DIRECT JUNK MAIL 2

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SEE MAIN</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">see mail list
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">trade gp:&nbsp;<span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">Direct Marketing Association</span>

8/16
=</font></div><div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">aha rw media = grift info extraction</font></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">mma 11 22</font></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>As he gears up for a potential 2024 showdown with former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has enlisted a leading right-wing outlet for advertising:<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">&nbsp;Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire.</span>&nbsp;The Republican governor paid over $100,000 since last year in fundraising expenses to the site, which has aired commentary supporting DeSantis over Trump.&nbsp;</b></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">DeSantis and his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/03/desantis-record-breaking-haul-positions-him-for-2024-00065046" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">associated PAC</a>&nbsp;Friends of Ron DeSantis have&nbsp;<a href="https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/11/10/rondesantis-dailywire.png?VersionId=7Y2ZG85e6ButKVglTRLp3gZ5tLOMNGZS&itok=cQ-goUeQ" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">paid</a>&nbsp;$110,429.01 for fundraising expenses and list rental to the site since July 2021, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/campaign-finance/expenditures/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">search</a>&nbsp;of campaign data with the Florida Department of State.&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The Miami Herald&nbsp;<a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article260002590.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">noted</a>&nbsp;some of DeSantis’ payments to the Daily Wire and other right-wing outlets in April.&nbsp;</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Shapiro co-founded The Daily Wire, which publishes podcasts, videos, and commentary pieces. The site&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/daily-wire/daily-wire-cesspool-hatred-and-bigotry" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">frequently pushes</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/matt-walsh?page=2" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">anti</a>-<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/daily-wire/homophobic-rhetoric-behind-right-wing-medias-opposition-marriage-equality" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">LGBTQ</a>, racist, and bigoted content.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Daily Wire and its personnel have recently been friendly voices for DeSantis, who won his 2022 reelection bid.&nbsp;</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Shapiro, as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ben-shapiro-gives-key-takeaways-from-gops-midterms-red-ripple" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">summarized</a>&nbsp;by the website he co-founded, has “faulted Trump” and “made no secret of his support for DeSantis.” He also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3996877" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">said</a>&nbsp;in September that DeSantis is a “very effective governor” and a better potential president than Trump.&nbsp;</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After Trump tried out the nickname “Ron DeSanctimonious,”<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">&nbsp;Daily Wire host&nbsp;<b>Matt Walsh</b>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/trump-backs-off-after-hurling-ron-desanctimonious-insult-at-florida-governor/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">tweeted</a>:</span>&nbsp;“DeSantis is an extremely effective conservative governor who has had real policy wins and real cultural wins. Trump isn't going to be able to take this one down with a dumb nickname. He better have more than that up his sleeve.”&nbsp;</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And the Daily Wire has featured pieces such as “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-trump-launches-unprovoked-attack-on-ron-desantis-for-his-handling-of-covid-pandemic" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Trump Launches Unprovoked Attack On Ron DeSantis For His Handling Of COVID Pandemic</a>”; “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/with-trump-the-big-loser-in-22-midterms-desantis-now-frontrunner-for-24" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">With Trump The Big Loser In ’22 Midterms, DeSantis Now Frontrunner For ’24</a>”; and “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/original-trump-backer-michael-savage-desantis-is-the-future-this-is-about-a-nation-not-about-any-man" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">‘Original’ Trump Backer Michael Savage: ‘DeSantis Is The Future … This Is About A Nation, Not About Any Man.’</a>”&nbsp;</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>The National Republican Congressional Committee, </b>which is the House Republicans’ official campaign arm, has also heavily advertised in the Daily Wire,</span><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?data_type=processed&committee_id=C00075820&recipient_name=daily+wire&two_year_transaction_period=2022&min_date=01%2F01%2F2021&max_date=12%2F31%2F2022" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">paying</a>&nbsp;$321,100.18 from 2021 to 2022 so far for&nbsp;list rentals.</b></font></p></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">they have a DM factory to also do elections</span></div><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" box-sizing="box-sizing" border-box="border-box" margin-top="margin-top" px="px">Aaron Dorr&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6951883-Dorr-Email.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" box-sizing="box-sizing" border-box="border-box" cursor="cursor" pointer="pointer" box-shadow="box-shadow" inset="inset" px="px" var="var" c-spot="c-spot" transition="transition" all="all" s="s" cubic-bezier="cubic-bezier">once described himself</a><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" box-sizing="box-sizing" border-box="border-box">&nbsp;as a graduate of “numerous Rothfeld schools,” an apparent reference to&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Mike Rothfeld, a national political consultant&nbsp;</span></span><a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2014/03/rand-paul-mike-rothfeld-and-direct-mail-inside-paul-incs-fundraising-machine.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" box-sizing="box-sizing" border-box="border-box" cursor="cursor" pointer="pointer" box-shadow="box-shadow" inset="inset" px="px" var="var" c-spot="c-spot" transition="transition" all="all" s="s" cubic-bezier="cubic-bezier" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">known for his mastery</a><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" box-sizing="box-sizing" border-box="border-box"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">&nbsp;of direct-mail marketing,&nbsp;</span>now a centerpiece of the brothers’ fundraising efforts.&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Rothfeld, who declined to comment for this story, has sat on the&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/does-the-nra-think-rand-paul-is-too-extreme" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; box-shadow: inset 0 -1px var(--c-spot); transition: all 0.2s cubic-bezier(0.645, 0.045, 0.355, 1) 0s;">board of directors</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">&nbsp;for the&nbsp;</span><a href="https://nationalgunrights.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; box-shadow: inset 0 -1px var(--c-spot); transition: all 0.2s cubic-bezier(0.645, 0.045, 0.355, 1) 0s;">National Association for Gun Rights</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">, whose&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.saf.org/dudley-browns-despicable-deception/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; box-shadow: inset 0 -1px var(--c-spot); transition: all 0.2s cubic-bezier(0.645, 0.045, 0.355, 1) 0s;">strongarm methods</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">&nbsp;and&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/does-the-nra-think-rand-paul-is-too-extreme" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; box-shadow: inset 0 -1px var(--c-spot); transition: all 0.2s cubic-bezier(0.645, 0.045, 0.355, 1) 0s;">absolutist portrayal</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">&nbsp;of Second Amendment rights&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.saf.org/dudley-browns-despicable-deception/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; box-shadow: inset 0 -1px var(--c-spot); transition: all 0.2s cubic-bezier(0.645, 0.045, 0.355, 1) 0s;">blazed a trail</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">&nbsp;for the Dorr brothers to follow.</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">=</span></div><div times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><div style="font-size: small;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 153);">AHA&nbsp; note // direct mail&nbsp; dark posts neg ads</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ref</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</b></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><b>Pharmaceutical industry likely to shatter its lobbying record as it works to shape Democrats’ spending bill</b></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><b>A years-long battle over prescription drug prices reaches its apex as the industry spends tens of millions to alter the plan.</b></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">By Yeganeh Torbati and Jonathan O'Connell&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><b>November 5, 2021&nbsp;</b></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style=""><b style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In September, Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) began noticin</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">g mailers </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">arriving at homes across his district, including his own and that of his parents, with an alarming message. The mailers alleged that Kim was intent on preventing Medicare patients from getting the drugs they needed.</span></b></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">That was news to Kim, who has made lowering seniors’ health-care costs and expanding their access to Medicare a signature issue. The mailer, along with a slew of digital ads and text messages, was sponsored by a group called A Healthy Future, LLC, and claimed that Kim and other New Jersey Democrats wanted to cut off “access to lifesaving medicines” and shift Medicare money into other social safety-net programs.