Citizens for Sound Econ CSE Koch

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kochs Bought Ron Paul Nat'l Taxpayers Legal Fund --> CSE  1984, then took the Wise Use, then Tea Party 79 bbbCSE smoking as civic duty html endit1 bak 722

==<div><a href="https://truthout.org/articles/the-not-so-independent-women-s-forum-was-born-in-defense-of-clarence-thomas-and-the-far-right/">https://truthout.org/articles/the-not-so-independent-women-s-forum-was-born-in-defense-of-clarence-thomas-and-the-far-right/</a></div><div>
</div><div>hBO’s new film on demand, <a href="https://www.hbo.com/movies/confirmation" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer;">Confirmation</a>, revisits the painful battle over the appointment of Clarence Thomas to the US Supreme Court in spite of the testimony of Anita Hill that he sexually harassed her.</div>Some pundits have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/14/arts/television/hbos-confirmation-revisits-anita-hill-clarence-thomas-and-drama-in-the-senate.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer;">attempted</a> to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llfrAg207KU" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer;">disparage</a> the film, even though it has several scenes that portray Thomas and his wife Ginny as quiet, sympathetic figures and not as the outspoken right-wing political activists that they were and are.One of the harshest critics of the film is a group that calls itself the “Independent Women’s Forum” (IWF).<div>IWF is hardly independent though, despite its name.</div>It is deeply imbedded in the right-wing political infrastructure.In fact, IWF began as part of the coordinated effort to get Thomas confirmed so he could advance the right-wing’s legal agenda on the courts, in the face of deep fears by many that he would limit individual rights as a judge—fears later validated by his rulings and extreme dissents as a Justice.As Jane Mayer and Jill Abramson wrote in their book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Strange-Justice-Selling-Clarence-Thomas/dp/0395633184" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer;">Strange Justice</a>: “the falsehoods and distortions involved in the selling of Clarence Thomas to the American people neither started nor ended with the treatment of Anita Hill’s accusations. From the beginning, the placement of Thomas on the high court was seen as a political end justifying almost any means.”Central to the efforts to get Thomas confirmed were not only the attacks on Hill by GOP Senators but also <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?21511-1/thomas-confirmation-hearing-reaction" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer;">press</a> <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?19896-1/support-judge-thomas-nomination" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer;">outreach</a> used to discredit her that was orchestrated by a small group of powerful right-wing women.That confirmation battle put one of the most reactionary judges in modern history on the Court, and it also led to the creation of IWF, an ultra reactionary women’s group opposing women’s rights in numerous ways.IWF’s creators defended Thomas, despite the detailed evidence against him, and the organization they founded has defended him and continued to attack Hill since 1991.The Thomas hearings also led to a backlash from voters to a US Senate that had 98 men and only two women as Senators.In spite of a temporary majority supporting the confirmation of Thomas based on the incomplete information provided in the Senate hearings, American voters resoundingly rejected the idea of an all-white male Senate Judiciary Committee examining a woman’s testimony about sexual harassment.The 1992 election that followed swept out President George H.W. Bush and swept in four women as new Senators and more women in other offices, making that election “the Year of the Woman.”Today, 20 US Senators are women; and IWF leaders and alums have regularly attacked the most powerful woman elected Senator since the Thomas hearings, Hillary Clinton.IWF — which has had close ties to the billionaire Koch Brothers, before they were infamous, and to other rightwing donors — has used its well-funded platform to secure numerous press appearances without much scrutiny of its record and sometimes because of its reactionary positions.That’s in part because media outlets have defaulted to point-counterpoint “reporting” that gives equal weight both to facts IWF opposes and to outlier claims that are IWF’s stock in trade.Part of the playbook was set as IWF came into being, as its founders deployed women in the press to counter a fellow woman whose testimony threatened their political agenda and ally.Much of that claim boiled down to denying her experience as inauthentic and deceitful because Thomas had not sexually harassed them. It was a brutally effective tactic.This is the story of IWF’s roots.IWF: Born to Give a Woman’s Voice to Defending Clarence ThomasOn June 28, 1991, the first black man to serve on the US Supreme Court, Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall — an icon to the civil rights community — announced his retirement.Ten days later, President Bush nominated Clarence Thomas, a 43-year old African American judge who had a controversial tenure as President Reagan’s Chairman of the Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC), where he challenged core ideas about equal economic opportunity for women, such as equal pay and comparable worth.Although it was only 16 months before the next presidential election and even though the choice of a young right-winger like Thomas to fill the beloved Justice Marshall’s seat was a lightening rod for controversy, the Democratic-led Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled hearings on his nomination for September.As the controversy over Thomas’ nomination grew, a small group of right-wing women began meeting for lunch to discuss the nomination at the offices of Ted Olson in the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.One of the women at those lunch meetings was Barbara Kay Bracher, a lawyer who married Olson in 1996.Following the Thomas confirmation, she would go on to staff investigations of the Clinton Administration as a congressional aide and to write a diatribe called “Hell to Pay: the Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton,” which was published by the right-wing bookseller Regnery shortly before Olson perished on a plane in the 9/11 attacks on her way to a taping for Bill Maher’s “Politically Incorrect” TV show.(Ted Olson became famous for taking the Bush v. Gore case to the US Supreme Court, where Justice Clarence Thomas sided with him and four other GOP Justices in stopping the Florida recount in 2000, making Republican George W. Bush president despite Democrat Al Gore winning the popular vote. Bush then named Ted Olson Solicitor General of the United States.)The driving force at those pro-Thomas strategy sessions in Olson’s office back in 1991 was Rosalie “Ricky” Silberman, who had worked with Thomas as Vice-Chair of the EEOC and was one of his confidantes.Before that, Silberman had worked as the press secretary for GOP Senator Bob Packwood, who later resigned in 1995 in the wake allegations that he harassed and assaulted numerous women he worked with.(Ricky Silberman was also married to Thomas’ mentor from Thomas’ brief time as a judge on the DC Circuit: Judge Laurence Silberman, a very political judge who among other things later tried to clear George W. Bush of culpability for lying about Iraq’s weapons and was later given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by Bush.)The third major figure in these lunches was Anita K. Blair, who was a lawyer who became General Counsel for IWF. President George W. Bush made her Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and in 2011 she was hired as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Department on human resources in the Obama Administration.In the later 1990s during the Republican effort to impeach Democratic President Bill Clinton, Blair <a href="https://www.iwf.org/news/2432467/Playing-Trivia-with-Sexual-Harassment/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer;">claimed</a> on behalf of IWF that:<blockquote style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 2rem 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3rem; border-left: 0.5rem solid rgb(159, 161, 164); line-height: 2;">“nothing ever did more to trivialize sexual harassment than the sorry spectacle surrounding Anita Hill … Given prime-time exposure on national television Hill told a bizarre, uncorroborated story about Thomas, her boss at two federal agencies. Hearing her belated complaints about off-color jokes allegedly told about 10 years before, millions of Americans wondered, ‘What on earth does this have to do with sexual harassment?’ Americans learned the answer from Hill and her supporters: ‘Sexual harassment isn’t about sex, it’s about power.’ The Anita Hill spectacle wasn’t about sexual harassment; it was about the exercise of pure partisan political power. The media circus surrounding Hill and Thomas was produced and directed by liberal operatives, including fifth-columnists like NPR’s Nina Totenberg.” [jewish?]</blockquote>Those three right-wing politicos—Silberman, Olson, and Blair—formed an ad hoc committee called “Women for Judge Thomas,” which ultimately became a non-profit group dubbed the “Independent Women’s Forum.”The Clarence Thomas Nomination Begins and IWF’s Founders Step ForwardBut even before Anita Hill was in the picture — discovered by Senate Judiciary Committee staffers vetting the Bush nominee — allies of Thomas knew his controversial record as President Reagan’s chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) could play poorly with many women and others concerned about equality.The Women for Judge Thomas committee began holding press conferences the month President Bush announced Thomas’ nomination to a lifetime position on the Court in July.Thomas was in his early 40s and had never argued a case before the US Supreme Court, and he had only had 16 months of experience as a sitting judge on any court.His selection was considered a tactical masterstroke by C. Boyden Gray, President Bush’s White House Counsel, who had been criticized for letting the first vacancy in Bush’s term go to New Hampshire Justice David Souter, who was considered by the far right to be not “conservative” or activist enough to deliver judicial votes to change the law in the ways they wanted.By putting forward an African American with right-wing bona fides, at Gray’s urging the Bush White House sought to mute Democratic objections for fear of offending a major constituency over fighting a nominee with a rags-to-riches life story.(Gray is the grandson and also the nephew of three presidents of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco. After President George H.W. Bush lost his bid for another term in the 1992 “Year of the Woman” election, Gray became chairman of David Koch’s Citizens for a Sound Economy, which would later officially join forces with IWF.)But Thomas’ limited judicial experience and the hearings on his nomination deepened concerns of the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee.As the New York Times reported: “‘Judge Thomas lacks the experience and qualifications that a Supreme Court Justice ought to have,’ said Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont. ‘He fled from his record and he refused to answer legitimate questions.'”Leahy also noted: “‘Nothing in Judge Thomas’s record or testimony suggests the level of professional distinction or constitutional grounding appropriate for a Supreme Court nominee. His legal and judicial experiences are limited. His speeches and writings have shown little in the way of analysis or scholarship.'”So, when his nomination was considered, the Committee deadlocked 7-7 on his nomination but then voted to send the nomination to the full Senate for a vote without a recommendation for or against confirmation. Although the Democrats had a 57-43 majority, a number of Southern Democrats had already pledged to vote for Thomas to be confirmed.Hill Comes Forward and IWF’s Founders Step Up to Counter Her in the PressBefore the Senate vote could be held, however, National Public Radio’s Nina Totenberg broke the story that the Senate investigation had uncovered allegations that Thomas had made unwanted advances toward some of his subordinates in his leadership positions in the Reagan Administration.Totenberg received a tip that Professor Anita Hill, a conservative black law professor, had told the Senate that Thomas had made sexual comments to her when he was her supervisor when they both worked for the Reagan Administration.This shocking development increased the volume of concern about confirming Thomas to a lifetime job on the highest court in the land, and the Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled another round of hearings to examine the allegations.Under the guidance of Ricky Silberman, the Women for Judge Thomas Committee identified women who worked with Thomas who said they had not been sexually harassed by him and that he had behaved professionally toward them.=1ST BIG WIN --> KOCH PLAYBOOK?frontline 5 22  <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/the-power-of-big-oil/transcript/">https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/the-power-of-big-oil/transcript/</a>late 80's (after hansen?) FF deniers pretty sure gov't action on AGW, rallied to ~, doubted they cd win but "ran the table"; dems knew W-M beat ended action for a decade?!<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">1992<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Chapter iii. The Environmental Presidency<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">GOV. BILL CLINTON, Arkansas, 1983-1992:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The man standing beside me today has what it takes to lead this nation from the day we take office. Sen. Al Gore of Tennessee.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">MARC CHUPKA, White House economist, 1993-94:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">When Bill Clinton announced that his running mate was going to be Al Gore, that was very exciting.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">There was an anticipation of a much greater effort to tackle climate change.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">BILL CLINTON:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">We will finally give the United States a real environmental presidency.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">AL GORE:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Then President-elect Clinton understood clearly that that's why I was on the ticket. That's why I agreed to run as vice president.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">MALE NEWSREADER:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">He has won this presidential race, along with Sen. Al Gore, now the vice president-elect.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">JANE McMULLEN:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Now you’re in the White House—<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">AL GORE:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Yeah.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">JANE McMULLEN:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">—to tackle it. Did you feel a sense of responsibility?<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">AL GORE:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Oh, absolutely. That was the principal task that I set for myself entering the White House. And I went to work right away to try to get a carbon tax in our first budget plan.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">MARC CHUPKA:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Sen. Gore asked me to produce some quantitative results of how much various energy taxes would reduce emissions.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Feb. 17, 1993<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Our plan does include a broad-based tax on energy, and it is environmentally responsible. It will help us in the future as well as in the present with the deficit.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">MARC CHUPKA:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">I was excited that a fairly bold step had been proposed.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">MALE NEWSREADER:It’s called a "BTU tax."<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">FEMALE NEWSREADER:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The tax is likely to be levied at the producer or distributor level, though consumers would feel it as energy companies passed it along in their prices.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">MARC CHUPKA:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">It’s a tax policy. You don’t expect everyone to love it. But the opposition to this particular proposal was very strong, very strident, very aggressive.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">MALE NEWSREADER:Koch Industries has been called the biggest company you never heard of. The sprawling giant includes pipelines, petrochemicals, asphalt plants, trading floors. Based in Wichita, Kansas, it sells everything from gasoline to beef.JEFF NESBIT, Comms. Dir., Citizens for a Sound Economy, 1993:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">I would say that virtually no one in the early 1990s had ever heard of Koch Industries.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">MALE NEWSREADER:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Koch's core business is distribution. It owns 37,000 miles of international pipeline.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">JEFF NESBIT:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">They can take the heaviest oil, the dirtiest oil, the hardest to turn into a useful product and refine it. And they became the best in the world at doing that. I think it's still probably the second-largest privately held company in the world.The two brothers who ran Koch Industries were Charles and David Koch. They had their sights set on how they were going to deal with issues that were existential to their industry. It's the heart of what they do, so they're going to fight and hang on to that till the bitter end.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">JERRY TAYLOR, Cato Institute, 1991-2014:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Cato Institute was a public policy think tank. It was founded by Charles Koch. And Charles was heavily invested in energy policy discussions back in that time, particularly the emergence of climate change.The Cato Institute position was that climate change is real, but the climate change that we're seeing today is far, far more modest than what the computer models say we should have seen by now. We need to know a lot more before we should be spending trillions of dollars to address it.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">JEFF NESBIT:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">So the Kochs had funding directed at the Cato Institute as a libertarian think tank; they also had funding that went to Citizens for a Sound Economy, which was built for a slightly different purpose, which was to be a quote, grassroots mobilizer.JERRY TAYLOR:Coming out of the gate, we then get served up with a proposed BTU tax. It was obvious to us at the Cato Institute that once that tax is in place, it's going to be very hard to get rid of.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">JEFF NESBIT:We walked over from Citizens for a Sound Economy over to the American Petroleum Institute, and we met with the entire leadership of API. And the meeting was all about, let's just knock out the BTU tax in its infancy.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">JERRY TAYLOR:We would be meeting in various locales in Washington with over 100 people in the room. It was a real war room situation.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">JERRY JASINOWSKI, President of the National Association of Manufacturers :[Archive] This coalition is one of the fastest growing and strongest that I've seen. We will stop the BTU tax and I believe substitute spending cuts in its place. Thank you very much for coming.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">OklahomaRON HOWELL, Former consultant, Koch Industries:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">We were known, and I think we made ourselves known that way, as the oil capital of the world. Almost everywhere you'd look had behind it oil industry dollars.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">I thought that the tax was a bad idea for America, but predominantly a bad idea for Oklahoma. Oklahoma was not in a good spot at that time at all. Oil wells were being shut. That meant a lot of lost jobs, a lot of lost companies. And this was putting the heel of the boot down hard.I got a call from Koch Industries telling me the industry is very concerned about this, but we're worried that this word isn't getting out. Our particular goal was to focus on Sen. Boren.JEFF NESBIT:David Boren was a moderate Democrat who chaired the relevant committee that would deal with the Clinton budget.RON HOWELL:We were hearing that he wanted to be left to do his own revising of it behind closed doors.JEFF NESBIT:They basically said if we can get David Boren to flip, we win. So they said, we're going to do whatever it takes.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">RON HOWELL:We set about what I would call a grasstops and a grassroots campaign. The grassroots were encouraged to call Sen. Boren and let him know that you do not want a tax, after seeing an ad that showed "take shower, pay a tax; start your car, pay a tax."<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">JEFF NESBIT:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Everybody was given their marching orders out of this playbook. People would stand up behind politicians with signs about no BTU tax. There were rallies.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">ENERGY INDUSTRY SPOKESMAN:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">—cost to the average household in Oklahoma is going to be roughly about $500 a year.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">RON HOWELL:My main role was what I would call the grasstops. You may be a civic leader, you may be a CEO. Often it would be Mr. Koch would call them, or myself, and talk them through "Did you know it does this, this, this and this?" Encourage strongly Sen. Boren kill it.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">JEFF NESBIT:What they told the public and what the policymakers were led to believe was that there was an army of folks who were ready to march in the streets. Maybe there were a handful of folks who thought, "Oh, gosh, I should call my senator and register my complaint," but they had no such grassroots army. It was funded and fueled by the corporate interests.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">MALE NEWSREADER:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CSE says its work isn’t done yet. It’s joined forces with other lobbying groups, stoking the flames of the prairie fire, hoping they’ll spread and burn the BTU tax for good.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">RON HOWELL:I remember a very late night or early morning phone call, and it was actually Sen. Boren's communications guy. "We want those ads to stop. And we want the CEOs to quit calling us, and in return, Sen. Boren’s going to announce his intentions to vote against it."<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">SEN. DAVID BOREN, D-Oklahoma, 1979-94 :<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Our proposal is fairer than that put forward by the administration—that is the BTU tax, which is the tax which is a part of the administration's plan that does hit lower- and middle-income Americans.JEFF NESBIT:He folded right away. It’s like wow, this can really work. We can pick our targets strategically and win, even when we’re not in political power.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">NARRATOR:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">At the time, David Boren disputed he was influenced by the oil industry. He said he was responding to concerns from the American public, and he opposed the tax because it would hurt consumers and businesspeople.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">MALE NEWSREADER:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">President Clinton has pulled the plug on his proposed BTU energy tax.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">FEMALE NEWSREADER:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Critics said it would cost jobs and devastate the economy, and there weren't enough votes in the Senate to pass it. Besides, who the heck knew what it was?<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">MALE NEWSREADER:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">This is after all a nation addicted to its cars and to the idea of driving down the open road.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">AL GORE:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">It was extremely disappointing to not get the votes. It was just the raw power of all the money that they threw into this. But we just decided to regroup and try to skin the cat a different way.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">MARC CHUPKA:They never proposed another energy tax. It was just considered radioactive.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">JEFF NESBIT:I think some of the leadership of the Koch network were really quite excited that it worked so well. So that's how that playbook first began. It was developed right then. What I didn’t know at the time was that it would become the beginning of something much bigger. And that playbook is still in use today.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">I don't feel embarrassed or regretful. In hindsight, I shouldn't have done that. There's no question I shouldn't have done that. But they were my client. I was a contractor. I was paid, I'm going to do my job. And my job was to do that.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">NARRATOR:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.725em; hyphens: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Charles Koch did not respond to questions about the campaign against the BTU tax. In 1994, a top Koch executive said, "Our belief is that the tax, over time, may have destroyed our business."...===

Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) was a powerful industry-funded <a class="mw-redirect" title="Think tank" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Think_tank">think tank</a>, promoting deregulation. It was founded by <a title="Koch Industries" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Industries">Koch Industries</a> interests and continues to maintain strong links. In 2003, an internal rift between CSE and its affiliated Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation led to a split in which CSEF was renamed as a separate organization, called <a class="mw-redirect" title="Americans For Prosperity" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_For_Prosperity">Americans For Prosperity</a>.

In July 2004, CSE announced it was merging with <a title="Empower America" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Empower_America">Empower America</a> to create <a title="FreedomWorks" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=FreedomWorks">FreedomWorks</a>.<a title="" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_note-0">[1]</a>

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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy</a>

<h1 class="firstHeading" id="firstHeading">Citizens for a Sound Economy</h1>

<div id="siteSub"> Wikipedia, </div>

Citizens for a Sound Economy/CSE (1984â2004) was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatism" title="Conservatism">conservative</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics" title="Politics">political</a> group operating in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a>, whose self-described mission was "to fight for less government, lower taxes, and less regulation." In 2004, Citizens for a Sound Economy split into two new organizations, with Citizens for a Sound Economy rebranding as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreedomWorks" title="FreedomWorks">FreedomWorks</a>, and Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation becoming <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_for_Prosperity" title="Americans for Prosperity">Americans for Prosperity</a>.

<h2>Content</h2>

</div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#Background">1 Background</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#Activity">2 Activity</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#Funding">3 Funding</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#Controversy">4 Controversy</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#References">5 References</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#External_links">6 External links</a></li>

</ul>

</td></tr></tbody></table>

<h2>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Background">edit</a>] Background</h2>

Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) was established in 1984 by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_H.Koch" title="David H. Koch">David H. Koch</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_G.Koch" title="Charles G. Koch">Charles G. Koch</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch_Industries" title="Koch Industries">Koch Industries</a>. "CSE received almost $5 million from various Koch foundations between 1986 and 1990, and David Koch and several Koch Industries employees serve as directors of CSE and the CSE Foundation."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_note-0">[1]</a>

<h2>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Activity">edit</a>] Activity</h2>

The group produced more than 100 policy papers each year in its run, delivering them to many congressional offices, sending out thousands of pieces of mail, and getting coverage of its viewpoints in thousands of news articles around the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a>. The group's representatives appeared on hundreds of radio and television shows and published hundreds op-ed articles arguing that "environmental conservation requires a commonsense approach that limits the scope of government," <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_rain" title="Acid rain">acid rain</a> is a "so-called threat [that] is largely nonexistent," and global warming is "a verdict in search of evidence."

CSE was a member organization of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooler_Heads_Coalition" title="Cooler Heads Coalition">Cooler Heads Coalition</a> which asserts that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming" title="Global warming">global warming</a> is a myth.

<h2>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Funding">edit</a>] Funding</h2>

CSE had a related funding arm, the Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation (CSEF). According to internal documents leaked to the Washington Post, 85 percent of CSE's 1998 revenues of CSE's $16.2 million came not from its 250,000 members, but from contributions of $250,000 and more from large corporations.

