of course, it will be very exciting for Playboy if it turns out their employees hit the jackpot.  But given how thinly sourced it is--the entire thing mostly seems to rest on the ownership of two domain names--I wouldn't bet on it.  And given that the article has been taken down, apparently, neither would they.

I think it's too late for that now, however; Playboy either needs to stand by the article and put it back up, or explain why they took it down--and why they put it up in the first place.

Full disclosure:  It's pretty much an open secret in DC, but given the content of the article I'm discussing, I think I ought to mention that I live with Peter Suderman, who once worked for Freedomworks.  Other than giving me the name of the right employee to email to make inquiries (no word back yet), I haven't asked him about his former employer, and he hasn't told me anything.  I debated whether to write about this, but since I'm not actually defending Freedomworks, I think it's kosher.

Update:  Apparently Koch used to fund Freedomworks' predecessor group, Citizens for a Sound Economy.  That's still a long way from a Koch-directed plot to inundate our nation's metros with tea.

Update II: . . . but apparently there was some rift between Koch and CSE, and according to my sources, Koch may have stopped funding them long ago.

</div>

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2009/03/playboy-dips-a-toe-into-investigative-journalism/4770/

The Sam Adams Alliance is a <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/501%28c%29%283%29" title="501(c)(3)">501(c)(3)</a> non-profit organization based in Chicago, <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Illinois" title="Illinois">Illinois</a>, that connects and supports citizen leaders across the United States. Its mission statement says that the organization supports groups and individuals "who are working to defend liberty, hold the government accountable, and make real political change at the local level." The Sam Adams Alliance and its <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/501%28c%29%284%29" title="501(c)(4)">501(c)(4)</a> counterpart, Team Sam, were founded in Chicago on October 20, 2006.

The Sam Adams Alliance sponsored <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Ballotpedia:About" title="Ballotpedia:About">Ballotpedia</a> through June 2009.

The organizations take their names from the American patriot Sam Adams, who is considered the "father of the American Revolution" for his role in connecting colonists in the 18th century American colonies. Adams allowed them to share information and experience with each other in the hope of instigating a popular effort against the British.<a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-0">[1]</a> Both the Alliance and Team Sam have adopted this strategy of action at the local level in the hopes of increasing government accountability and transparency nationwide.

<h2>Programs</h2>

One of its main website initiatives is profiling "Modern-Day Sam Adamses," people it finds who demonstrate citizen leadership in accordance with its mission.<a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-1">[2]</a> The Sam Adams Alliance also sponsors <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Ballotpedia_Wikiteer" title="Ballotpedia Wikiteer" class="mw-redirect">The Sammies</a>, a competition to reward activists.

The Sam Adams Alliance produced a radio show called Common Sense with <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Paul_Jacob" title="Paul Jacob">Paul Jacob</a>, which is broadcast on over 150 radio stations nationwide. The Common Sense program is now hosted by the <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Citizens_in_Charge_Foundation" title="Citizens in Charge Foundation">Citizens in Charge Foundation</a>.<a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-2">[3]</a>

The Sam Adams Alliance also launched <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Sunshine_Review" title="Sunshine Review">Sunshine Review</a>, and provided organizational assistance and start-up funds to other groups such as <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/American_Majority" title="American Majority">American Majority</a> and <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Texas_Watchdog" title="Texas Watchdog">Texas Watchdog</a>.

<h2>Policy positions</h2>

The Sam Adams Alliance and Team Sam work on behalf of individuals and groups who advocate for greater government accountability and transparency at the local and state level. As such, the organizations do not take overt policy positions, and evaluate the causes it supports on a case-by-case basis, judging them by the amount to which they advance accountability and transparency in government.