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Soon after the mailers landed in New Jersey mailboxes, Kim’s office began receiving calls from puzzled constituents.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><b>“I’ve been attacked before, but I’ve never seen one as egregious as this one in terms of ‘Andy Kim’s trying to cut Medicare</b>,’” Kim said. “That’s just so absurd, and I actually think that has affected how the district has responded.”</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Watershed or watered down? Democrats’ drug pricing deal leaves many unsatisfied.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Kim was certain the attacks were coming from the pharmaceutical industry, but it was hard for him to be sure. A Healthy Future’s website includes no contact information, and a message to its Facebook page went unanswered. But a nonprofit group called&nbsp;<b>A Public Voice listed A Healthy Future&nbsp;</b>as being under its control in its 2018 and 2019 tax filings and described the LLC’s primary activity as “supporting a vibrant health care system.”</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">A Healthy Future and its anonymous funders, it turned out, had fought previous efforts in Washington to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. According to Google digital ad data, A Healthy Future also paid for ads in fall 2020 arguing against a Trump administration attempt to address prescription drug costs.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Brian Newell, a spokesman for PhRMA, the pharmaceutical industry’s chief lobbying arm, when asked whether the organization had ever had any financial or other relationship with A Healthy Future or A Public Voice, said: “Like most industries and associations, PhRMA engages with groups and organizations that have a wide array of opinions and priorities, including those who do not want the government to come between patients and their medicines.” DENIAL NON-DENIAL ~ WATERGATE b&wOODWARD</span></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The ads targeting Kim and others were one strand of a massive, months-long advertising, lobbying and political donation blitz undertaken by the pharmaceutical industry and its allies, perhaps the strongest of all corporate voices in Washington, to kill a Democratic proposal to lower the cost of prescription drugs by empowering the federal government to negotiate their prices.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><b>That provision to control drug prices became a focal point of the $1.75 trillion spending package Democrats are trying to move through Washington.</b>&nbsp;The measure was in, then out, then watered down, going through a fierce ping-pong of backroom negotiations that is likely to continue once the Senate considers the bill in coming weeks.</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Pharmaceutical industry lobbyists defended their effort, alleging that the Democrats’ proposal would stifle research. They also said many other groups poured millions of dollars into the other side of the debate.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“As we’ve said repeatedly, our advocacy has focused on delivering solutions that will lower what patients pay out of pocket for prescription medicines, while opposing reforms that would ultimately leave patients trapped in a broken insurance system, restrict access to lifesaving medicines, and destroy the development of new treatments,” Newell said.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The influence campaign at times worked through groups whose funding sources are hidden. At least 20 different advertisements were run on television and online across the country. The advertisements were augmented by a campaign by<b>&nbsp;PhRMA, which spent nearly $23 million on lobbying through the first nine months of 2021, according to data compiled by OpenSecrets, which tracks corporate spending and political influence. That puts PhRMA on track this year to beat its own spending recording of $29.3 million in 2019.</b></span></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“The intensity right now of&nbsp;<b>K Street</b>&nbsp;and the deployment of lobbying and dark money is extraordinary,” said Nick Penniman, chief executive of Issue One, which advocates for transparency in Washington. “It is a frenzied state right now.”</span></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The intense effort is reflective of just how much many companies have at stake in the Democrats’ evolving tax-and-spending bill. This article, which is based on interviews, documents and lobbying and ad spending data, offers a window into the efforts one sector took to shape the bill, much of which was crafted in secret.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The drug pricing provision agreed to by House Democrats this week does not go as far as many Democrats including Kim had hoped. But it still delivers reforms that could cut costs for millions of Americans by<b>&nbsp;capping out-of-pocket spending for seniors at $2,000 a year, capping insulin costs, preventing price increases that exceed the rate of inflation, and allowing Medicare to begin negotiating prices for some drugs.</b></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“What we’re trying to do is defying one of the most powerful special-interest lobby groups in Washington, D.C.,” Kim said. “The fact that we were able to get something that will meaningfully help people was important.”</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Other industries, including tobacco and electric vehicles, have worked aggressively to pare down or reshape parts of the bill in their favor, too. But the effort to fight back on drug-price increases stands out because of the enormous scope of the campaign waged by the pharmaceutical industry and its allies, which have derailed similar proposals for the past two decades, despite how popular many of the changes are with voters, according to polling data.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“They’re the Goliath,” said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of OpenSecrets. She said that aside from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, of which pharmaceutical firms are members, the industry had spent more than any other by a wide margin so far this year, deploying so many lobbyists — 1,600 — that they outnumber members of Congress 3 to 1.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The industry made $90.6 million of political contributions during the 2020 election cycle, according to OpenSecrets,<b>&nbsp;61 percent of that to Democratic candidates and groups.</b></span></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><b>The industry’s focus on drug pricing has increased dramatically in recent years as the issue became more top-of-mind for voters. In 2012, lobbyists registered to work on the issue of “drug prices” 69 times for 20 different clients. In 2021 so far, they have filed to lobby on the issue 1,192 times for 242 different clients</b>, according to OpenSecrets data.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">While the industry lobbies on many different issues in a given year, the Democratic bill H.R. 3 that would have given the government more expansive power to negotiate drug prices was the bill PhRMA cited most often for lobbying; the bill appeared in its reports 35 times so far this year,</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;OpenSecrets found.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Research by Patients for Affordable Drugs Now, which advocates for lower prices, found that PhRMA and its allies spent at least $26.5 million on television and digital ads attacking proposals on price negotiations between July and early November.&nbsp;<b>That included $2.7 million spent by PhRMA, but also $4.5 million in ads by the 60 Plus Association,</b>&nbsp;which bills itself as a conservative version of AARP and<b>&nbsp;did not respond to a request for comment.</b></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Also lining up behind the effort was th<b>e American Action Network,&nbsp;</b>a major conservative nonprofit advocacy group, with $7.9 million in ads. PhRMA gave the American Action Network $4.5 million in 2019, along with $75,000 to the 60 Plus Association, according to tax filings.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) holds one of Congress’s most competitive seats,</b>&nbsp;having wrested it from Republican control in 2018 and narrowly winning reelection in 2020. She shaped her campaign around a platform of tackling rising health-care costs and has maintained focus on that issue, inviting a Type 1 diabetes patient with sky-high insulin costs to be her guest at the 2020 State of the Union address.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">According to data tracked by Patients for Affordable Drugs Now, the American Action Network funded an ad in Slotkin’s district starting in August that accuses Democrats of pushing a&nbsp;<b>“socialist&nbsp;</b>health-care plan to control what medicines you can get.”</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">
</span></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Her office is now accustomed to fielding calls from constituents who see <b>ads like that one on television</b>, Slotkin said.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“We can really tell the first couple of days those ads run because that’s when we’ll see a spike in the number of people calling our office,” she said. “We literally write a response that our staff can use to forcefully push back and try to contradict the purposeful misinformation.”</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><b>
</b></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><b>Asked about the accuracy of the advertisement targeting Slotkin, American Action Network spokesman Calvin Moore reiterated its message, saying such proposals amount to “socialist price controls” that could limit development of new prescription drugs. “Stifling innovation to this degree has profound consequences,”</b>&nbsp;Moore said.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Many of the backers of these efforts are difficult to identify because of rules allowing anonymous funding of political groups. A Public Voice, which described itself on its 2018 and 2019 tax forms as the “direct controlling entity” of&nbsp;<b>A Healthy Future, is based in Thornville, Ohio.&nbsp;</b>It listed nearly $5 million in contributions in 2018, though it declined to name its donors, and spent the money on consulting, marketing and funding conservative causes across the country. That year, its donations included $240,000 to&nbsp;<b>Fund for a Working Congress, a political action committee that supported Republican candidates, and $370,000 to Ohio First PAC, which supported a challenge by Republican James B. Renacci against Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).</b></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">A voice mail left at a number listed on tax filings for A Public Voice received no response. Documents filed with the state of Ohio show that the e<b>ntity originally formed in 2012 as Protect Your Vote Ohio and show its registered agents as lawyers with Langdon Law, a Cincinnati-area law firm known as a nexus for “dark money” groups on the right.</b></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">David Langdon of Langdon Law did not respond to an email and voice mail requesting comment.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The approximately 20 digital and television video ads compiled by Patients for Affordable Drugs Now and reviewed by The Washington Post warned viewers about an array of crises that could befall them should Congress allow Medicare to negotiate prices for drugs, among them that the industry could no longer develop new medications, that the government would limit access to prescriptions, that Medicare would be cut or that millions of jobs would be lost.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“They call it negotiation, but it really means government decides what medicines I can get,” says “Sue,” a<b>&nbsp;woman labeled in one ad as a diabetic from Ohio.</b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">