Between 1985 and 2001, CSE received $15,993,712 in 104 separate grants from twelve foundations:

<ul>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Rock_Foundation" title="Castle Rock Foundation">Castle Rock Foundation</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earhart_Foundation" title="Earhart Foundation">Earhart Foundation</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=JM_Foundation&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="JM Foundation (page does not exist)">JM Foundation</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_note-1">[2]</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch_Family_Foundations" title="Koch Family Foundations">Koch Family Foundations</a> (David H. Koch Foundation, Charles G. Koch Foundation, Claude R. Lambe Foundation)[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._Olin_Foundation" title="John M. Olin Foundation">John M. Olin Foundation</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynde_and_Harry_Bradley_Foundation" class="mw-redirect" title="Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation">Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Philip_M.McKenna_Foundation,Inc.&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Philip M. McKenna Foundation, Inc. (page does not exist)">Philip M. McKenna Foundation, Inc.</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaife_Foundations" title="Scaife Foundations">Scaife Foundations</a> (Scaife Family, Sarah Mellon Scaife, Carthage)[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]</li>

</ul>

Other CSE funders (not included in above funding total) have included:

<ul>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archer_Daniels_Midland" title="Archer Daniels Midland">Archer Daniels Midland</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DaimlerChrysler" class="mw-redirect" title="DaimlerChrysler">DaimlerChrysler</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron" title="Enron">Enron</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Electric" title="General Electric">General Electric</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=F.M._Kirby_Foundation&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="F.M. Kirby Foundation (page does not exist)">F.M. Kirby Foundation</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Morris_USA" title="Philip Morris USA">Philip Morris</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_West" title="US West">US West</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]</li>

<li>$380,250 from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ExxonMobil" title="ExxonMobil">ExxonMobil</a> (1998â2001)<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_note-2">[3]</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Identifying_reliable_sources" title="Wikipedia:Identifying reliable sources">unreliable source?</a>]</li>

</ul>

<h2>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Controversy">edit</a>] Controversy</h2>

Oregon Citizens for a Sound Economy was accused in 2004 of encouraging <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush" title="George W. Bush">George W. Bush</a> supporters to help get <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Nader" title="Ralph Nader">Ralph Nader</a> on the ballot in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon" title="Oregon">Oregon</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_note-3">[4]</a>

On July 23, 2006, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Post" class="mw-redirect" title="Washington Post">Washington Post</a> reported on the organization's tactics in signing up as members people who did not know about the organization, by enrolling them as members during unrelated insurance transactions in order to boost membership numbers. The group obtained about $638,000 and 16,000 members through the sale of insurance policies in this way, according to the report.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_note-WithInsurance-4">[5]</a> When someone signed up for insurance through "Medical Savings Insurance Company", they were also automatically signed up for Citizens for a Sound Economy without their knowledge, the report asserted. Their information is subject to be rented out as the Medical Savings Insurance Company deemed fit, which is not uncommon for many groups who obtain client contact information. The dues they paid also paid for Citizens for a Sound Economy projects.[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] Critics suggested the effort as a way for this group to inflate their membership rosters, and more exactly, by taking dues from people with no interest in the groups' politics.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_note-WithInsurance-4">[5]</a>

<h2>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: References">edit</a>] References</h2>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_ref-0">^</a> Draffan, George (2000), <a href="http://www.endgame.org/corpcon2.html#CitizensforaSoundEconomy" rel="nofollow" class="external text">The Corporate Consensus: A Guide to the Institutions of Global Power</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_ref-1">^</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=JM_Foundation" rel="nofollow" class="external free">http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=JM_Foundation</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_ref-2">^</a> <a href="http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=27" rel="nofollow" class="external text">Exxonsecrets.org factsheet</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_ref-3">^</a> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/30/bush.nader/index.html" rel="nofollow" class="external text">"Group: Bush allies illegally helping Nader in Oregon"</a>. CNN. 2004-07-01. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/30/bush.nader/index.html" rel="nofollow" class="external free">http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/30/bush.nader/index.html</a>. Retrieved 2009-09-15.<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.btitle=Group%3A+Bush+allies+illegally+helping+Nader+in+Oregon&rft.atitle=&rft.date=2004-07-01&rft.pub=CNN&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2004%2FALLPOLITICS%2F06%2F30%2Fbush.nader%2Findex.html&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy"> </li>

<li id="cite_note-WithInsurance-4">^ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_ref-WithInsurance_4-0">a</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_ref-WithInsurance_4-1">b</a> Weisman, Jonathan (July 23, 2006). <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200683.html" rel="nofollow" class="external text">"With Insurance Policy Comes Membership"</a>. Washington Post: p. A05. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200683.html" rel="nofollow" class="external free">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200683.html</a>. Retrieved 2007-05-15.<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=With+Insurance+Policy+Comes+Membership&rft.jtitle=Washington+Post&rft.aulast=Weisman&rft.aufirst=Jonathan&rft.au=Weisman%2C%26%2332%3BJonathan&rft.date=July+23%2C+2006&rft.pages=p.%26nbsp%3BA05&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwp-dyn%2Fcontent%2Farticle%2F2006%2F07%2F22%2FAR2006072200683.html&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy"> </li>

</ol>

</div>

<h2>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a>] External links</h2>

<ul>

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

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy" rel="nofollow" class="external text">CSE</a> entry on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sourcewatch" class="mw-redirect" title="Sourcewatch">sourcewatch</a>.</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Post" class="mw-redirect" title="Washington Post">Washington Post</a>, 29 January 2000, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A46598-2000Jan28" rel="nofollow" class="external text">Think Tanks: Corporations' Quiet Weapon</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Post" class="mw-redirect" title="Washington Post">Washington Post</a>, 23 July 2006, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200683.html" rel="nofollow" class="external text">With Insurance Policy Comes Membership: Unbeknown to Some, Those Signing Up With Firm Are Joining Conservative Group</a></li>

</ul>

</div>

SrcWtch

Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) was a powerful industry-funded <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Think_tank" class="mw-redirect" title="Think tank">think tank</a>, promoting deregulation. It was founded by <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Industries" title="Koch Industries">Koch Industries</a> interests and continues to maintain strong links. In 2003, an internal rift between CSE and its affiliated Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation led to a split in which CSEF was renamed as a separate organization, called <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_For_Prosperity" class="mw-redirect" title="Americans For Prosperity">Americans For Prosperity</a>.

In July 2004, CSE announced it was merging with <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Empower_America" title="Empower America">Empower America</a> to create <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=FreedomWorks" title="FreedomWorks">FreedomWorks</a>.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_note-0" title="">[1]</a>

<dl>

<dd>Main article: <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=FreedomWorks" title="FreedomWorks">FreedomWorks</a></dd>

</dl>

CSE was often described as a "consumer group," but according to internal documents leaked to the Washington Post, 85 percent of its 1998 funding came from major corporations. "The 'citizens' in question [are] companies like <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Amoco" class="mw-redirect" title="Amoco">Amoco</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bell_Atlantic&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Bell Atlantic (page does not exist)">Bell Atlantic</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citibank" class="mw-redirect" title="Citibank">Citibank</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=General_Electric" title="General Electric">General Electric</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=General_Motors" class="mw-redirect" title="General Motors">General Motors</a>", wrote Alexander Cockburn and Ken Silverstein in the book Washington Babylon.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_note-1" title="">[2]</a>. "During recent years, the CSE, headed by <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=C.Boyden_Gray" title="C. Boyden Gray">C. Boyden Gray</a>, who acted as counsel to the president under <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=George_W.Bush" class="mw-redirect" title="George W. Bush">George W. Bush</a>, has opposed health care reform and a rise in the minimum wage, while championing corporate tax cuts, deregulation and a balanced budget."

In 1995, CSE's budget hit $10 million and its "research" - funded entirely by corporations, conservative foundations, and wealthy businessmen -- is tailored to ensure results favorable to its patrons. Hence, a recent CSE study found that the American people were furious with the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Food_and_Drug_Administration" class="mw-redirect" title="Food and Drug Administration">Food and Drug Administration</a>. The CSE discovered this by asking respondents if they agreed with rigged statements such as, "The additional years it takes for the FDA to approve products costs lives by forcing people, including those with incurable diseases, to go without potentially beneficial drugs." Sixty-eight per cent agreed.[<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch:Citation_needed" title="SourceWatch:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]

Armed with this information, Gray went before a House subcommittee in early 1995 and demanded "reform" of the FDA. Gray told members of Congress that as a result of FDA dawdling, tens of thousands of Americans die annually. One particularly absurd case was that of the miracle drug nitrazepam. Deprived by FDA bureaucrats of the right to take this drug, some 4,000 people had perished. Or so Gray claimed.[<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch:Citation_needed" title="SourceWatch:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]

Questioned by committee members, CSE's head conceded that he wasn't sure what nitrazepam was used for. Rep. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Richard_Durbin" class="mw-redirect" title="Richard Durbin">Richard Durbin</a> informed him: insomnia.[<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch:Citation_needed" title="SourceWatch:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]

CSE has been criticised by the Nader-founded group, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Government_Accountability_Project" title="Government Accountability Project">Government Accountability Project</a> (GAP), as lacking independence. In 2000 GAP spokesperson Gary Ruskin told the Washington Post, "It's part of a rent-a-mouthpiece phenomenon. ... There are mercenary groups that function as surrogates when industry feels it's not advantageous for it to speak directly."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_note-2" title="">[3]</a>

<h2>Contents</h2>

</div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#CSE.27s_activities">1 CSE's activities</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#History">2 History</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#CSE_backs_Nader.27s_2004_ballot_bid">3 CSE backs Nader's 2004 ballot bid</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#Personnel">4 Personnel</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#Board_of_Directors">4.1 Board of Directors</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#Former_directors">4.2 Former directors</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#Other_personnel_.28past_and_present.29">4.3 Other personnel (past and present)</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#Funding">5 Funding</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#Affiliations">6 Affiliations</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#Contact_information">7 Contact information</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#Articles_and_resources">9 Articles and resources</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#Related_SourceWatch_articles">9.1 Related SourceWatch articles</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#References">9.2 References</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#External_resources">9.3 External resources</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#External_links">9.4 External links</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#Undated">9.4.1 Undated</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

<ul>

</ul>

</li>

</ul>

</li>

</ul>

</td></tr></tbody></table>

CSE's activities

CSE produces more than 100 policy papers each year, delivering them to every single congressional office, sending out thousands of pieces of mail, and getting coverage of its viewpoints in thousands of news articles around the nation. CSEâs representatives have appeared on hundreds of radio and television shows and published hundreds op-ed articles arguing that "environmental conservation requires a commonsense approach that limits the scope of government," acid rain is a "so-called threat [that] is largely nonexistent," and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Global_warming" title="Global warming">global warming</a> is "a verdict in search of evidence."