<h2>Funding</h2>

The Sam Adams Alliance and Team Sam are not endowed and do not accept government funding. Both organizations are funded by private donors.<a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-3">[4]</a>

<h2>Sam Adams staff</h2>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe" title="Eric O'Keefe">Eric O'Keefe</a> is the Chairman and CEO of the Sam Adams Alliance and the Team Sam. </li>

</ul>

<h2>Sponsorship of Ballotpedia</h2>

The Sam Adams Alliance sponsored Ballotpedia from March 2008-June 2009, paying the website's host and server fees, and sponsoring a small staff of writers. On July 1, 2009, it passed the baton to the <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Lucy_Burns_Institute" title="Lucy Burns Institute">Lucy Burns Institute</a>. According to an announcement on the Lucy Burns website:

<dl>

<dd>The Sam Adams Alliance has organized, nurtured and spun-off several important projects, including Common Sense with Paul Jacob, American Majority and Texas Watchdog. As Ballotpedia and Judgepedia join the list of projects nurtured and given wings by the Sam Adams Alliance, the Lucy Burns Institute pledges to do its best to steward these public information projects consistent with the traditions and quality they have developed under the leadership of the Sam Adams Alliance.<a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-4">[5]</a> </dd>

</dl>

<h2>External links</h2>

<ul>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.samadamsalliance.org/">The Sam Adams Alliance website</a> </li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.blogivists.com">Blogivists</a> </li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.judgepedia.com">Judgepedia</a>  SLOW RES 404 2010<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20100623195040/http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Main_Page"> </a><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20100623195040/http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Main_Page">http://web.archive.org/web/20100623195040/http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Main_Page</a></li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.sunshinereview.com">Sunshine Review</a> </li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.samadamsalliance.org/about/id.321/default.asp">Full list of Sam Adams Alliance staff</a> </li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/19/the-sam-adams-project/">The Sam Adams Project</a>, the New York Times "The Caucus" blog, July 19, 2008 </li>