</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">“Imagine a future in which a vaccine for covid-19 was never discovered,” says a voice in another spot.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><b>Pro-industry advertising ran during opinion shows on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC, as well as during college football games, according to the advertising data firm iSpot</b>.tv.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Once the drug cost proposal was added to President Biden’s larger legislative package, some advertising took direct aim at Democrats’ spending priorities. One claimed the proposal called for “gutting Medicare” in exchange for “pie-in-the-sky special-interest kickbacks.” It depicts House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) riding atop an animated unicorn, she and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) sliding down rainbows, and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) at a dessert buffet. Another depicts the proposal as a shell game that “loots Medicare.”</span></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Jayapal says Democrats almost have the votes to pass Build Back Better</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) described her frustration with lengthy negotiations on the Build Back Better act in an interview with The Washington Post Nov. 5. (Zach Purser Brown/The Washington Post)</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><b>Previous presidents, including Barack Obama and Donald Trump, vowed to pass bills to lower prescription drug costs, only to see their efforts die on Capitol Hill, in part because of a relentless lobbying blitz.</b></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>When Montana’s Brian Schweitzer</b>&nbsp;ran for Senate in 1999, he elevated his long-shot campaign by busing senior citizens to Canada so they could illegally buy drugs at lower prices.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">He got his first taste of the pharmaceutical lobby shortly afterward, when he said<b> television ads</b> started attacking him for trusting medicines made in other countries. He said in his case, the attacks helped make his political career. “Virtually everybody in America has a friend or family member who is taking that expensive medicine,” he said.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.)</b>&nbsp;holds another<b>&nbsp;competitive seat, representing an Allentown, Pa.</b>, district that narrowly favored Biden in the 2020 election. She said that as she began supporting drug price reform early in her career, <b>lobbyists began relentlessly calling her office, even though she had vowed not to take corporate PAC donations.</b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“If they’re calling me nonstop, imagine what they’re doing to those who actually do take their money,” she said.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">During the most recent negotiations, Wild began receiving&nbsp;</span><b style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">a</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">utomated emails from constituents</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span></b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">worried they wouldn’t be able to get their medicines if the government could negotiate prices.&nbsp;</span><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">But on Sunday she joined 14 colleagues from other competitive districts, including Kim and Slotkin, to urge Democratic leadership to deliver on their promise to reduce drug prices.</b></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">She said she knows what comes next.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“I am quite certain that because I have been so outspoken on this issue, that I am going to face an attack ad,” Wild said. “<b>I have an idea for what it could be, but I don’t want to tell you in case they see it. I don’t want to give them any ideas.”</b></div></div></div><div><div times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">----</font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">should this be sorta generic for hype fear grift online fundraising eg</font><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">:</span></div><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/freedomworks-hopes-anti-critical-race-theory-organizing-will-bring-massive-right-wing-gains-in-2022/">https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/freedomworks-hopes-anti-critical-race-theory-organizing-will-bring-massive-right-wing-gains-in-2022/</a></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>freedomWorks, one of the many right-wing groups taking part in the dishonest campaign against critical race theory, is fomenting opposition to teaching about systemic racism in an effort to mobilize conservative voters to turn out in 2022 midterms and take over school boards.</b></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The day after Thanksgiving, FreedomWorks President Adam Brandon wrote in a fundraising email that opposition to critical race theory “could be the key to making MASSIVE political gain in 2022.” He claimed that “the Left” is out to “indoctrinate children with CRT – so our kids will start hating our country and our God-given freedoms as much as the Left does.”</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">FreedomWorks’ Noah Wall followed up with an email a couple days later claiming that “The radical Left has proven that they are willing to do whatever it takes to brainwash future generations to transform America into a socialist nation.”</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Brandon’s email touted FreedomWorks’ efforts to recruit and train school board candidates. He claimed that since the group had launched its BEST (Building Education for Students Together) initiative, it had hosted grassroots events reaching 3,700 activists, trained more than 300 activists to run for the school board, encouraged 150 of its Candidate Academy graduates to commit to filing paperwork to run for school board seats, and created partnerships with many of the other right-wing groups rallying activists to take over school boards.</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Just a few days later, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah lent his name to a Dec. 1 FreedomWorks fundraising email that focused on other supposed threats from “the Left’s socialist wish list”</b>&nbsp;such as a $15 minimum wage and statehood for the District of Columbia.&nbsp; Lee’s brief note introduced a longer message from Brandon, who asked for money to fight “the swamp” and elect right-wing candidates in 2022. “Whether it’s AOC’s so called ‘Green New Deal,’ Washington D.C. Statehood, Supreme Court packing—or the Democrats’ schemes to seize TOTAL control of our election system—America is facing a GRAVE THREAT.”</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">FreedomWorks is associated with the State Policy Network, a collection of think tanks and advocacy groups that promote right-wing policies at the state level. Brandon is a member of Council for National Policy, a secretive and influential network of right-wing and far-right activists.</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Tags: Adam Brandon, Mike Lee. Noah Wall, Critical Race Theory, Election 2022 School Boards Council for National Policy Freedom Works FreedomWorks State Policy Network</font></font></font></font></p><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=</font></font></font></div><div><p align="left" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1.25em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong>=</strong></font></font></font></p><p align="left" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1.25em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1021 AN</font></font></font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to a report from Mother Jones, the PAC created by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/10/majorie-taylor-greene-matt-gaetz-america-first-pac-broke-trump-hotel-tour/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" class="rm-stats-tracked" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)</a>&nbsp;with great fanfare and a national tour has already blown through what money it had and now is close to broke.</font></font></font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As Russ Choma reports, the publicity-seeking lawmakers started up the&nbsp;<b>Put America First PAC&nbsp;</b>and then launched what turned into a troubled "<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">America First" tour -- that saw events canceled or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rawstory.com/matt-gaetz-marjorie-taylor-greene-2653812942/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" class="rm-stats-tracked" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">moved multiple times</a>&nbsp;due to problems securing venues</span>&nbsp;-- which, in turn, burned through their early cash donations.</font></font></font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to Choma, "Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz both have a knack for ginning up outrage and stealing headlines. All this sound and fury is assumed to hoover up dollars from the riled up grassroots, but that's not true, according to the most recent campaign finance filings, " adding, "Despite the two spending the summer barnstorming the country on a grand fundraising swing they dubbed the America First tour, (the moniker adopted after scraping the "<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/04/republicans-saying-the-quiet-part-loud-discuss-plans-for-anglo-saxon-traditions-caucus/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" class="rm-stats-tracked" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">Anglo-Saxon</a>" caucus), neither Greene nor Gaetz lived up to expectations on the fundraising end. And, just six months after founding it, the joint fundraising committee they launched to drive their tour is nearly broke."