CSE claims that it has 280,000 supporters that endorse its "lower taxes, less government, and more freedom" agenda. <a href="http://www.cse.org/know/index.php" rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.cse.org/know/index.php">[1]</a> Other CSE documents claim the organisation has 360,000 "volunteer activists."

CSE boasts close ties to Republicans. Its website carries an endorsement from <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=George_W._Bush" class="mw-redirect" title="George W. Bush">George W. Bush</a>: "Folks, you've got to get to know this organization ... They have been doing a great job all over the country educating people." Florida Congresswoman <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Katherine_Harris" title="Katherine Harris">Katherine Harris</a> - best known for her role as Florida's Secretary of State during the 2000 Presidential election - also endorses CSE, calling it "one of the most effective grassroots lobbying organizations around--anywhere."

CSE says its current priorities are advancing what its calls its "Freedom Agenda" comprising "fundamental tax reform", ending "lawsuit abuse", "work, not welfare", "school choice", "privacy" and shifting social security to the responsibility of the individual.

<h2>History</h2>

In 1984 <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Charles_G.Koch" title="Charles G. Koch">Charles G. Koch</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_H.Koch" title="David H. Koch">David H. Koch</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=J.P.Humphries&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="J. P. Humphries (page does not exist)">J. P. Humphries</a> asked <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rich_Fink" title="Rich Fink">Rich Fink</a> to develop a concept for a new organization that could advocate free-market policies effectively in Washington. Fink (now executive vice president at <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Industries" title="Koch Industries">Koch Industries</a>) produced a 110-page business plan and the CSE, along with the CSE Foundation, started operations later that year. Fink became the first president. Ever since, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Industries" title="Koch Industries">Koch Industries</a> and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Family_Foundations" title="Koch Family Foundations">Koch Family Foundations</a> have continued to give substantial financial support to the CSE and the CSE Foundation.

In 1988, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jim_Miller" title="Jim Miller">Jim Miller</a>, President Reagan's Director of the Office of Management and Budget, joined CSE's staff and board of directors. This helped raise the profile of the CSE enormously. Until then, it had campaigned mostly on tax issues (advocating a low, flat-rate tax), but now it started focusing on legal and regulatory issues, starting with a telecommunications and financial services.

In 1989, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Wayne_Gable" title="Wayne Gable">Wayne Gable</a> succeeded Rich Fink as President. That year CSE Foundation rescued the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tax_Foundation" title="Tax Foundation">Tax Foundation</a> from financial trouble and restructured its management and board of directors. Gable is currently Managing Director of Federal Affairs at <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Industries" title="Koch Industries">Koch Industries</a>. In 1991, Gable went on the become president of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tax_Foundation" title="Tax Foundation">Tax Foundation</a>, and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Paul_Beckner" title="Paul Beckner">Paul Beckner</a> took over as president. That year, CSE launched <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_Congressional_Reform&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Citizens for Congressional Reform (page does not exist)">Citizens for Congressional Reform</a>, which went on to become <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=U.S.Term_Limit&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="U. S. Term Limit (page does not exist)">U. S. Term Limit</a>.

In 1993 <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=C._Boyden_Gray" title="C. Boyden Gray">C. Boyden Gray</a> became Chairman, and CSE led a major press and public relations campaign to defeat the Clinton administration's 1993 proposal for an energy tax.BTU?  "Our belief is that the tax, over time, may have destroyed our business," said Fink, who by then had left CSE's employ. While the Koch Foundations could not legally lobby against the tax, CSE rallied public opposition, especially in Oklahoma, where then-Senator David Boren agreed to help kill the tax. <a href="http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=33A6AF61.7CF0%40worldnet.att.net" rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" title="http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=33A6AF61.7CF0%40worldnet.att.net">[2]</a>

Due to the length of this article, two sections on CSE's history have been moved to separate pages. These are:

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy/CSE_huffs_and_puffs_with_Big_Tobacco" title="Citizens for a Sound Economy/CSE huffs and puffs with Big Tobacco">CSE huffs and puffs with Big Tobacco</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy/Free_market_environmentalism%3F" title="Citizens for a Sound Economy/Free market environmentalism?">"Free market environmentalism?"</a></li>

</ul>

<h2>CSE backs Nader's 2004 ballot bid</h2>

While CSE traditionally backs predictable conservative causes, in June 2004 it mobilised supporters in an attempt to place consumer activist <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ralph_Nader" title="Ralph Nader">Ralph Nader</a> on the presidential ballot in Oregon. ""We disagree with Ralph Nader's politics, but we'd love to see him make the ballot," Russ Walker,the Oregon director of CSE told Associated Press. It has foreshadowed providing similar support in Wisconsin and other states.

Both the Bush and Kerry campaigns expect the result of the Presidential vote in Oregon to be close. In a close election, the seven electoral college votes the state carries could prove decisive.

In August 2003 Oregon Senate proposed to balance the state's budget by adding a range of tax measures to a bill renewing a 10-cents a pack cigarette tax that had been in place for a decade.

The bill became a tempting target for CSE, which proceeded gather 50,420 <a href="http://www.petitionspot.com/" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.petitionspot.com/">petition</a> signatures from registered voters to place the question of overturning the bill on the ballot for February 2004.

"Our aim is to be the voice of the right like Ralph Nader is the voice of the Green movement," CSE's Oregeon director, Russ Walker, told the Statesman Journal.

As to whether the tobacco industry was helping fund the campaign remains unclear but Walker is relaxed about corporations funding their campaigns. "For me, it doesn't seem unusual that a company would look at us and say, 'You guys are doing the hard work, maybe we should give money to them,' â¦ We by no means ever turn away that kind of funding," he told the journal.

Not only did CSE get the bill put to a vote but convincingly won the February ballot with 59% rejecting the proposed tax increase. The overturning of the bill not only triggered spending cuts of $544 million but the tobacco tax increase was defeated too.

Fresh from its win, CSE has moved to bolster Nader's faltering campaign. To be listed on the ballot in Oregon, a candidate must submit signatures of either 15,000 registered voters or gather 1000 signatures in a day.

When the Nader campaign attempted to gather the necessary signatures at a convention in April 2004, it fell well short of the target. While Nader pulled 77,000 votes in the state in his 2000 Presidential run, only 750 turned out to the convention. (Gore carried Oregon in 2000 by only 6,765). <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1081252995257210.xml" rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1081252995257210.xml">[3]</a>

On Saturday June 26 the Nader campaign held a second convention in Portland. This time only 1100 attended, which is likely to be insufficient - given the presence of a number of Democrat activists inside - to reach the target figure.

Nader's difficulty in mobilising grass roots supporters presented CSE with an opportunity. Having gained over 50,000 signatures to overturn the Oregon tax bill, obtaining sufficient voters to support Nader would appear to be a relatively easy task for the organisation.

In late June the Oregonian reported that Lee Coleman, a member of the Oregon State Republican Central Committee, said that a message left on his answering machine urging his support for the Nader ballot had included a return number of the Bush-Cheney campaign office in Oregon.

Spokesman for the Bush campaign, Steve Schmidt, told the Oregonian that no paid campaign staffers were making calls to help Nader but said that some volunteers may have made calls from the campaign's office. "The campaign certainly understands that when Republican volunteers see that there are Democrat volunteers trying to restrict the choice and keep Ralph Nader off the ballot, that they should work to expand choice," Schmidt said. <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/front_page/108816503613780" rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/front_page/108816503613780">[4]</a>

On July 1 CNN reported that a Washington D.C. group <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_Responsibility_and_Ethics_in_Washington" title="Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington">Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington</a> (CREW) had filed a complaint to the Federal Election Commission about support by the Oregon branch of Citizens for a Sound Economy and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Oregon_Family_Council" title="Oregon Family Council">Oregon Family Council</a> for the Nader 2004 campaign for President.<a href="http://www.citizensforethics.org/activities/20040630/" rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.citizensforethics.org/activities/20040630/">[5]</a> <a href="http://www.citizensforethics.org/activities/20040630/AmendedComplaint.pdf" rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.citizensforethics.org/activities/20040630/AmendedComplaint.pdf">[6]</a> The complaint argued that the use of phone banks to encourage conservatives to attend a Nader nominating convention was an illegal in-kind contribution to the Nader campaign. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/30/bush.nader/" rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/30/bush.nader/">[7]</a>

In a media release announcing its complaint CREW argued that while both CSE and OFC are non-profit groups, in law they are no different from corporations which are not allowed to contribute directly to political campaigns. "The costs of creating the scripts as well as the costs of the telephone calls constitute prohibited in-kind contributions. The Oregon Republican Party, which could not have legally made the telephone calls on its own, violated conspiracy laws by working with OFC on the phone bank. BC '04 improperly allowed so called "volunteers" to use BC '04 resources to assist Ralph Nader's campaign," CREW stated.

"Finally, if the Nader campaign knew about the scripts and the calls, then it violated FEC law by accepting those contributions. In any event Nader must reimburse the corporations for the costs of the phone banks," it argued. While CSE and OFC contributed its support as an 'in-kind' contribution rather than direct financial support, CREW argues that the distinction makes no difference.

The complaint was also directed at Bush's re-election campaign and the Oregon Republican Party, which CREW alleged were involved in the strategy of seeking to ensure that Nader appeared on the ballot in Oregon and thereby boosted Bush's prospects by splitting some liberal supporters support away from Kerry.

The day after the June 26 convention, CSE issued a media release to explain its support for Nader. "Oregon CSE members are working to get Ralph Nader on the November ballot! While this sounds completely backwards-- Ralph Nader opposes nearly every issue CSE fights for-- but there's sound logic behind Oregon CSE's actions. CSE does not advocate the election or defeat of political candidates, but Oregon CSE members feel that having Nader on the ballot helps illuminate the strong similarities between the uber-liberal Nader and John Kerry," CSE stated.

The phone script, in the name of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Russ_Walker&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Russ Walker (page does not exist)">Russ Walker</a> the director of Citizens for a Sound Economy in Oregon explained to supporters that "we have to drive a wedge through the Liberal Left's base of support' by ensuring Nader obtained the requisite 1000 signatures." <a href="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=863" rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=863">[8]</a> <a href="http://www.mandatemedia.com/CSE.script.june24.2004.gif" rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.mandatemedia.com/CSE.script.june24.2004.gif">[9]</a>

The President of CSE, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Matt_Kibbe" title="Matt Kibbe">Matt Kibbe</a>, told CNN several days later that "we called about 1,000 folks in the Portland area and said this would be an opportunity to show up to provide clarity in the presidential debate." Kibbe rejected suggestions that the calls were co-ordinated with either the Bush or Nader campaigns.

In a July 2 media statement CSE said "in Oregon last week, CSE organized a phone bank to about 1,000 members in the Portland area â¦ and asked them to attend a weekend Nader event to qualify him for the ballot in Oregon." CSE described its activism as an "effort to broaden the debate -- and ballot access."