</ul><div>lucy burns</div><div>
</div><div>You can contact Judgepedia executive editor <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20100613041540/http://judgepedia.org/index.php/User:Sara_Key" title="User:Sara Key" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 43, 184); background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.7px;">Sara Key</a> at sara(at)judgepedia(dot)org.</div><div></div><div>WIKI 8 22</div><div><div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content mw-content-ltr" lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; color: rgb(32, 33, 34); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="mw-parser-output">Sam Adams Alliance (SAM) was a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)(3)organization" title="501(c)(3) organization" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">501(c)(3)</a> non-profit organization based in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago,Illinois" class="mw-redirect" title="Chicago, Illinois" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">Chicago, Illinois</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-sam-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">[1]</a> It was founded in 2006 and disbanded in 2012. The president was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_O%27Keefe(political_activist)" title="Eric O'Keefe (political activist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">Eric O'Keefe</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-sam-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">[1]</a>SAM launched three wiki-style websites: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgepedia" class="mw-redirect" title="Judgepedia" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">Judgepedia</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballotpedia" title="Ballotpedia" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">Ballotpedia</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_Review" title="Sunshine Review" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">Sunshine Review</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-sam-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">[1]</a> SAM also helped launch <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Majority" title="American Majority" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">American Majority</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Center_for_Government_and_Public_Integrity" class="mw-redirect" title="Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">[2]</a><div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; font-size: 13.3px; display: table;"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="margin: 0px; position: absolute; opacity: 0; z-index: -1; display: none;" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr" style="text-align: center; direction: ltr;"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border: 0px; font-size: 13.3px; line-height: 1.3; display: inline;">Contents</h2><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox" style="cursor: pointer; color: rgb(6, 69, 173);" /></div><ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#Activities" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">1Activities</a><ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#The_Sammies" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">1.1The Sammies</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#Market_research" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">1.2Market research</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#Health_Administration_Bureau" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">1.3Health Administration Bureau</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#Chicago_Tea_Parties" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">1.4Chicago Tea Parties</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">2References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#External_links" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">3External links</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; font-family: "Linux Libertine", Georgia, Times, serif; line-height: 1.3;">Activities[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sam_Adams_Alliance&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Activities" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h2><h3 style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.6;">The Sammies[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sam_Adams_Alliance&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: The Sammies" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h3>Begun in 2007, the Sammies was an annual national awards program designed to recognize "outstanding citizen leadership and creativity."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">[3]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stossel" title="John Stossel" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">John Stossel</a> of FOX Business was the keynote speaker at the 2011 Sammies ceremony.[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">citation needed</a>]<h3 style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.6;">Market research[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sam_Adams_Alliance&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Market research" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h3>In March 2010, Sam Adams Alliance released the first of a series of "Activist Insights Reports" titled "Early Adopters: Reading the Tea Leaves," a study of leaders in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_movement" title="Tea Party movement" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">Tea Party movement</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-times-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">[4]</a> The study surveyed 50 active leaders in the movement on their motivations for becoming involved. It found that about half of Tea Party movement activists had never before been involved in politics, and that many became involved out of fear of passing on larger government and insurmountable debt to their children and grandchildren.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-times-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">[4]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">[6]</a>In August 2010, a follow up report exploring the Tea Party movement was released titled "Next Wave: A Surf Report."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">[7]</a>In September 2010, Sam Adams Alliance released their first "Market Insights Report" titled "Surface Tension: Tea Parties and the Political Establishment."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">[8]</a><h3 style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.6;">Health Administration Bureau[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sam_Adams_Alliance&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Health Administration Bureau" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h3>On July 16, 2009, Sam Adams Alliance released a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube" title="YouTube" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">YouTube</a> video named "Health Rations And You."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">[9]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Malkin" title="Michelle Malkin" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">Michelle Malkin</a> featured the project on her site.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">[10]</a><h3 style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.6;">Chicago Tea Parties[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sam_Adams_Alliance&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Chicago Tea Parties" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h3>In February 2009, a blog posting on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playboy" title="Playboy" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">Playboy</a> website suggested that Sam Adams Alliance was involved in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Santelli" title="Rick Santelli" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">Rick Santelli</a>'s call for a "Chicago Tea Party." The article pointed out that the ChicagoTeaParty.com domain name where Santelli's rant was posted hours after it aired was actually purchased in August 2008 - five months before President Obama began his term. The Playboy blog making this allegation was removed without explanation within two days of its publication.