</font></font></font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As the report details, the t<b>wo lawmakers' PAC raised $360,000 initially but donations dropped off and a recent filing shows a meager $13,000 on hand.</b></font></font></font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">Choma reports that Greene is having her own fundraising issues as well.</font></font></font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">"While Greene is definitely more successful—in her short Congressional career she's raised&nbsp;<a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/marjorie-taylor-greene/summary?cid=N00044701&cycle=CAREER&type=I" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" class="rm-stats-tracked" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">more than $8.8 million</a>—the most recent numbers filed by her own campaign show her fundraising totals are increasingly eaten up by the costs of chasing donors and&nbsp;<b>paying off the operatives and professional fundraising consultants and vendors</b>&nbsp;that she hires,</span>" he reported.</font></font></font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As for Gaetz... "<b>Gaetz campaign's latest filing shows that his fundraising has all but dried up. He raised just $527,000 from July 1 to September 30. He spent far more—$627,000—trying to raise that money. In another parallel to Greene, Gaetz's biggest expenses are&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">direct mail and paying fundraising consulting costs&nbsp;</span>to his vendors. In fact, those two things ate up more than 60 percent of his donations,"</b>&nbsp;Choma reported.</font></font></font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">You&nbsp;<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/10/majorie-taylor-greene-matt-gaetz-america-first-pac-broke-trump-hotel-tour/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" class="rm-stats-tracked" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">can read more here</a>.</font></font></font></p><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></font></font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></font></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/federal-judge-orders-usps-to-stop-sending-patently-false-mailers-to-voters-that-will-sow-confusion/">https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/federal-judge-orders-usps-to-stop-sending-patently-false-mailers-to-voters-that-will-sow-confusion/</a></font></font></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></font></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></font></font><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jake Johnson / Common Dreams September 13, 2020</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><div>
</div><div><b>A federal judge late Saturday ordered the U.S. Postal Service to immediately stop sending mailers containing false voting information to Colorado residents, saying he is “deeply troubled” by the decision to distribute the misleading postcards to households across the nation.</b></div><div>
</div><div>“As a result of false information contained in the notice, some Colorado voters may not vote because they erroneously believe that: (1) they must request a ballot at least 15 days before the election; (2) they must mail their ballot at least seven days prior to the election; or (3) they may not vote if they lose their ballot,” wrote U.S. District Court Judge William Martínez in a 10-page ruling (pdf) granting <b>Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s request for a temporary restraining order.</b></div><div>
</div><div>“In reality, Colorado voters do not need to request a ballot at any time. Voters who receive a ballot do not need to mail the ballot back at least seven days before the election; they may alternatively deposit that ballot at a drop-box or may choose to vote in person up to and including on Election Day,” Martínez continued, describing some of the information on the mailer “patently false.”</div><div>
</div><div>“The notice, if distributed, will sow confusion amongst voters by delivering a contradictory message,” the judge said.</div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The ruling came hours after Griswold sued Postmaster General Louis DeJoy—a Republican megadonor to President Donald Trump—and other top USPS officials over the mailers, which have already arrived at households in Colorado and other states just weeks ahead of the November election.</span></div><div>
</div><div><b>While acknowledging the postcards “may have started off as a well-intentioned effort” to inform voters ahead of the election, Griswold tweeted late Friday that “confusing voters about mail ballots in the middle of a pandemic is unacceptable.”</b></div><div><b>
</b></div><div><b>As Common Dreams reported Saturday, election officials in California, Washington state, and Maryland have also publicly raised alarm about the postcards, which contain both broad advice on how to vote by mail as well as specific timelines that could mislead residents of states with different rules.</b></div><div>
</div><div><b>In an emailed statement Saturday as at least five additional states considered suing over the postcards, the USPS said the mailers are intended to provide “general, all-purpose guidance on the use of the mail, and not guidance on state election rules.”</b></div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">“The mail-piece—which has already been delivered to most households and will reach every American residential mailing and P.O. Box address in the coming week—contains a single set of simple recommendations for voters throughout the nation, regardless of where they live and where they vote,” the Postal Service said. “At the same time, we are aware that each state has its own specific rules, deadlines and requirements, and the mail-piece acknowledges that fact.”</span></div><div>
</div><div><b>Griswold said Saturday that she urged the Postal Service not to send out the mailers in Colorado due to the misleading information, but her request was denied.</b></div><div>
</div><div>“As the chief election official of the state of Colorado, it’s my job to try to stop misinformation and any unnecessary election confusion,” said Griswold. “The importance of this election, combined with the fact it is being held amidst a national pandemic, further heightens the need to provide correct voting information to Coloradans.”</div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><a href="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/conservative-circles-scams-abound"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/conservative-circles-scams-abound</font></a></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><div class="panel-pane pane-entity-field pane-node-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; clear: both;"><div class="pane-content" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden" itemprop="articleBody" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) has used his mailing list as a lucrative tool&nbsp;<a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/116237/newt-gingrich-herman-cain-are-now-making-money-spam" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-decoration-line: none;">for many years</a>, and it’s a habit he’s apparently reluctant to break. Even after the Arkansas Republican gave up his Fox News program, apparently to pursue another White House campaign, Huckabee continued to send out emails with “<a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/mike-huckabee-still-sending-out-emails-with-really-questiona?utm_term=4ldqpia&bftw=pol#.yhYKJ50kx" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-decoration-line: none;">really questionable ads</a>.</b>”</font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) isn’t running for anything, but as discovered last week, he’s&nbsp;<a href="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-office-newt-gingrich" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-decoration-line: none;">also using</a>&nbsp;his list to send out spam-like messages that appear to be scams.</b></font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It’s against this backdrop that Kenneth P. Vogel had&nbsp;<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/super-pac-scams-114581.html#ixzz3Px2tBzPV" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-decoration-line: none;">a great piece</a>&nbsp;this week on the rise of “<b>scam PACs” that target conservative donors.</b></font></span></div><blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Since the tea party burst onto the political landscape in 2009, the conservative movement has been plagued by an explosion of PACs that critics say exist mostly to pad the pockets of the consultants who run them. Combining sophisticated targeting techniques with fundraising appeals that resonate deeply among grass-roots activists, they collect large piles of small checks that, taken together, add up to enough money to potentially sway a Senate race. But the PACs plow most of their cash back into payments to consulting firms for additional fundraising efforts.</font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A POLITICO analysis of reports filed with the Federal Election Commission covering the 2014 cycle found that<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">&nbsp;33 PACs that court small donors with tea party-oriented email and direct-mail appeals raised $43 million – 74 percent of which came from small donors. The PACs spent only $3 million on ads and contributions to boost the long-shot candidates often touted in the appeals, compared to $39.5 million on operating expenses, including $6 million to firms owned or managed by the operatives who run the PACs.</span></font></span></div></blockquote><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">I’m reminded of a line Chris Hayes&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/chrislhayes/status/357912083783876609" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-decoration-line: none;">used</a>&nbsp;a couple of years ago, which continues to ring true: “[M]uch of movement conservatism is a con and the base are the marks.”</font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a name="break" id="break" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;" /></font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a name="break" id="break" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></span></a></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a name="break" id="break" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Eric Hananoki&nbsp;</font></span></a><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/01/26/the-conservative-movement-is-infected-with-scam/202272" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-decoration-line: none;">added</a>&nbsp;soon after, “Media Matters has previously documented how conservatives have scammed their followers<b>. [Erick Erickson], for example, was caught sending a plagiarized email (from Ann Coulter) endorsing a newsletter which purported to reveal a ‘secret’ system to become ‘instant millionaires.’”