"CSE is undeterred by these attacks, and plans to continue the Nader issue strategy with its activists in key battleground states like Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere," it stated. <a href="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=868" rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=868">[10]</a>

For CSE, backing Nader's campaign also has the advantage of keeping its supporters mobilised, rather than have them drift away for lack of campaign activities to pursue.

The Wisconsin state director of CSE, Cameron Sholty, told the New York Times that when Nader's petition drive starts in August they will help. "We'll definitely be spreading the word that we'd like to see Nader on the ballot. ... We'll do phone trees and friends-of-friends, and those Nader events will be a great way to drive our membership to get out to sign petitions for Nader," Sholty said. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/01/politics/campaign/01NADE.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5070&en=818c139c59d8f5c4&hp&ex=1089864000" rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/01/politics/campaign/01NADE.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5070&en=818c139c59d8f5c4&hp&ex=1089864000">[11]</a>

While the controversy over CSE's support is embarrassing for Nader, CSE sees no reason to pull back. In Michigan it issued a media release announcing that was activating its email and phone trees in support of getting Nader on the ballot. <a href="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=876" rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=876">[12]</a>

<h2>Personnel</h2>

(as of July 2004)

<h3>Board of Directors</h3>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=C._Boyden_Gray" title="C. Boyden Gray">C. Boyden Gray</a>, Co-Chairman</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Dick_Armey" title="Dick Armey">Dick Armey</a>, Co-Chairman</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=J._Clyde_Ballard" title="J. Clyde Ballard">J. Clyde Ballard</a>, Director</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jim_Burnley&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Jim Burnley (page does not exist)">Jim Burnley</a>, Director</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Charles_Hilton&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Charles Hilton (page does not exist)">Charles Hilton</a>, Director</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bill_Jaeger&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Bill Jaeger (page does not exist)">Bill Jaeger</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Matt_Kibbe" title="Matt Kibbe">Matt Kibbe</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Thomas_Knudsen&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Thomas Knudsen (page does not exist)">Thomas Knudsen</a>, Director</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_H._Padden" title="David H. Padden">David H. Padden</a>, Director</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Richard_Stephenson&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Richard Stephenson (page does not exist)">Richard Stephenson</a>, Director</li>

</ul>

<h3>Former directors</h3>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_C._Miller_III" class="mw-redirect" title="James C. Miller III">James C. Miller III</a></li>

</ul>

<h3>Other personnel (past and present)</h3>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Joel_Bucher" title="Joel Bucher">Joel Bucher</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Wayne_Gable" title="Wayne Gable">Wayne Gable</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Scott_A._Hodge" title="Scott A. Hodge">Scott A. Hodge</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Karen_Lotter/Hickey&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Karen Lotter/Hickey (page does not exist)">Karen Lotter/Hickey</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Lawrence_A._Kudlow" title="Lawrence A. Kudlow">Lawrence A. Kudlow</a>, economic counsel</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Clyde_Wayne_Crews,_Jr.&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Clyde Wayne Crews, Jr. (page does not exist)">Clyde Wayne Crews, Jr.</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jeffrey_A._Nesbit" title="Jeffrey A. Nesbit">Jeffrey A. Nesbit</a>, former head of communications<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_note-3" title="">[4]</a></li>

</ul>

<h2>Funding</h2>

The CSE - which is a 501(c)4 tax-exempt organisation - has a related funding arm, the Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation (CSEF) which is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organisation. (See <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=The_U.S._tax_code_and_non_profits" title="The U.S. tax code and non profits">The U.S. tax code and non profits</a> for further details). In its 2002 Internal Revenue Service return, the CSEF listed its total revenue as being $3.9 million. <a href="http://www.guidestar.org/justgive/controller/search.gs?action_searchFin=1&partner=justgive&ein=52-1527294" rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.guidestar.org/justgive/controller/search.gs?action_searchFin=1&partner=justgive&ein=52-1527294">[13]</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=CSEF_budget_details" title="CSEF budget details">CSEF budget details</a>

According to the annual report filed by the Foundations the board members to the two entities are shared. (The 2002 return also notes three other organisations - the Taxpayer Action League, the Tax Foundation and Citizens for the Environment - are other related entities with the same board members. The Tax Foundation and Citizens for the Environment were, according to CSEF's IRS return, created during 1998).

According to internal documents leaked to the Washington Post, 85 percent of CSEâs 1998 revenues of CSE's $16.2 million came not from its 250,000 members, but from contributions of $250,000 and up from large corporations.

The then CSE President, Paul N. Beckner, rejected the notion that the organisation was a corporate megaphone. "We aren't a group for hire ... There's a bright line that defines our independence. There is only one position we can take on most issues: the one that means less government and lower taxes. We choose the issues we work on, and we decide how that money is expended." <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A46598-2000Jan28" rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A46598-2000Jan28">[14]</a>

According to Media Transparency, between 1985 and 2002, CSEF received $16,928,712 in 108 separate grants from only twelve foundations:

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Castle_Rock_Foundation" title="Castle Rock Foundation">Castle Rock Foundation</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Earhart_Foundation" title="Earhart Foundation">Earhart Foundation</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=JM_Foundation" title="JM Foundation">JM Foundation</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Family_Foundations" title="Koch Family Foundations">Koch Family Foundations</a> (David H. Koch Foundation, Charles G. Koch Foundation, Claude R. Lambe Foundation)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_M._Olin_Foundation" title="John M. Olin Foundation">John M. Olin Foundation</a>, Inc.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Lynde_and_Harry_Bradley_Foundation" title="Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation">Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Philip_M.McKenna_Foundation,Inc." class="mw-redirect" title="Philip M. McKenna Foundation, Inc.">Philip M. McKenna Foundation, Inc.</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Scaife_Foundations" title="Scaife Foundations">Scaife Foundations</a> (Scaife Family, Sarah Mellon Scaife, Carthage) <a href="http://www.mediatransparency.org/search_results/info_on_any_recipient.php?recipientID=395" rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.mediatransparency.org/search_results/info_on_any_recipient.php?recipientID=395">[15]</a></li>

</ul>

In 2002, CSEF gained $920,000 in grants from three of these foundations, accounting for a little under one-quarter of the organisation's revenue. The Claude R. Lambe Foundation was the most generous contributing $700,000 for general operating costs while the Scaife Foundation donated $175,000 and the John M. Olin Foundation $45,000.

Other CSE funders (not included in above funding total) have included:

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Archer_Daniels_Midland" title="Archer Daniels Midland">Archer Daniels Midland</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=DaimlerChrysler" title="DaimlerChrysler">DaimlerChrysler</a> ($25,000)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Enron" class="mw-redirect" title="Enron">Enron</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=General_Electric" title="General Electric">General Electric</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Industries" title="Koch Industries">Koch Industries</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=F.M._Kirby_Foundation" title="F.M. Kirby Foundation">F.M. Kirby Foundation</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Altria_Group" title="Altria Group">Philip Morris</a> (>$1 million)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=U.S._West&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="U.S. West (page does not exist)">U.S. West</a> ($1 million)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ExxonMobil" class="mw-redirect" title="ExxonMobil">ExxonMobil</a> ($75,000)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Exxon" class="mw-redirect" title="Exxon">Exxon</a> ($175,000)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Hertz&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Hertz (page does not exist)">Hertz</a> ($25,000)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Microsoft" title="Microsoft">Microsoft</a> ($380,000)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=U.S._Sugar&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="U.S. Sugar (page does not exist)">U.S. Sugar</a> Corp. ($280,000)</li>

</ul>

(source: Dan Morgan, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A46598-2000Jan28" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A46598-2000Jan28">"Think Tanks: Corporations' Quiet Weapon,"</a> Washington Post, Jan. 29, 2000.)

For a complete overview of the 1998 donations to CSE see: <a href="http://www.citizen.org/congress/civjus/archive/specinterest/frontgroups/articles.cfm?ID=798" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.citizen.org/congress/civjus/archive/specinterest/frontgroups/articles.cfm?ID=798">"Corporate Shill Enterprise: A Public Citizen Report on Citizens for a Sound Economy, a Corporate Lobbying Front Group."</a> (Microsoft's $380,000 donation was in 1999).

<h2>Affiliations</h2>

CSE was a member of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Project_Relief" title="Project Relief">Project Relief</a>, an alliance of corporations, trade associations, think tanks and law firms formed in December 1994 to promote the regulatory reform components of the House Republican "Contract with America." It is a member of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Cooler_Heads_Coalition" title="Cooler Heads Coalition">Cooler Heads Coalition</a>, an industry-funded campaign sponsored by the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=National_Consumer_Coalition" title="National Consumer Coalition">National Consumer Coalition</a> (an industry-funded <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Front_group" class="mw-redirect" title="Front group">front group</a>) to spread skepticism about the science of global warming. It also belongs to the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Health_Benefits_Coalition" title="Health Benefits Coalition">Health Benefits Coalition</a>, which lobbies on behalf of the healthcare industry and has spent millions of dollars opposing a Patients' Bill of Rights and other patient protection proposals.

CSE has used the PR services of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Smith_%26_Harroff" title="Smith & Harroff">Smith & Harroff</a>, a political consulting and advertising agency.

Other organizations with which CSE has collaborated include:

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Consumers_for_World_Trade" title="Consumers for World Trade">Consumers for World Trade</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Competitive_Enterprise_Institute" title="Competitive Enterprise Institute">Competitive Enterprise Institute</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_for_Government_Reform" title="Council for Government Reform">Council for Government Reform</a> (formerly known as the National Center for Privatization)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Foundation_for_Research_on_Economics_and_the_Environment" title="Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment">Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment</a></li>

</ul>

<h2>Contact information</h2>

Citizens for a Sound Economy

1523 16th Street, NW, 2nd Floor

Washington, DC 20036

Phone: (202) 783-3870 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (202) 783-3870      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Fax: (202) 232-8356

Toll Free: 1-888-564-6273 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1-888-564-6273      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

E-mail: cse@cse.org

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Smoking_as_a_civic_duty" title="Smoking as a civic duty">Smoking as a civic duty</a></li>

</ul>

<h2>Articles and resources</h2>

<h3>Related SourceWatch articles</h3>

<h3>References</h3>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_ref-0" title="">â</a> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20040725031033/http://www.freedomworks.org/release.php" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://web.archive.org/web/20040725031033/http://www.freedomworks.org/release.php">"Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) and Empower America Merge to Form FreedomWorks"</a>. , Media release, undated, archived from July 25, 2004.</li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_ref-1" title="">â</a> Alexander Cockburn and Ken Silverstein, Washington Babylon, Verso Books, April 1996, page 15.</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_ref-2" title="">â</a> Dan Morgan, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A46598-2000Jan28" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A46598-2000Jan28">"Think Tanks: Corporations' Quiet Weapon"</a>, Washington Post, January 29, 2000; Page A1.</li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy#cite_ref-3" title="">â</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/14/us/tax-s-demise-illustrates-first-rule-of-lobbying-work-work-work.html?pagewanted=all" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/14/us/tax-s-demise-illustrates-first-rule-of-lobbying-work-work-work.html?pagewanted=all">"Tax's Demise Illustrates First Rule Of Lobbying: Work, Work, Work"</a>. New York Times (1993). Retrieved on 2009-09-22.</li>