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">[11]</a><h2 style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; font-family: "Linux Libertine", Georgia, Times, serif; line-height: 1.3;">References[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sam_Adams_Alliance&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: References" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h2><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width reflist-columns-2" style="font-size: 12.6px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; list-style-type: decimal; column-width: 30em; margin-top: 0.3em;"><ol class="references" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 3.2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-parent 0 list-item 0; list-style-type: inherit;"><li id="cite_note-sam-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;">^ <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_ref-sam_1-0" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up to:a</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_ref-sam_1-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">b</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_ref-sam_1-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">c</a> <cite id="CITEREFPhillips2008" class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Phillips, Kate (2008-07-19). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/19/the-sam-adams-project/" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 187); background: url("/w/skins/Vector/resources/common/images/external-link-ltr-icon.svg?48e54") right center no-repeat; padding-right: 13px;">"The Sam Adams Project"</a>. New York Times. Retrieved 11 August 2014.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=New+York+Times&rft.atitle=The+Sam+Adams+Project&rft.date=2008-07-19&rft.aulast=Phillips&rft.aufirst=Kate&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fthecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com%2F2008%2F07%2F19%2Fthe-sam-adams-project%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASam+Adams+Alliance" class="Z3988" /></li><li id="cite_note-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_ref-2" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">^{</a> }<cite id="CITEREFHillyer2009" class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Hillyer, Quin (June 2009). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://spectator.org/articles/41570/after-tea-parties" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 187); background: url("/w/skins/Vector/resources/common/images/external-link-ltr-icon.svg?48e54") right center no-repeat; padding-right: 13px;">"After the Tea Parties"</a>. American Spectator. Retrieved 11 August 2014.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=After+the+Tea+Parties&rft.date=2009-06&rft.aulast=Hillyer&rft.aufirst=Quin&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fspectator.org%2Farticles%2F41570%2Fafter-tea-parties&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASam+Adams+Alliance" class="Z3988" /></li><li id="cite_note-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_ref-3" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">^{</a> }<cite class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/six-local-liberty-activists-recognized-with-sammies-award/article/10848" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 187); background: url("/w/skins/Vector/resources/common/images/external-link-ltr-icon.svg?48e54") right center no-repeat; padding-right: 13px;">"Six local liberty activists recognized with Sammies award"</a>. Washington Examiner. 2007-12-18. Retrieved 11 August 2014.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Six+local+liberty+activists+recognized+with+Sammies+award&rft.date=2007-12-18&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwashingtonexaminer.com%2Fsix-local-liberty-activists-recognized-with-sammies-award%2Farticle%2F10848&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASam+Adams+Alliance" class="Z3988" /></li><li id="cite_note-times-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;">^ <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_ref-times_4-0" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up to:a</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_ref-times_4-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">b</a> <cite id="CITEREFHarper2010" class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Harper, Jennifer (2010-03-03). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/03/tea-party-leaders-use-survey-to-hit-critics/" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 187); background: url("/w/skins/Vector/resources/common/images/external-link-ltr-icon.svg?48e54") right center no-repeat; padding-right: 13px;">"'Tea party' leaders use survey to strike back at critics"</a>. Washington Times. Retrieved 11 August 2014.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Washington+Times&rft.atitle=%27Tea+party%27+leaders+use+survey+to+strike+back+at+critics&rft.date=2010-03-03&rft.aulast=Harper&rft.aufirst=Jennifer&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtontimes.com%2Fnews%2F2010%2Fmar%2F03%2Ftea-party-leaders-use-survey-to-hit-critics%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASam+Adams+Alliance" class="Z3988" /></li><li id="cite_note-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_ref-5" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">^{</a> }<cite id="CITEREFZernike2010" class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Zernike, Kate (March 12, 2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/us/politics/13tea.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 187); background: url("/w/skins/Vector/resources/common/images/external-link-ltr-icon.svg?48e54") right center no-repeat; padding-right: 13px;">"Tea Party Avoids Divisive Social Issues"</a>. The New York Times.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+New+York+Times&rft.atitle=Tea+Party+Avoids+Divisive+Social+Issues&rft.date=2010-03-12&rft.aulast=Zernike&rft.aufirst=Kate&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2010%2F03%2F13%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2F13tea.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASam+Adams+Alliance" class="Z3988" /></li><li id="cite_note-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_ref-6" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=4FB3D910-18FE-70B2-A855734169AC4037" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 187); background: url("/w/skins/Vector/resources/common/images/external-link-ltr-icon.svg?48e54") right center no-repeat; padding-right: 13px;">Tea parties stir evangelicals' fears - POLITICO.com Print View</a></li><li id="cite_note-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_ref-7" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">^{</a> }<cite id="CITEREFRatcliffe" class="citation pressrelease cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Ratcliffe, R.G. (8-5-2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics/2010/08/alliance-study-finds-tea-party-activists-leaving-gop/" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 187); background: url("/w/skins/Vector/resources/common/images/external-link-ltr-icon.svg?48e54") right center no-repeat; padding-right: 13px;">"Alliance study finds Tea Party activists leaving GOP"</a> (Press release). Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 11 August 2014.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Alliance+study+finds+Tea+Party+activists+leaving+GOP&rft.pub=Houston+Chronicle&rft.aulast=Ratcliffe&rft.aufirst=R.G.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.chron.com%2Ftexaspolitics%2F2010%2F08%2Falliance-study-finds-tea-party-activists-leaving-gop%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASam+Adams+Alliance" class="Z3988" /> <code class="cs1-code" style="font-family: monospace, monospace; background: inherit; color: inherit; border: none; border-radius: 2px; padding: inherit;">{{<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_press_release" title="Template:Cite press release" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">cite press release</a>}}</code>: Check date values in: <code class="cs1-code" style="font-family: monospace, monospace; background: inherit; color: inherit; border: none; border-radius: 2px; padding: inherit;">|date=</code> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:CS1_errors#bad_date" title="Help:CS1 errors" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">help</a>)</li><li id="cite_note-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_ref-8" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">^{</a> }<cite class="citation pressrelease cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.fox19.com/Global/story.asp?S=13314691" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 187); background: url("/w/skins/Vector/resources/common/images/external-link-ltr-icon.svg?48e54") right center no-repeat; padding-right: 13px;">"Study Reveals Conservative Establishment and Tea Party Activists Differ on Movement's Ability to Succeed Politically"</a> (Press release). Fox 19. 