</b></font></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">And just yesterday,&nbsp;</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Ben Dimiero&nbsp;<a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/01/28/reagans-secret-cancer-cure-and-other-scams-from/202285" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-decoration-line: none;">noted</a>, “Erick Erickson’s email list subscribers have received a bizarre array of pitches from conspiracy theorists and dubious practitioners warning of the impending death of millions of Americans and promising ‘cures’ to cancer, Alzheimer’s, and aging.”</span></font></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">To be sure, there are some specific differences among these dubious appeals. The&nbsp;<em style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Politico</em>&nbsp;piece, for example, highlighted the activities of suspicious political action committees, while the Huckabee, Gingrich, and Erickson examples focus on use of regular ol’ email lists, outside of PAC control.</font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>But the bottom line remains the same: a dynamic now exists in which many conservatives are receiving dubious messages through lists operated by Republican leaders they trust.</b></font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The basic idea isn’t entirely new – for decades, groups and political figures sent out <b>direct-mail letters, which regularly included unsavory appeals for cash</b> – but the old model relied on slow and expensive distribution through the mail. It’s cheaper, faster, and easier for these unsavory schemes to be put in motion electronically.</font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kevin Drum, meanwhile, asked&nbsp;<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/01/why-are-scam-pacs-so-much-more-common-right-left" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-decoration-line: none;">the question</a>&nbsp;that was on my mind:</font></span></div><blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">So here’s my question: why is this so much more common on the right than on the left? It would be nice to chalk it up to the superior intelligence of liberal audiences and call it a day, but that won’t wash….&nbsp;</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">One possibility is that a lot of this stuff is aimed at the elderly, and conservatives tend to skew older than liberals. And while that’s probably part of the answer, it’s hardly satisfying. There are plenty of elderly liberals, after all – certainly enough to make them worth targeting with the same kind of fraudulent appeals that infest the right.</span></font></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another possibility is that it’s basically a supply-side phenomenon. Maybe liberal outlets simply tend to be less ruthless, less willing to set up scam fundraising organizations than conservative outlets. In fact, that actually does seem to be the case. But again: why?</font></span></div></blockquote><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">I honestly have no idea, so let’s open it up to some discussion. Why do these scams seem so much more common on the right than the left?</font></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></span></div></div></div></div><div class="panel-pane pane-explore-issues-topics" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><div class="pane-content" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><div class="pane-node-field-issues" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.71429rem; margin-bottom: 0rem; clear: both; max-width: 63%;"><span class="field-label" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; float: left; margin-right: 0.35714rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Explore:</font></span><div class="issues-topics" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="issue-topic" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://www.msnbc.com/maddowblog" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-decoration-line: none;">The MaddowBlog</a></span>,&nbsp;<span class="issue-topic" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://www.msnbc.com/elections" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-decoration-line: none;">Elections</a></span>,&nbsp;<span class="issue-topic" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://www.msnbc.com/topics/erick-erickson" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-decoration-line: none;">Erick Erickson</a></span>,&nbsp;<span class="issue-topic" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://www.msnbc.com/topics/fundraising" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-decoration-line: none;">Fundraising</a></span>,&nbsp;<span class="issue-topic" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://www.msnbc.com/topics/mike-huckabee" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-decoration-line: none;">Mike Huckabee</a></span>,&nbsp;<span class="issue-topic" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://www.msnbc.com/money-in-politics" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-decoration-line: none;">Money in Politics</a></span>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<span class="issue-topic" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://www.msnbc.com/topics/newt-gingrich" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-decoration-line: none;">Newt Gingrich</a></span></font></div></div></div></div></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">bossie 527 scam pac</font></div><div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">axios&nbsp;</font></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">a&nbsp;political organization run by David Bossie, President Trump's former deputy campaign manager, has raised millions of dollars by saying it's supporting Trump-aligned conservative candidates — but has spent only a tiny fraction of that money supporting candidates.</font></div><div class="StoryBodyroot--2VihO" itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; position: relative;"><div style="box-sizing: inherit;"><p class="StoryBodyparagraph--2-Doz" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">Instead, federal records suggest the Presidential Coalition</span>&nbsp;<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">has spent</span>&nbsp;nearly all its money — raised mostly from small-dollar donations — on more fundraising, as well as administrative costs, which include Bossie's salary, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://campaignlegal.org/document/can-i-count-you-how-presidential-coalition-has-capitalized-its-leaders-ties-president-and" class="StoryBodylink--10w8x" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-image: linear-gradient(rgb(0, 141, 200), rgb(0, 141, 200)); background-position: 0px 95%; background-size: 1px 1px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; touch-action: manipulation; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 0.03em, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px -0.03em, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.06em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.06em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.12em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.12em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.15em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.15em 0px;">new report produced by the Campaign Legal Center</a>&nbsp;(CLC) in collaboration with Axios.</font></p></div><div id="hidden-3bf22829-8a89-4a10-84b7-7310e02c2ef2" class="" aria-hidden="false" aria-expanded="true" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding-bottom: 65px;"><div style="box-sizing: inherit;"><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li class="StoryBodyitem--1cHYD" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 1rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">The group's mailers and ads,</span>&nbsp;obtained by Axios and reviewed by CLC, a campaign finance watchdog, repeatedly stress Bossie's relationship to Trump. Contributions to the organization increased after Trump's presidential victory and then skyrocketed in 2018.</font></li><li class="StoryBodyitem--1cHYD" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 1rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[nice grapf on viz scam eg 1006 penn ave]</font></li><li class="StoryBodyitem--1cHYD" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 1rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">raphic: Harry Stevens/Axios</font></li></ul><p class="StoryBodyparagraph--2-Doz" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">A senior Trump administration official told Axios:</span>&nbsp;"The problem the president is going to have with this is 1) he does not like when people are perceived to be profiting off of him, and 2) these are not max out donors. This is money that many likely think is going towards the president's re-election effort when it is not. So effectively every dollar groups like Bossie's and similar groups raise is a dollar the campaign does not."</font></p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li class="StoryBodyitem--1cHYD" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 1rem;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">Despite no longer working for the Trump campaign</span>, Bossie is still close to the president. Bossie flew with him on Air Force One in March to a rally in Michigan.</font></span></li><li class="StoryBodyitem--1cHYD" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 1rem;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Trump campaign declined to comment.</font></span></li></ul><p class="StoryBodyparagraph--2-Doz" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">Why it matters: "</span>There is a cottage industry of groups targeting vulnerable communities with self-serving borderline scams," CLC writes in&nbsp;<a href="https://campaignlegal.org/document/profiting-proximity-report-presidential-coalitions-misleading-fundraising-practices" class="StoryBodylink--10w8x" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-image: linear-gradient(rgb(0, 141, 200), rgb(0, 141, 200)); background-position: 0px 95%; background-size: 1px 1px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; touch-action: manipulation; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 0.03em, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px -0.03em, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.06em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.06em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.12em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.12em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.15em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.15em 0px;">its analysis</a>. "What sets the Presidential Coalition apart is that it is explicitly — and successfully — capitalizing on Bossie's connection with the president of the United States."</font></p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li class="StoryBodyitem--1cHYD" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 1rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">In response, Bossie called our story&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">"</span></span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">fake news brought to you by a collaboration of the biased liberal media and unabashed left-wing activists."