</ol>

<h3>External resources</h3>

<h3>External links</h3>

<h4>Undated</h4>

<ul>

<li>"<a href="http://www.ecosyn.us/adti/CSE_Organized_Crime.html" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.ecosyn.us/adti/CSE_Organized_Crime.html">Organized Crime Ring</a>" Killer Koch's Citizens for a Sound Economy, Dossier by Lion Kuntz</li>

</ul>

<ul>

<li>"<a href="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/dtv34e00" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/dtv34e00">Tobacco Strategy</a>" (internal company memorandum), Philip Morris, March 1994.</li>

<li>"<a href="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/xqk92e00" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/xqk92e00">Notes for Jim (Re: Steve Parrish Presentation)</a>" (internal company memorandum), Philip Morris, December 1994.</li>

<li>David Nicoli, "<a href="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/eii57d00" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/eii57d00">Legal Analysis of January 1995 Activities</a>," memo to Kathleen Linehan, January 26, 1995.</li>

<li>Robert Parry, "<a href="http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=33A6AF61.7CF0%40worldnet.att.net" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=33A6AF61.7CF0%40worldnet.att.net">Petrodollar Scholars</a>," The Nation, August 26, 1996.</li>

</ul>

<ul>

<li>Philip Morris, "<a href="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/bub47c00" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/bub47c00">Budget</a>", Bates No 2079041604, 2000 (approximate).</li>

<li>Philip Morris, "<a href="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/gqg76c00" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/gqg76c00">Core allies</a>, Bates No 2077285640, 2000 (approximate).</li>

<li>Dan Morgan, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A46598-2000Jan28" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A46598-2000Jan28">"Think Tanks: Corporations' Quiet Weapon,"</a> Washington Post, Jan. 29, 2000.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=91" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=91">A Brief History of Citizens for a Sound Economy</a>, (part of "Attachment to CSE President Paul Beckner's Response to Remarks Made by Oracle CEO <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Larry_Ellison" class="mw-redirect" title="Larry Ellison">Larry Ellison</a>"), news release, Citizens for a Sound Economy, June 29, 2000.</li>

</ul>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.cpac.org/CPACschedule2001.htm" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.cpac.org/CPACschedule2001.htm">Annual conference schedule</a>, Conservative Political Action Committee 2001 conference.</li>

<li>Jim Burns, "<a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/dtSearch/dtisapi6.dll?cmd=getdoc&DocId=55841&Index=C%3a%5cInetpub%5cCns%5cmainsearch%5cEntireSite&HitCount=2&hits=79+7a+&SearchForm=C%3a%5cInetpub%5cCns%5cMainSearch%5cSearch%5fform%2ehtml" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.cnsnews.com/dtSearch/dtisapi6.dll?cmd=getdoc&DocId=55841&Index=C%3a%5cInetpub%5cCns%5cmainsearch%5cEntireSite&HitCount=2&hits=79+7a+&SearchForm=C%3a%5cInetpub%5cCns%5cMainSearch%5cSearch%5fform%2ehtml">Conservatives Must End Government Funding Of Non-Profits</a>," Conservative News Service, February 15, 2001.</li>

<li>Citizens for a Sound Economy, "<a href="http://www.cse.org/informed/issues_template.php?issue_id=746" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.cse.org/informed/issues_template.php?issue_id=746">State Board of Education Did Their Homework</a>:Vote is Right Decision for Texas Schoolchildren, Media Release, November 19, 2001.</li>

</ul>

<ul>

<li>Citizens for a Sound Economy, "<a href="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/wvx12c00" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/wvx12c00">letter to President George W. Bush</a>", Bates No 2085235064, January 31, 2002.</li>

<li>Curtis Moore, "<a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200207/thinktank_printable.asp" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200207/thinktank_printable.asp">Rethinking the Think Tanks</a>," Sierra Magazine, July/August 2002.</li>

</ul>

<ul>

<li>Shawn Zeller, "'Free Market' Crusaders," National Journal, January 11, 2003: "Just two weeks into her tenure as president and CEO of the newly formed Americans for Prosperity, Nancy Pfotenhauer is brimming over with ideas and enthusiasm for her new mission. ... Pfotenhauer said that AFP -- the nonprofit advocacy group that recently replaced the CSE Foundation after Citizens for a Sound Economy and the CSE Foundation parted ways -- wants to 'change the way decisions are made [by state and local governments], particularly on spending."</li>

<li>

</li>

<li><a href="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=622" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=622">Statement by CSE Chairman, Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey</a>" (CSE news release), October 31, 2003: "A note of clarification following recent media reports: Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) has not launched a new advocacy group. A recent dispute between CSE and what is now called Americans for Prosperity resulted in a split between the two organizations."</li>

<li>Steve Law, "Activist group brings money, draws concern", Statesman Journal(Salem, Oregon), November 1, 2003.</li>

<li>Diane Carman, "<a href="http://www.tlpj.org/News_PDF/deverpost_111203.pdf" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.tlpj.org/News_PDF/deverpost_111203.pdf">Textbooks held to bogus litmus tests</a>", Denver Post, November 12, 2003.</li>

</ul>

<ul>

<li>Brad Cain, "Oregonians soundly defeat tax increase, triggering cuts to services", Associated Press, February 4, 2004.</li>

<li>Jeff Mapes, "<a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1081252995257210.xml" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1081252995257210.xml">Nader's 1,000 fail to show</a>", Oregonian, April 6, 2004.</li>

<li>Citizens for a Sound Economy, Americans for Tax Reform, Citizens Against Government Waste, "<a href="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=840" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=840">National, State Forces Unite to End Courtroom Chaos;</a>Announce Launch of www.endlawsuitabuse.org Online Petition", Media Release, May 3, 2004.</li>

<li>Brad Cain, "Conservatives seek to help Nader - and ultimately Bush", Associated Press, June 24, 2004.</li>

<li>"<a href="http://www.mandatemedia.com/CSE.script.june24.2004.gif" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.mandatemedia.com/CSE.script.june24.2004.gif">GOP helps Nader Get On Oregon Ballot</a>", Mandate Media, June 24, 2004.</li>

<li>Jeff Mapes, "<a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/front_page/108816503613780.xml" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/front_page/108816503613780.xml">Nader getting support from unlikely voters</a>: conservative groups hope to draw votes from Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry," Oregonian, June 25, 2004.</li>

<li>Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, "<a href="http://www.citizensforethics.org/activities/20040630/" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.citizensforethics.org/activities/20040630/">CREW files FEC complaint against Citizens for Sound Economy, The Oregon Family Council, Nader for President 2004 and Bush-Cheney '04: Prohibited in-kind corporate contributions at issue</a>", Media Release, June 30, 2004.</li>

<li>Melanie Sloan, "<a href="http://www.citizensforethics.org/activities/20040630/AmendedComplaint.pdf" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.citizensforethics.org/activities/20040630/AmendedComplaint.pdf">Amended Complaint</a>", Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, June 2004.</li>

<li>Citizens for a Sound Economy, "<a href="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=863" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=863">Phone Script: Conservatives for Ralph Nader?</a>", Media Release, June 27, 2004. (This is a slightly different, later version of CSE's phone script for Nader.)</li>

<li>"<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/30/bush.nader/" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/30/bush.nader/">Group: Bush allies illegally helping Nader in Oregon: Complaint filed with Federal Election Commission</a>", CNN, July 1, 2004.</li>

<li>Citizens for a Sound Economy, "<a href="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=868" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=868">Left-Wing Attack Groups Target CSE: Liberal groups in panic over CSE strategy highlighting similarities between Kerry and Nader</a>", Media Release, July 2, 2004.</li>

<li>Carla Marinucci, "<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/07/09/MNGQQ7J31K1.DTL" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/07/09/MNGQQ7J31K1.DTL">GOP donors funding Nader/Bush supporters give independent's bid a financial lift</a>", San Francisco Chronicle, July 9, 2004</li>

<li>Carla Marinucci, "<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/07/10/MNG9J7JMDK1.DTL" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/07/10/MNG9J7JMDK1.DTL">Nader defends GOP cash: Candidate says he's keeping money</a>", San Francisco Chronicle, July 10, 2004.</li>

<li>Michael Janofsky and Sarah Kershaw, "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/01/politics/campaign/01NADE.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5070&en=818c139c59d8f5c4&hp&ex=1089864000" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/01/politics/campaign/01NADE.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5070&en=818c139c59d8f5c4&hp&ex=1089864000">Odd Alliances Form to Get Nader on Ballot</a>", New York Times, July 1, 2004.</li>

<li>Citizens for a Sound Economy, "<a href="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=876" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.cse.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=876">Michigan CSE Turns Out Members for Nader Ballot Push</a>: State chapter sends email to members and activates phone tree on eve of deadline, Media Release, July 14, 2004.</li>

<li>"<a href="http://www.mediatransparency.org/search_results/info_on_any_recipient.php?395" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.mediatransparency.org/search_results/info_on_any_recipient.php?395">Grant Data Matrix, Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation</a>," MediaTransparency.org, visited July 13, 2004.</li>

<li>"<a href="http://www.freedomworks.org/release.php" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.freedomworks.org/release.php">Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) and Empower America Merge to Form FreedomWorks</a>", Media Release, July 22, 2004.</li>

</ul>

<ul>

<li>Jonathan Weisman, "<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200683.html" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200683.html">With Insurance Policy Comes Membership: Unbeknown to Some, Those Signing Up With Firm Are Joining Conservative Group</a>", Washington Post, July 23, 2006.</li>

</ul>

This article may include <a href="http://tobaccodocuments.org/profiles/people/cse.html" rel="nofollow" class="external text" title="http://tobaccodocuments.org/profiles/people/cse.html">information from Tobacco Documents Online</a>.

<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy">http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy</a>

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nyer

Ideas don't happen on their own,â Matt Kibbe, the president of FreedomWorks, a Tea Party advocacy group, told me. âThroughout history, ideas need patrons.â The Koch brothers, after helping to create Cato and Mercatus, concluded that think tanks alone were not enough to effect change. They needed a mechanism to deliver those ideas to the street, and to attract the publicâs support. In 1984, David Koch and Richard Fink created yet another organization, and Kibbe joined them. The group, Citizens for a Sound Economy, seemed like a grassroots movement, but according to the Center for Public Integrity it was sponsored principally by the Kochs, who provided $7.9 million between 1986 and 1993. Its mission, Kibbe said, âwas to take these heavy ideas and translate them for mass America. . . . We read the same literature Obama did about nonviolent revolutionsâSaul Alinsky, Gandhi, Martin Luther King.

