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Feather, T

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But suspicions abound that behind all the secrecy the independent groupsmay not be so independent. During the 2004 presidential election, a Washington Post reporter witnessed what seemed to be evidence of collusion between a nonprofit independent group, Americans for Tax Reform, and the Bush-Cheney campaign. As reported in the newspaper, she saw ATR’s founder, Grover Norquist, give Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman a confidential list of conservative activists in 37 states. When a watchdog group filed charges against ATR based on the Post story, the Federal Election Commission found “reason to believe” that the transfer constituted an illegal contribution from a corporation (ATR) but declined to take further action. ATR and the Bush-Cheney campaign maintained that the list had no monetary value because the information in it was publicly available, a premise the FEC did not accept.

The moral of this story: It is almost impossible to prove cooperation between candidates and independent groups, even though everyone assumes that it happens on a daily basis. And even violations that could be proven would likely not be punished.

Also in the 2004 campaign, a number of consultants worked both for a presidential campaign as well as an allied independent group. Washington attorneyBen Ginsburg was forced to resign when it was learned that he was serving as counsel to both the Bush campaign and the Swift Boat Veterans organization. Ginsberg also was counsel for Progress for America during 2004. Tony Feather, a former political director of Bush-Cheney 2000 and a good friend of White House adviser Karl Rove, was the founder of PFA.Originally, the group’s purpose was to support Bush’s agenda. When the group began running independent issue ads supporting Bush’s reelection, Feather left PFA. But his firm, Feather Larson Synhorst-DCI, went on to do campaign work for Bush-Cheney 2004 and the Republican National Committee. When then-Federal Election Commissioner Bradley Smith was asked on MSNBC whether Ginsberg had violated the law, he replied: “Clearly, a lawyer can advise two clients. What he can’t do is transfer inside information from one to another.”...

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Tony Feather is a partner in Feather Larson & Synhorst**DCI** and served as political director for Bush/Cheney 2000. The other founding partners were Republican activists Jeff Larson and Thomas J. Synhorst.

Feather began his "campaign career over 25 years ago and has since worked in the campaigns of many Republican elected officials. He has served as Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party, and was appointed by former Republican National Committee Chairman **Haley Barbour** to be his Midwest Regional Coordinator, overseeing nine Mid-western states. As the Midwest Coordinator, [Feather] was responsible for design and implementation of telephone and mail voter contact programs."[1]

According to an article in the Washington Post, "Feather is emerging as a Washington power broker, thanks to some friends named Karl Rove, Joe M. Allbaugh, Ken Mehlman, Donald L. Evans and Jack Oliver."

Feather, according to the FLS-DCI web site, is a "key advisor to the Bush White House and is viewed as a top Republican strategist."

The Post reports, "Feather's FLS-DCI handles a significant portion of direct-mail fundraising for the RNC and a majority of the state Republican parties, with billings of more than $3.5 million in the first nine months of this year, according to Federal Election Commission reports." [[2]

In 2001, Feather founded Progress for America, a GOP soft-money conduit. In the fall of 2003, he put DCI colleague Chris LaCivita in charge of PFA because of concerns that he couldn't legally run the 501(c)(4) while working on the Bush/Cheney 2004 campaign.

Clients

According to an article in the Washington Post, Feather is a lobbyist for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the peak US drug industry trade association as well as AT&T, General Motors, and the Teamsters Union. [3]

According to Washington Representatives, Feather has lobbyied the following on behalf of DCI Group, LLC:

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Categories: Lobbyists | Republican Party (USA)

Feather Larson & Synhorst DCI

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Feather, Larson & Synhorst DCI (FLS-DCI) are "Specialists in Telephone Contact Business." The telemarketing company used to be known as Feather Hodges Larson & Synhorst DCI. In 2000, the Washington DC-based DCI Group was spun off from FLS-DCI.

FLS-DCI has been one of the largest corporate receipents of funds from the Republican National Committee in 2004. FLS-DCI has close ties to key White House advisor Karl Rove and others in the GOP.

FLS-DCI specializes in creating phony front groups to make it appear as if there's a groundswell of support for its clients' issues.

One of its most prominent front groups is Voices for Choices. This fake coalition of conservative groups is runing ads nationwide in support of AT&T's key issues. AT&T, which has donated millions to the Republican Party and the Bush Campaign in 2004 - and whose general counsel served on Bush's transition team, is one of FLS-DCI's largest and most important clients.

Other FLS-DCI phony productions include Responsible Electronic Communications Alliance and Hands Off the Internet.

On its web site, FLS-DCI states:

"We use state-of-the-art technology to target and communicate with key constituencies. We have a reputation for connecting the right message to the right people. Our team has experience designing and implementing successful phone programs in all 50 states.

"Our client list consists of the last five Presidential Campaigns including Bush/Cheney 2000. We also provide services for the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and hundreds of Republican State Parties and candidates on all levels, as well as corporations, associations and other organizations.

Advisor to President George Walker Bush, Karl Rove's endorsement of FLS-DCI reads:

Contents [hide]

The Company

Partners

Clients

National Campaigns and Associations

Candidates and Campaigns

National Republican Organizations

Contact

Phoenix Office

2401 West Behrend Drive Suite 7

Phoenix, AZ 85027

Phone: 602-387-8000

Fax: 602-387-8001

Web: http://www.fls-dci.com/index.asp

St. Paul Office

570 Asbury Street, Suite 201

St. Paul, MN 55104

Phone: 651-999-0249

Fax: 651-649-0486

866-FLS-2002

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