</span></font></li><li class="StoryBodyitem--1cHYD" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 1rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">In a long statement, he charged</span>&nbsp;that CLC cannot fairly assess his organization because the group has a "conflict of interest" because it "is a highly vocal and fierce critic of the landmark Citizens United v. FEC case." (Bossie runs Citizens United.) You can read Bossie's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5988785-TPC-Statement-in-Reply-to-Axios.html" class="StoryBodylink--10w8x" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-image: linear-gradient(rgb(0, 141, 200), rgb(0, 141, 200)); background-position: 0px 95%; background-size: 1px 1px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; touch-action: manipulation; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 0.03em, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px -0.03em, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.06em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.06em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.12em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.12em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.15em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.15em 0px;">full statement here</a>.</font></li><li class="StoryBodyitem--1cHYD" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 1rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">Bossie also said the analysis</span>&nbsp;"totally ignores the legitimate staff, infrastructure and other political activity costs associated with the organization’s work," adding that "it is expensive to raise substantial amounts in small donor contributions using direct mail, digital, and telemarketing."</font></li></ul><p class="StoryBodyparagraph--2-Doz" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">Details:&nbsp;</span>On<a href="http://presidentialcoalition.com/about-us/farm-team/" class="StoryBodylink--10w8x" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-image: linear-gradient(rgb(0, 141, 200), rgb(0, 141, 200)); background-position: 0px 95%; background-size: 1px 1px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; touch-action: manipulation; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 0.03em, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px -0.03em, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.06em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.06em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.12em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.12em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.15em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.15em 0px;">&nbsp;its website</a>, The Presidential Coalition says it has been "dedicated to identifying and supporting conservative candidates running for office at the state and local levels of government" since its founding in 2005.</font></p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li class="StoryBodyitem--1cHYD" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 1rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">The group's fundraising appeals</span>&nbsp;also urge supporters to "grow the Republican 'farm team'" and "train and prepare conservative candidates to run and win in local elections."</font></li></ul><p class="StoryBodyparagraph--2-Doz" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">But based on</span>&nbsp;<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">the 527 organization's</span>&nbsp;IRS data, just $425,442 (or 3%) of the $15.4 million it spent during 2017 and 2018 went to direct political activity, which CLC defines as "direct donations to candidates or political committees, and a small number of state-level candidate ads."</font></p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li class="StoryBodyitem--1cHYD" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 1rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">"There is no question</span>&nbsp;that the money spent on programming is well below anything someone in the industry would consider a legitimate amount," said Walter Lukens, CEO of the Lukens Company, a direct response marketing agency.</font></li></ul><p class="StoryBodyparagraph--2-Doz" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">At least $445,972 was spent on apparent book purchases</span>. Copies of the Presidential Coalition's direct mailers — which Axios obtained and shared with CLC — show the organization offered people who donated above a certain amount (usually $45) a copy of one of Bossie's books, "Trump's Enemies."</font></p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li class="StoryBodyitem--1cHYD" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 1rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">Bossie's response on the books:</span>&nbsp;"In 2018, TPC spent a small amount on&nbsp;<em style="box-sizing: inherit;">Trump's Enemies</em>. The bulk of the book premiums, however, where [sic] for copies of&nbsp;<em style="box-sizing: inherit;">Trump's America</em>, which was authored by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. TPC members are very excited to receive these books and DVDs."</font></li></ul><div class="Embedroot--xU4tk" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 100%; width: 848px; margin: 35px auto;"><figure style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; width: 848px;"><div data-type="axios-visual" class="EmbedembedContainer--2z7Wi block-20kvb lazyloaded" data-slug="av-2019-04-17-pc-sankey-U2ZQH" data-url="https://graphics.axios.com/2019-04-17-pc-sankey/index.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 0.2s ease 0s; text-align: center;"><div id="av-2019-04-17-pc-sankey-U2ZQH" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%;"><figcaption style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.62; padding: 10px 2px; width: 848px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Data: Campaign Legal Center's analysis based on Presidential Coalition's forms 8872&nbsp;<a href="https://forms.irs.gov/app/pod/basicSearch/search;jsessionid=xpWqOwbJBFQHgxkeHgZXY1scImqv7qdRcxBaqQC9.-?execution=e1s1&format=" class="StoryBodylink--10w8x" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-image: linear-gradient(rgb(0, 141, 200), rgb(0, 141, 200)); background-position: 0px 95%; background-size: 1px 1px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; touch-action: manipulation; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 0.03em, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px -0.03em, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.06em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.06em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.12em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.12em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.15em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.15em 0px;">from the IRS</a>; Chart: Harry Stevens/Axios</font></figcaption></div></div></figure></div><p class="StoryBodyparagraph--2-Doz" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">The rest of the money&nbsp;</span>appears to have been spent on more fundraising for the Presidential Coalition, largely via direct mail and telemarketing, expenses to support those activities (such as postage and donor list cultivation), payments to other groups run by Bossie, and administrative expenses.</font></p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li class="StoryBodyitem--1cHYD" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 1rem;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">Compare that to&nbsp;</span>the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rga.org/" class="StoryBodylink--10w8x" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-image: linear-gradient(rgb(0, 141, 200), rgb(0, 141, 200)); background-position: 0px 95%; background-size: 1px 1px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; touch-action: manipulation; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 0.03em, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px -0.03em, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.06em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.06em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.12em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.12em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.15em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.15em 0px;">Republican Governors Association</a>, another 527 organization supporting state-level Republican candidates, which spent about 80% of its funds on campaign contributions and political advertising over the same period.</font></span></li></ul><p class="StoryBodyparagraph--2-Doz" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">Meanwhile,</span>&nbsp;more than $650,000 of the Presidential Coalition’s 2017–2018 spending went to two affiliated organizations also run by Bossie, Citizens United and Citizens United Foundation — 1.5 times as much as the group spent on direct political activity.</font></p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li class="StoryBodyitem--1cHYD" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 1rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">Those payments included personal salaries for Bossie:</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">&nbsp;In 2017, Bossie earned a $105,541 salary from the Presidential Coalition.</span></font></li><li class="StoryBodyitem--1cHYD" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 1rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">The remaining expenditures</span>&nbsp;went to overhead and administrative costs.</font></li></ul><p class="StoryBodyparagraph--2-Doz" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">The bottom line:&nbsp;</span>There's a vast difference between what the Presidential Coalition is telling its donors and how it actually spends their money. And as the CLC writes, "Not only do these dubious practices mislead and potentially even prey upon vulnerable populations, but they also drain resources away from more effective political groups" — including Trump's campaign.