We studied the idea of the Boston Tea Party as an example of nonviolent social change. We learned we needed boots on the ground to sell ideas, not candidates.â Within a few years, the group had mobilized fifty paid field workers, in twenty-six states, to rally voters behind the Kochsâ agenda. David and Charles, according to one participant, were âvery controlling, very top down. You canât build an organization with them. They run it.â

Around this time, the brothers faced a political crisis. In 1989, the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs investigated their business and released a scathing report accusing Koch Oil of âa widespread and sophisticated scheme to steal crude oil from Indians and others through fraudulent mismeasuring.â The Kochs admitted that they had improperly taken thirty-one million dollarsâ worth of crude oil, but said that it had been accidental. Charles Koch told committee investigators that oil measurement is âa very uncertain art.â

To defend its reputation, Koch Industries hired Robert Strauss, then a premier Washington lobbyist; the company soon opened an office in the city. A grand jury was convened to investigate the allegations, but it eventually disbanded, without issuing criminal charges. According to the Senate report, after the committee hearings Koch operatives delved into the personal lives of committee staffers, even questioning an ex-wife. Senate investigators were upset by the Kochsâ tactics. Kenneth Ballen, the counsel to the Senate committee, said, âThese people have amassed such unaccountable power!â

By 1993, when Bill Clinton became President, Citizens for a Sound Economy had become a prototype for the kind of corporate-backed opposition campaigns that have proliferated during the Obama era. The group waged a successful assault on Clintonâs proposed B.T.U. tax on energy, for instance, running advertisements, staging media events, and targeting opponents. And it mobilized anti-tax rallies outside the Capitolârallies that NPR described as âdesigned to strike fear into the hearts of wavering Democrats.â Dan Glickman, a former Democratic congressman from Wichita, who supported the B.T.U. tax, recalled, âIâd been in Congress eighteen years. The Kochs actually engaged against me and funded my opponent. They used a lot of resources and effortâtheir employees, too.â Glickman suffered a surprise defeat. âI canât prove it, but I think I was probably their victim,â he said.

The Kochs continued to disperse their money, creating slippery organizations with generic-sounding names, and this made it difficult to ascertain the extent of their influence in Washington. In 1990, Citizens for a Sound Economy created a spinoff group, Citizens for the Environment, which called acid rain and other environmental problems âmyths.â When the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette investigated the matter, it discovered that the spinoff group had âno citizen membership of its own.â

In 2004, Citizens for a Sound Economy was accused of illegitimately throwing its weight behind Bush’s reëlection. The group’s Oregon branch had attempted to get Ralph Nader on the Presidential ballot, in order to dilute Democratic support for John Kerry. Critics argued that it was illegal for a tax-exempt nonprofit organization to donate its services for partisan political purposes. (A complaint was filed with the Federal Election Commission; it was dismissed.)

Read more <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer?printable=true#ixzz0xjluRBSN" style="">http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer?printable=true#ixzz0xjluRBSN</a>

</div>

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2000

2000 cse black hole:

<ul>

<li>Citizens for a Sound Economy</li>

</ul>

The Citizens for a Sound Economy has also jumped on the 527 bandwagon this spring.

The Washington-based consumer-advocate conservative think-tank is financed by corporate donations. Microsoft, Koch Industries, Exxon Corp., General Electric and Philip Morris all contribute to the group, which has an income in excess of $15 million. C. Boyden Gray, White House counsel in the Bush administration, is chairman of the board of trustees.

Although CSE has battled candidates in previous election cycles, this time it decided to separate its political activities from its nonprofit foundation and consumer advocate wings. Its leaders created two separate funds this spring to handle all election-related activity-a black hole fund and a federally registered political action committee. The black hole 527 fund will handle all CSEâs issue advocacy campaigns that avoid federal election disclosure and regulation by avoiding direct support of a candidate with the magic words like âvote for,â and âvote against.â This fund will receive unlimited and undisclosed contributions from corporations and individuals. According to Michelle Mitola, treasurer of the CSE PAC, the federally registered PAC will spend its limited and reported contributions on educating its membership base and conducting independent expenditures supporting business-friendly conservative candidates.

CSE has announced its plan to be involved in the New York race for the U.S. Senate, and will also be canvassing its 250,000 nationwide members for contributions to fund-tailored voter guides, score cards and get-out-the-vote drives as well as to television, radio and print advertisements opposing Hillary Rodham Clinton. The Gannett News Service reports that CSE plans to spend more than $1 million this election cycle in various states, with New York chief among them.

Its principal founders are David and Charles Koch. The brothers own Koch Industries, the nationâs second wealthiest privately owned business, which was recently given a $35 million federal fine in connection with 300 oil spills in six states. As a part of the settlement agreement with the Environment Protection Agency, Koch Industries wasnât required to admit fault, but it is paying the most expensive civil fine ever levied under United States environmental laws.

http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/566/

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David Koch’s AFP has a long history of marshaling “grassroots” support for GOP objectives. In the early 1990s, AFP, then known as Citizens for a Sound Economy, <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/forum/may96/background/health_debate_page3.html">worked secretly</a> with then-Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-GA) to organize angry crowds following the Clintons as they touted their health reform bill. Industry money from health insurance, telecommunications, oil, and other companies <a href="http://www.citizen.org/documents/Citizens%20for%20a%20Sound%20Economy%20Report.pdf">has flowed freely</a> to AFP over the years to help AFP promote an agenda of boosting the rich, stripping consumer safeguards, and maintaining corporate monopolies. Phillip Morris rented out AFP from the Koch family, contributing millions to the organization in exchange for AFP <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/nationalaffairs/index.php/2009/10/01/echoes-of-philip-morris-and-hillarycare/">to build opposition</a> to tobacco regulations.

AFP’s daily activities are managed by <a href="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/05/29/afp-timphillips-astroturf/">Tim Phillips</a>, an infamous astroturf lobbyist who built a career using Christian front groups to wage stealth campaigns. For example, his work <a href="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/05/29/afp-timphillips-astroturf/">includes fighting under the radar</a> to promote energy deregulation for Enron and helping Jack Abramoff clients continue forced abortion sweatshops in the Northern Mariana Islands.

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2009/11/05/68017/david-koch-astroturf/