2010-10-13. Retrieved 11 August 2014.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Study+Reveals+Conservative+Establishment+and+Tea+Party+Activists+Differ+on+Movement%27s+Ability+to+Succeed+Politically&rft.pub=Fox+19&rft.date=2010-10-13&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fox19.com%2FGlobal%2Fstory.asp%3FS%3D13314691&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASam+Adams+Alliance" class="Z3988" /></li><li id="cite_note-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_ref-9" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrwdZ2bX-oc&feature=player_embedded" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 187); background: url("/w/skins/Vector/resources/common/images/external-link-ltr-icon.svg?48e54") right center no-repeat; padding-right: 13px;">Health Rations And You video</a></li><li id="cite_note-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_ref-10" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://michellemalkin.com/2009/07/16/video-health-rations-and-you/" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 187); background: url("/w/skins/Vector/resources/common/images/external-link-ltr-icon.svg?48e54") right center no-repeat; padding-right: 13px;">Michelle Malkin</a></li><li id="cite_note-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; counter-increment: mw-ref-extends-parent 1; counter-reset: mw-ref-extends-child 0; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Adams_Alliance#cite_ref-11" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">^{</a> }<cite id="CITEREFBrant-ZawadskiTeo" class="citation news cs1" style="font-style: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Brant-Zawadski, Alex; Teo, Dawn (12-11-2009). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380662.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 187); background: url("/w/skins/Vector/resources/common/images/external-link-ltr-icon.svg?48e54") right center no-repeat; padding-right: 13px;">"Anatomy of the Tea Party Movement: Sam Adams Alliance"</a>. Huffington Post. 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color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">help</a>)</li></ol></div><h2 style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; font-family: "Linux Libertine", Georgia, Times, serif; line-height: 1.3;">External links[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sam_Adams_Alliance&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: External links" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a>]</h2><ul style="list-style-image: url("/w/skins/Vector/resources/common/images/bullet-icon.svg?d4515"); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/20-5792227/sam-adams-alliance.aspx" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 187); background: url("/w/skins/Vector/resources/common/images/external-link-ltr-icon.svg?48e54") right center no-repeat; padding-right: 13px;">Profile</a> at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GuideStar" class="mw-redirect" title="GuideStar" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">GuideStar</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ballotpedia.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 187); background: url("/w/skins/Vector/resources/common/images/external-link-ltr-icon.svg?48e54") right center no-repeat; padding-right: 13px;">Ballotpedia</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.judgepedia.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 187); background: url("/w/skins/Vector/resources/common/images/external-link-ltr-icon.svg?48e54") right center no-repeat; padding-right: 13px;">Judgepedia</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080820004150/http://www.sunshinereview.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 187); background: url("/w/skins/Vector/resources/common/images/external-link-ltr-icon.svg?48e54") right center no-repeat; padding-right: 13px;">Sunshine Review</a></li></ul></div></div><div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 5px; margin-top: 1em; clear: both; color: rgb(32, 33, 34); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">Categories</a>: <ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 0px; padding: 0px 0.5em 0px 0.25em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:2006_establishments_in_Illinois" title="Category:2006 establishments in Illinois" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">2006 establishments in Illinois</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0px 0.5em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Libertarian_organizations_based_in_the_United_States" title="Category:Libertarian organizations based in the United States" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">Libertarian organizations based in the United States</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0px 0.5em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Organizations_disestablished_in_2012" title="Category:Organizations disestablished in 2012" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">Organizations disestablished in 2012</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0px 0.5em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Organizations_established_in_2006" title="Category:Organizations established in 2006" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">Organizations established in 2006</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0px 0.5em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Non-profit_organizations_based_in_Chicago" title="Category:Non-profit organizations based in Chicago" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">Non-profit organizations based in Chicago</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0px 0.5em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:501(c)(3)organizations" title="Category:501(c)(3) organizations" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(6, 69, 173); background: none;">501(c)(3) organizations</a></li></ul></div></div></div><div>=</div><div>
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</div><div><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); width: auto; line-height: 21px; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">About the Sunshine Review Portal on Ballotpedia</h2><table style="line-height: 21px; width: 667px; margin-top: 0.1em; border: 0.5px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><tbody><tr><td /></tr><tr><td><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;"><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;">In July 2013, Ballotpedia acquired content from the nonprofit <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Sunshine_Review" title="Sunshine Review" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Sunshine Review</a> as a starting point to launch a <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia:Wikiproject_Municipal_Government" title="Ballotpedia:Wikiproject Municipal Government" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">municipal government project</a>. Readers of Sunshine Review will still get the same top-quality material about transparency, budgets and pensions. Now they'll be given an enhanced experience with the addition of election-related material provided within Ballotpedia's pages.</dd></dl></dd></dl><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;"><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;">The content that was acquired includes more than 30,000 pages. Some of that content will become part of our existing portal areas; others will remain as stand-alone pages.</dd></dl></dd></dl><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;"><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;">Sunshine Review was a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to state and local government transparency. The Sunshine Review wiki collected and shared transparency information and used a "10-point Transparency Checklist" to evaluate the content of every state and more than 5,000 local government websites. Sunshine Review collaborated with individuals and organizations throughout America, according to its website, "in the cause of an informed citizenry and an accountable government."</dd></dl></dd></dl></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); width: auto; line-height: 21px; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Press Release Announcing Merger, July 9, 2013</h2><table style="line-height: 21px; width: 667px; margin-top: 0.1em; border: 0.5px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><tbody><tr><td /></tr><tr><td><big>Organization dedicated to government transparency ups local content</big>
Local political data and election information all available in one place 

<dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;"><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;">Madison, <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Wisconsin" title="Wisconsin" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Wisconsin</a>: The Lucy Burns Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing accurate, comprehensive information about elections and candidates, has acquired the content of the Sunshine Review to grow and expand the data already available to users of their Ballotpedia and Judgepedia wikis.</dd></dl></dd></dl><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;"><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;">“This is exciting news, not just for the Lucy Burn Institute, but for our dedicated and informed readers and contributors. Readers from Sunshine Review will continue to get the same top-quality material about transparency, budgets and pensions, and now citizens get an enhanced experience with the addition of election-related materials provided within Ballotpedia’s pages,” said Leslie Graves, President of the Lucy Burns Institute.</dd></dl></dd></dl><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;"><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;">The Sunshine Review wiki has collected and shared information about state and local transparency, welcoming thousands of site visitors per day. Sending that content to Ballotpedia will create a one-stop shop for the online community tied into the political scene while offering extensive information on municipal government, particularly with respect to transparency.</dd></dl></dd></dl><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;"><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;">“By announcing this acquisition, LBI is signaling a commitment to political transparency, and introducing more coverage at the local government level. We’re here to provide citizens with even more tools to becoming involved in their community and hold elected officials accountable,” added Graves.</dd></dl></dd></dl></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); width: auto; line-height: 21px; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Types of Sunshine Review Pages</h2>Ballotpedia acquired more than 37,000 pages from Sunshine Review. Those pages fall into the following basic categories.<table style="line-height: 21px; width: 477px; margin-top: 0.1em; border: 0.5px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><tbody><tr><td /></tr><tr><td><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;"><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;"><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/skins/Ballotpedia/images/bullet-icon.png);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Portal:School_Boards_and_School_Board_Elections" title="Portal:School Boards and School Board Elections" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">School districts</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Category:List_of_cities_by_state" title="Category:List of cities by state" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Cities</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Category:Counties_by_state" title="Category:Counties by state" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Counties</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Transparency</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Category:Budget_information_by_state" title="Category:Budget information by state" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">State budgets</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Category:Pension_information_by_state" title="Category:Pension information by state" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Pensions</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Freedom of Information</li></ul></dd></dl></dd></dl></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div>=</div>

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SAM ADAMS Alliance

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