</font></p><p class="StoryBodyparagraph--2-Doz" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.75;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">Go deeper:&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.axios.com/david-bossie-presidential-coalition-elderly-donors-7b37f0c1-da94-4313-87bd-552730fea295.html" class="StoryBodylink--10w8x" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-image: linear-gradient(rgb(0, 141, 200), rgb(0, 141, 200)); background-position: 0px 95%; background-size: 1px 1px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; touch-action: manipulation; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 0.03em, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px -0.03em, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.06em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.06em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.12em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.12em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.15em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.15em 0px;">Elderly Bossie donors say they thought they were helping Trump</a></font></p></div></div></div></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2019/07/how-fundraisers-convinced-right-wingers-to-donate-10-million-to-defeat-obama-and-then-kept-almost-all-of-it/"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://www.alternet.org/2019/07/how-fundraisers-convinced-right-wingers-to-donate-10-million-to-defeat-obama-and-then-kept-almost-all-of-it/</font></a></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">no lnx</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>How fundraisers convinced right-wingers to donate $10 million to defeat Obama — and then kept almost all of it</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Written by ProPublica July 27, 2019</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">After recruiting thousands of donors for the American Conservative Union — the powerful organization behind the annual CPAC conference — a Republican political operative pushed the same contributors to give millions to a PAC that promised to go after then-President Barack Obama, but then steered much of their donations to himself and his partners.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The PAC, called the Conservative Majority Fund, has raised nearly $10 million since mid-2012 and continues to solicit funds to this day, primarily from thousands of steadfast contributors to conservative causes, many of them senior citizens. But it has made just $48,400 in political contributions to candidates and committees. Public records indicate its main beneficiaries are the<b>&nbsp;operative Kelley Rogers, who has a history of disputes over allegedly unethical fundraising, and one of the largest conservative fundraising companies, InfoCision Management Corp., which charged millions of dollars in fundraising fees.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The saga of how politically connected fundraisers used one of the nation’s leading conservative organizations as a springboard for fundraising that mainly benefited the fundraisers themselves sheds light on the growing problem of so-called&nbsp;<b>scam PACs</b>&nbsp;— organizations that take advantage of loosened campaign finance laws to reap windfalls for insiders while directing only a small portion of receipts to actual political advocacy.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Watchdogs have long complained that ethics laws fail to prevent the exploitation of donors by organizations operating with little or no oversight, and&nbsp;<b>even President Donald Trump’s campaign issued a warning this year about “dishonest fundraising groups” using the president’s name to raise funds.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Rogers’ and InfoCision’s work on behalf of the ACU also shows how lax regulation allows big-name political organizations to recruit donors without identifying either the source of the calls or the ultimate beneficiaries of the donations. ACU appears to have had little control over the PAC’s operation and was not the source of its fundraising scripts.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“The individuals — or many of the individuals — who seem to be profiting off of scam PACs are the same people who also provide services to mainstream players,” said Adav Noti, a lawyer who worked for more than 10 years at the Federal Election Commission. “Obviously not every political consultant is fleecing small donors. But the consultants who are fleecing small donors, largely the way they’re able to do that is because they have experience and connections.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rogers and InfoCision did not respond to repeated requests for interviews — including lists of detailed questions. But the extent of their operation is detailed in a series of emails and documents obtained by ProPublica and Politico from a person with direct knowledge.<b>&nbsp;In the records, Rogers and his cohorts discuss how to contour their pitches to collect the most money, betting that the most red-meat appeals would draw the most dollars.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“This makes me a little queasy … which is good,” Rogers wrote after reviewing a script for a fundraising call that questioned Obama’s citizenship. “This is approved.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The emails raise questions about Rogers’ work ostensibly on behalf of the<b>&nbsp;ACU, which burst to fame in the 1970s and calls its conference “the birthplace of modern conservatism” for its role in elevating Ronald Reagan.</b>&nbsp;The CPAC conference, most recently held at National Harbor, Maryland, is widely considered a crucial point of connection between GOP leadership and the grassroots activists who whip up excitement for the party’s agenda.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In 2010, the ACU enlisted Rogers to find new donors for the organization. To do so, Rogers formed a political nonprofit called the New Conservative Coalition and began soliciting money. It raised nearly $3.4 million between 2010 and mid-2012, although none of that money went to the ACU, IRS filings and records from Colorado show, because prospecting for new donors routinely consumes most or all of the money brought in.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">By early 2012, the group appears to have test-marketed pitches to donors that were too extreme or embarrassing to be associated with the ACU itself.&nbsp;<b>The emails reflect the insistence of then-ACU Chairman Al Cardenas, the veteran conservative lobbyist, and others in the organization that no trace of the ACU’s fingerprints be visible in the scripts given to telemarketers.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Kelley just left me a voicemail that ACU has received a few calls in their office from people who ACU thought had received a [fundraising] call … [and] been directed to the ACU’s conservative.org website (and then called the ACU office.),” wrote one of Rogers’s colleagues. “… it may be nothing … but would you double check to make sure their [sic] in NO reference to ACU, conservative.org or Al Cardenas in any script, including the thank you call script?”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After finding references to ACU affiliates in some of the scripts, an operative asked, “I’m assuming we need ALL ACU references removed — is that right?”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Yes … just get rid of all of them,” responded another.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">At another point, Rogers’ colleagues expressed concern about Cardenas’ Hispanic heritage and the tenor of their anti-immigration message to donors. The script, drafted in January 2012, declared that undocumented immigrants “account for a large percentage of our crime — and prison costs … and take jobs away from Americans.” Those claims are not supported by evidence.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“Cardenas, the ACU Chairman, is Hispanic,” the consultant working with Rogers wrote. “In an effort to keep this script under the radar I think we should re-name it ‘Obama’s Plan.’”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In an interview, Cardenas said he didn’t recall any disagreements between ACU and InfoCision. He said ACU had been careful to run the fundraising project by its lawyers.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“The only thing I remember is making sure our executive director thought it was a good idea” to seek out new donors, Cardenas said. “Probably, the consultants got upset with the parameters that our legal counsel set.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Asked why ACU would shield its identity when pitching donors, Cardenas said, “Using our name and my name is something we wouldn’t want to happen because a) it would hurt our own fundraising purposes, and b) we have very little control over content and we didn’t want our reputation to be tainted in any way — but I’m only guessing.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The ACU executive director at the time, Gregg Keller, declined to comment. The ACU and current director Matt Schlapp did not respond to repeated requests for comment, including an emailed list of specific questions concerning the organization’s dealings with Rogers and InfoCision.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">By the end of the summer of 2012, Rogers and InfoCision had broken with the ACU and created a new federal PAC, the&nbsp;<b>Conservative Majority Fund. It began raising money using the New Conservative Coalition donor list and aggressive fundraising tactics, which painted Obama as a shady figure whose real name was “Barry Soetoro” and who “had long-term relationships with terrorists,</b>” according to scripts for calls circulated among people working on the fundraising campaign. Neither claim is accurate. The PAC said it was hiring investigators to press the case that Obama was ineligible to be president.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">That message struck gold: $2.8 million poured in from more than 30,000 donors during the five months between July and December of that year alone. To kick off its campaign, the PAC paid $371,000 in August 2012 for a television ad that briefly aired on cable television and urged viewers to call the PAC, where they would be solicited for donations. After August, it ran no television ads and made no expenditures for anything other than fundraising.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">FEC records show almost all the money went for calls to donors like Mike Miller, a jeweler in Barrington, Illinois, who gave $500.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“At the time they called, it seemed like such an important thing,” Miller said in a phone interview. “I was assuming they were legitimate.” When told about the group’s lack of spending on disqualifying Obama from the ballot, he said, “If they did this, and didn’t use it for intended purposes, I want my money back.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>On the day after Obama won reelection, the PAC changed its call scripts, telling donors that Obama’s “immediate plans are to pardon the terrorists at Guantanamo, give full amnesty to illegal aliens and give the United Nations the authority to tax Americans,”</b>&nbsp;according to a fundraising script in the emails.&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">There is no evidence that any of those plans were under consideration by the Obama administration. Donors were told that the PAC had hired a team of investigators and lawyers to press for impeachment. There is no evidence in FEC records that it ever did.</span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The fundraising scripts included suggested responses if the prospective donors said they were unemployed, on a fixed income or had significant medical bills to pay, encouraging them to give a smaller amount. When recipients asked not to be called again, the script instructed the telemarketers to offer to place them on a “restricted list” so that they would not get more than one call every 30 days. If recipients insisted, they would be added to a no-call list.