<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Smoking_as_a_civic_duty">http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Smoking_as_a_civic_duty</a></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CSE smoking as civic duty
</div><div><div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr" style="direction: ltr; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">Only a tobacco-funded <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Think_tank" title="Think tank" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">think tank</a> would ever go so far as to describe smoking as a civic duty. The <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Tobacco_industry" title="Tobacco industry" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">tobacco industry</a> has been a regular funder of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Competitive_Enterprise_Institute" title="Competitive Enterprise Institute" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Competitive Enterprise Institute</a>, (CEI) which in turn has gone to bat repeatedly and eagerly for tobacco in its battles with government agencies such as the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Food_and_Drug_Administration" title="Food and Drug Administration" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Food and Drug Administration</a> (FDA) and the<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Protection_Agency" title="Environmental Protection Agency" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Environmental Protection Agency</a> (EPA). Following the 1993 release of EPA's risk assessment linking <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Secondhand_cigarette_smoke" title="Secondhand cigarette smoke" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">secondhand cigarette smoke</a> to lung cancer, CEI cranked out opinion articles for major newspapers with titles such as "A Smoking Gun Firing Blanks," "EPA's Bad Science Mars ETS Report," and "Safety Is a Relative Thing for Cars; Why Not for Cigarettes?"CEI policy analyst <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Alexander_Volokh&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Alexander Volokh (page does not exist)" 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;">Alexander Volokh</a> went even further. "Perhaps, in the fine tradition of civil disobedience championed by Thoreau, we should even think of smoking as a civic duty," he wrote in the July 1994 issue of the CEI Update. "Perhaps," he continued, "every January 11th -- the anniversary of the Surgeon General's original 1964 report on smoking -- we should all light up, giving a filter-tipped finger, as it were, to a health-obsessed government." Volokh admitted that the government's efforts to discourage smoking "may further the cause of health," but concluded that "there are things more valuable than health."In 1996, CEI was one of eight think tanks named in a report by <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Ralph_Nader" title="Ralph Nader" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Ralph Nader</a>'s Public Citizen titled "A Million for Your Thoughts: The Industry-Funded Campaign by Conservative Think Tanks Against the FDA." The report identified $3.5 million that these think tanks had received in funding from pharmaceutical, medical device, biotechnology and tobacco companies to help them pump out a "steady stream of reports, fact sheets, op-ed articles and newspaper, radio and television advertisements purporting to document the FDA's deadly overcaution and bullying of manufacturers." CEI's <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Julie_DeFalco&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Julie DeFalco (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Julie DeFalco</a> responded to the Public Citizen report by claiming that its positions on government regulations were developed "years before we ever received tobacco or <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Pharmaceutical_industry" title="Pharmaceutical industry" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">drug industry</a> money. Our position on FDA reform -- that the FDA is inherently prone to 'deadly overcaution,' and its veto power over new therapies should be removed -- hasn't changed in the nine years since then. How, then, does the fact that our support base has grown to include tobacco and pharmaceutical companies affect the validity of our position?"Subsequently, however, additional information has become public about CEI's ties to the tobacco industry (including funding from <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Philip_Morris" title="Philip Morris" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Philip Morris</a> that was not mentioned in the Public Citizen report). The 1997 settlement between tobacco companies and U.S. state attorney generals obligated the tobacco industry to place millions of pages of its internal documents online at locations such as the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.pmdocs.com/" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: url("data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC") 100% 50% no-repeat;">Philip Morris documents website</a>. Those documents show that there was a hidden tobacco agenda behind CEI's attacks on FDA policies for regulating pharmaceuticals. Those attacks came at the very same time that tobacco executives were scrambling to head off the possibility that the FDA might acquire jurisdiction to regulate cigarettes. During the mid-1990s, Philip Morris alone gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to CEI and other think tanks and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Front_group" title="Front group" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">front groups</a> such as the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Washington_Legal_Foundation" title="Washington Legal Foundation" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Washington Legal Foundation</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Newt_Gingrich" title="Newt Gingrich" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Newt Gingrich</a>'s <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Progress_and_Freedom_Foundation" title="Progress and Freedom Foundation" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Progress and Freedom Foundation</a>, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Cato_Institute" title="Cato Institute" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Cato Institute</a>, and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy" title="Citizens for a Sound Economy" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Citizens for a Sound Economy</a>, which then argued publicly against FDA regulation of tobacco. According to the Wall Street Journal, "antipathy toward David Kessler's Food and Drug Administration, which wants to regulate cigarettes," was a major common denominator among the think tanks and policy groups to which tobacco companies donated during that time period. Rather than acting independently, CEI and other tobacco-funded think tanks coordinated their activities closely with the tobacco industry's attorneys, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Lobbyist" title="Lobbyist" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">lobbyists</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Public_relations" title="Public relations" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">PR</a> firms.In February 1994, FDA Commissioner David Kessler suggested that the agency might have "a legal basis on which to regulate [tobacco] products," based on evidence from internal industry documents and industry insiders that nicotine in cigarettes was being manipulated to cause addiction -- in essence acting as a drug. This was the backdrop to the now-infamous incident in April 1994 when top tobacco executives testified before Congress that nicotine is not addictive.That same year, Philip Morris received a request for funding from CEI titled "The Human Cost of Regulation: Reframing the Debate on Risk Management." The proposal stated, "Risk has become the secular version of sin in our society, and risk management is the modern-day equivalent of religious crusades. ... From Superfund to indoor air quality to medical drug and device approval, bureaucratic initiatives on this front have ended up as incredibly costly failures whose only real achievement has been the creation of public alarm." To counter this purported threat, CEI proposed to raise "public recognition of the adverse public health effects of medical drug regulation and nutritional labeling" by demonstrating that "risk management by government can often have lethal effects."Philip Morris had already given $50,000 to CEI on June 29, 1993, and it sent another check for $25,000 on July 27, 1994. The <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Quid_pro_quo" title="Quid pro quo" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">quid pro quo</a> came a few months later. In the fall of 1994, notes an internal Philip Morris memorandum, the tobacco company approached CEI, along with the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Washington_Legal_Foundation" title="Washington Legal Foundation" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Washington Legal Foundation</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy" title="Citizens for a Sound Economy" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Citizens for a Sound Economy</a> (CSE), seeking their help "to define the FDA as an agency out of control and one failing to live up to its congressional mandate regarding regulation of drugs and medical devices.""To the extent FDA regulation was wrapped up in the youth smoking issue, it was hard to argue against," <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Steven_C.Parrish" title="Steven C. Parrish" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Steven C. Parrish</a> noted in an August 1995 presentation to the Philip Morris board of directors. They therefore wanted CEI and the other think tanks to build a case against the FDA surrounding issues unrelated to tobacco. As Parrish explained, "Philip Morris representatives with scientific credentials were assigned the task of meeting with various '<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Think_tanks" title="Think tanks" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">think tanks</a>' to discuss the issue of FDA regulation and encourage guest editorials and comments to the media." PM was "pleased," he said, "to see a chorus of rising criticism of Kessler and FDA." Beginning in December 1994, CEI joined CSE and the CEI in what Parrish described as "aggressive media campaigns ... through newspaper ads, policy papers, symposia, or by filing petitions directly with the FDA, and speaking directly to politicians." <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/xqk92e00" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: url("data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC") 100% 50% no-repeat;">[1]</a>A January 26, 1995, attorney's memorandum by <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/David_P.Nicoli" title="David P. Nicoli" 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;">David P. Nicoli</a> to Philip Morris, marked "privileged and confidential," details the company's behind-the-scenes role in a coordinated rollout of media attacks on the FDA by PM's "non-tobacco" allies. CEI began the attack on January 11, "running inside the Beltway anti-FDA radio and TV ads." The following day, CSE held a press conference with a sympathetic congressman and began running its own inside the Beltway ads. Simultaneously, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Washington_Legal_Foundation" title="Washington Legal Foundation" 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;">Washington Legal Foundation</a> ran a full-page ad in the New York Times and a three-quarter-page ad in the Wall Street Journal. The FDA's first public response to these attacks occurred on January 17. This was followed, Nicoli noted, by an industry "counter attack that both AP and Reuters pick up. Further volleys fly between the two, as trade press, general media amplify the fight." Other voices began chiming in -- the drug industry, the Washington Post, Business Week. Nicoli added that further attacks were already in the works, organized by <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Jim_Tozzi" title="Jim Tozzi" 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;">Jim Tozzi</a>, one of PM's top lobbyists, in coordination with the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Progress_and_Freedom_Foundation" title="Progress and Freedom Foundation" 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;">Progress and Freedom Foundation</a> and the blue-chip PR firm of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Powell_Tate" title="Powell Tate" 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;">Powell Tate</a>. "Progress and Freedom Foundation, through Tozzi, set to release FDA piece on 2/1/95 with Powell Tate publicizing," Nicoli reported. <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/eii57d00" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background-image: url("data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC"); background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[2]</a><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); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Related Sourcewatch resources</h2><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX///8AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw/wLCAgQEAGpIDyT0IVcsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Competitive_Enterprise_Institute" title="Competitive Enterprise Institute" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Competitive Enterprise Institute</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy" title="Citizens for a Sound Economy" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Citizens for a Sound Economy</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Front_groups" title="Front groups" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Front groups</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Tobacco_industry" title="Tobacco industry" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Tobacco industry</a></li></ul>
<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); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">External links</h2><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX///8AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw/wLCAgQEAGpIDyT0IVcsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">"<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/xqk92e00" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: url("data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC") 100% 50% no-repeat;">Notes for Jim (Re: Steve Parrish Presentation)</a>" (internal company memorandum), Philip Morris, December 1994.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">David Nicoli, "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/eii57d00" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: url("data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC") 100% 50% no-repeat;">Legal Analysis of January 1995 Activities</a>," memo to <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Kathleen_Linehan" title="Kathleen Linehan" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Kathleen Linehan</a>, January 26, 1995.</li></ul></div><div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 5px; margin-top: 1em; clear: both; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Categories</a>: <ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style: none none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left-style: none; padding: 0px 0.5em 0px 0.25em; zoom: 1;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:Tobaccowiki" title="Category:Tobaccowiki" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Tobaccowiki</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left-width: 1px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0px 0.5em; zoom: 1;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:Public_relations_case_studies" title="Category:Public relations case studies" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Public relations case studies</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left-width: 1px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0px 0.5em; zoom: 1;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:Tobacco_industry" title="Category:Tobacco industry" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Tobacco industry</a></li></ul></div></div></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">huffpo bj 1 of 3</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div><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);">This is the second in a three-part series. Read the first story <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/24/house-science-committee_n_5525609.html?1403707503" target="_hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">here</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);">The conservative “secret science” campaign harkens back nearly twenty years.<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);">In late 1996, industry was trying to fight the Environmental Protection Agency’s first efforts to set a fine particle pollution air quality standard of "PM2.5," the abbreviation used for particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter.Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE), an astroturf lobbying group founded by the petrochemical industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch in 1984, warned that the “effects of the new air quality standards on the economy would be devastating,” based in part on economic analyses conducted by the Center for Study of Public Choice at George Mason University – a group also funded by the Koch brothers. The CSE co-founder and president was Koch Industries vice president Rich Fink, a George Mason economist who has sat on the board of the school's public choice center.<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);">CSE, the precursor to the Tea Party groups FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity, was then led by C. Boyden Gray, an heir to the Reynolds tobacco fortune and GOP kingmaker. In addition to running the tobacco-and-polluter-funded “grassroots” CSE, Gray also managed the Orwellian-sounding “Air Quality Standards Coalition,” an industry coalition coordinated by the National Association of Manufacturers to fight EPA limits on soot and smog pollution.<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);">As industry was not getting much traction with the “it’s going to cost too much” argument, Gray’s group employed street theater as a political tactic.In January 1997, attendees of a Senate hearing on the proposed EPA rules encountered a group of people wearing white lab coats holding signs saying, “Harvard, release the data!” The supposed scientists in fact came from CSE. In addition, CSE took out ads in the Chicago Tribune attacking the Harvard brand, and writers in the libertarian-industrial network questioned the legitimacy of the studies and demanded the release of the private medical records at their core.<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);">“The unwillingness of the study's authors to allow access to basic data is troubling; such secrecy is incompatible with the modern scientific process,” complained a CSE publication in June 1997.<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);">CSE also found an ideological hook for the economic-damage attacks, spinning pollution limits as an assault on freedom. “Imagine that – a new government regulation that takes away our freedom to celebrate our freedom," said a CSE radio advertisement in the summer of 1997. The ad claimed that the proposed air pollution regulations would ruin Independence Day by outlawing barbecues, lawn mowers, and fireworks.<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);">The outcome of the campaign was threefold: a weakening and delay of ozone and particulate-matter rules; a $50 million taxpayer-funded project to reconfirm the results; and legislation compelling that the data generated by federally funded research be made available to industry and the public.<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);">Fast forward to last year.<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);">“The data in question have not been subjected to scrutiny and analysis by independent scientists,” Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) charged in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed.<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);">Yet Smith’s claim that the studies and the underlying patient data did not undergo independent analysis is false. In fact, in 1997, while Smith was serving his sixth term, Congress appropriated $49.6 million for a major research program into fine particulate matter, including a reanalysis of the Harvard and ACS studies by the Health Effects Institute. Smith voted for the bill.<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);">“When we got the medical records from Harvard, I personally signed a confidentiality agreement, as did the investigators at University of Ottawa. The data was conveyed to a locked room with limited access,” said Health Effects Institute president Dan Greenbaum in an interview.<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);">In 2000, the group issued a 297-page report entitled “Reanalysis of the Harvard Six Cities Study and the American Cancer Society Study of Particulate Air Pollution and Mortality.” The explicit goal of that study was “to conduct a rigorous and independent assessment of the findings of the Six Cities and ACS Studies of air pollution and mortality.”<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);">In short, the HEI assessment confirmed the studies’ results. So did a separate HEI analysis of public records from 90 cities known as the National Morbidity, Mortality, and Air Pollution Study.<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);">A charitable interpretation is that this multi-year, multi-million-dollar taxpayer effort advanced epidemiological methodologies. Others might say that polluters knowingly gamed the system by unfairly casting doubt on well-founded science.<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);">The Shelby Amendment<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);">Following these EPA battles, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) drafted the Data Access Act, better known as the Shelby Amendment, in response to his inability to get the underlying medical records from the Harvard Six Cities and American Cancer Society studies.<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);">The Shelby amendment mandated that “all data produced under a [federally funded] award will be made available to the public through the procedures established under the Freedom of Information Act [FOIA].” The Office of Management and Budget drafted rules to implement the Shelby amendment that limited the scope to research “used in developing an agency action that has the force and effect of law” and carved out exceptions for confidential data.<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);">Efforts to repeal the Shelby amendment in 1999 led tobacco and oil industry consultant Steve Milloy to coin the term “secret science.” In February, Milloy launched the “Stop Secret Science” sweepstakes, offering a Wall Street Journal subscription to people who sent a comment to OMB on the “secret science” rule. Soon, the Washington Times and the New York Post published “secret science” editorials, and an oil executive attacked the “secret science” of the EPA rules. But the term failed to catch on, perhaps because most politicians couldn’t claim with a straight face that confidential medical records should be made public on industry’s behalf.<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);">The Shelby amendment had little actual impact on the Harvard and ACS studies. The ACS data is not funded by federal or public dollars, and is not subject to the Data Access Act. Essentially all of the non-confidential records and data from the Harvard Six Cities research has been made public, a process that was underway before the passage of the amendment.<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);">Whatever the intent, the Shelby amendment marked an important shift in the balance of power between industry and the public, as corporate researchers could get access to federally funded work without any expectation of a quid pro quo.<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);">Forcing a Document Release<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);">Fifteen years later, Rep. Lamar Smith was ready to go further....</div>

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Citizens for Sound Econ CSE Koch

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