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Rogers has previously come under harsh scrutiny for raising large amounts of money but spending little on the promised advocacy. Former Virginia gubernatorial candidate<b>Ken Cuccinelli sued Rogers for his involvement in a PAC that raised money purportedly to support Cuccinelli’s bid to be governor in 2013 but did not spend any to help Cuccinelli win.</b>&nbsp;The case was settled in 2015. In 2017, Rogers’ Maryland office was raided by the FBI, but no charges were brought.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Election integrity experts have warned that alleged scam PACs are siphoning tens of millions of dollars in political donations into the coffers of fundraisers each year, while misleading donors.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lynne Archer, 72, gave the Conservative Majority Fund $3,800 between 2012 and 2018. Archer said she tries to be wary of potential scams, but the Conservative Majority Fund had always sounded “like a legitimate group” when it solicited money.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Damn, I gave a lot to them,” said Archer, who lives in Sugar Land, Texas, and works for her husband at an automobile dealership. “I don’t like that at all.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Noti, who used to work at the FEC, called the proliferation of scam PACs “incredibly&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">corrosive</span>&nbsp;to American democracy” because of the impact on donors like Archer — many of them elderly — who give money in good faith to political causes.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“It’s going to chase people out of the system once those donors realize their money’s been stolen,” Noti said. “They’re going to be disillusioned and disenchanted, and rightfully so.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>Both Rogers’ Annapolis, Maryland-based Strategic Campaign Group and the Akron, Ohio-based InfoCision, a direct marketing firm,</b>&nbsp;were once staples of GOP fundraising. Rogers’ clients included Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran and National Security Adviser John Bolton, while InfoCision helped raise money for the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Rifle Association.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">When the ACU sought to expand its roster of donors, it contracted with Rogers and InfoCision to make calls to a large number of potential contributors — a time-consuming, and therefore expensive, process known as&nbsp;<b>“prospecting.”[EXTRACTION?]</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">During the spring and summer of 2012, several employees who worked in the political division at InfoCision, along with Rogers and other consultants, began using increasingly aggressive fundraising tactics for ACU — though the organization was never supposed to be named in fundraising materials or scripts.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The scripts tapped into voter concerns about illegal immigration. One, in the midst of the 2012 presidential campaign, declared that there was a “huge scandal” that the group had “recently uncovered,” in which Obama was “now planning to deliberately target 20-million poor Latino immigrants — a desperate effort to win re-election,” according to the emails.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Those pitches led to a flurry of emails discussing the nature of the appeals — and whether they might&nbsp;<b>alienate Cardenas</b>. Rogers was the main conduit for complaints, often relaying concerns from ACU leaders to the fundraisers crafting the various appeals.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Several months later Rogers proposed something else entirely: He and InfoCision would take the lists of donors they had harvested while working with ACU,&nbsp;<b>split off</b>&nbsp;their own fundraising operation, then open it as a PAC and raise money without ACU as a client.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“It’s becoming very apparent to me for many reasons that we are going to have to de-affiliate” the fundraising with ACU, Rogers wrote. “I am still trying to resolve issues with them but I can tell we are headed for trouble.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Tensions between the ACU and the people operating the donor recruitment operation continued, emails among InfoCision employees indicate, because the PAC’s early fundraising pleas sometimes included references to ACU despite ACU’s wishes that they didn’t.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“We now have to eliminate ALL ACU references” in the materials for the group, wrote Erik Byers, an account executive who helped oversee the work done on behalf of ACU, to his colleagues on June 29, 2012. “Kelley got blasted by ACU.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Soon after, in early July, Rogers and a handful of other individuals established the Conservative Majority Fund and began raising money.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Because InfoCision telemarketers (called “Communicators”)&nbsp;</span>might recognize that they were reusing fundraising appeals, a company manager stressed the importance of a separate identity.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“We’re starting a new, independent PAC, with an established donor base,” Matthew Birkbeck, then a marketing executive at InfoCision, wrote. “It’s exciting, so sell it! We can’t have the Communicators talking about ACU. There are threats of lawsuits surrounding this!!!”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Calls and emails to Birkbeck were not returned.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By mid-August, Rogers wrote to the ACU that the fundraising operation with them “is completely shut down in all fronts.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>In the months that followed, the InfoCision managers created increasingly provocative call scripts focused on voter fraud, Obama’s (false) country of birth and — after his reelection — launching an impeachment drive to remove him from office.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In addition to Rogers, the InfoCision account manager Byers, a consultant and two other InfoCision employees, including Birkbeck, were involved with the Conservative Majority Fund, according to the emails. All of those people had also been involved with the previous work with the ACU, and the group worked quickly to close accounts and reassign paperwork to the new organization.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scott B. Mackenzie, a Republican bookkeeper who serves as the treasurer for dozens of political committees, was treasurer of the group, responsible for filing its reports with the FEC.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mackenzie did not respond to a request for comment. Byers, of InfoCision, did not respond to requests for comment.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The PAC’s executive director was Dennis Whitfield, a former deputy labor secretary during the Reagan administration. Whitfield worked as a consultant for ACU in 2012, according to the group’s website. He also worked with Rogers at&nbsp;<b>Strategic Campaign Group.</b>&nbsp;Whitfield’s name was used to help promote the Conservative Majority Fund, for example on an October 2012 letter about voter fraud that cautioned: “I mean, imagine how you’ll feel if Obama wins because of all this? We’re scared to death!”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Phone calls to Whitfield were not returned.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The InfoCision staff and Rogers got their first look at a fundraising script and a television ad for the new Conservative Majority Fund on July 5, just two weeks after Rogers floated the idea for opening the PAC. They described an effort to remove Obama from the ballot and raised questions about his eligibility to be president.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“We need to gather 10,000 signatures from each congressional district to have him removed from the ballot,” one script read, before callers asked people for donations. The procedure for removing candidates from the ballot varies by state, but does not require the specific goal claimed by the script. If the donor gave money using a credit card, the caller was instructed to try to upsell them: “I want to let you know that we’re developing some new TV ads about Obama’s past that are going to shock people. We need to get the ads on the air quickly, so can we count on you for an additional gift[?]”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rogers approved both pitches, according to the emails.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Using the ACU donors and lists of conservative donors pulled from InfoCision’s collection or&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">purchased from other vendors,</span>&nbsp;[SOCIAL MEDIA HOOVER UP INFO/ADDY BIG DATABASE?] the new group raked in large amounts of money:</b>&nbsp;Between 2012 and 2018, the Conservative Majority Fund disclosed raising more than $9.6 million, almost entirely from small-dollar donors. At least $9 million of that has been paid to InfoCision for expenses reported as fundraising costs. Strategic Campaign Group, where Rogers works, received an additional $229,000, while Mackenzie was paid $172,000 as the PAC’s treasurer.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In its reporting to the FEC, the Conservative Majority Fund disclosed spending $5.3 million on what it described as expressly political expenditures, but nearly all of it was on fundraising calls — placed by InfoCision — that criticized Democratic politicians, particularly Obama and Hillary Clinton</span>. The Conservative Majority Fund produced two TV ads, but it appears to have spent little money airing them. Most of its recent activity has been phone calls and social media posts supportive of Trump, whose image figures prominently on the PAC’s website.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">There’s no further evidence in records that the Conservative Majority Fund was active in the 2012 elections. Nonetheless, the group bragged in various solicitations to donors that it was taking on a range of anti-Obama organizing, which included: employing a “<b>Truth Squad” to lobby states to remove Obama from the ballot; “hiring undercover researchers” to expose attempts by the Obama campaign to commit voter fraud; and putting “media specialists” on television and radio shows, as well as authoring newspaper and magazine articles and social media posts, “giving regular updates on Obama’s dirty tricks</b>.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ProPublica and Politico did not find any record of experts from the Conservative Majority Fund appearing on television or radio to discuss the election and could find no evidence from the states cited by the group — Alabama, Tennessee, Arizona and Illinois — indicating it lobbied to remove Obama from the ballot. And the Conservative Majority Fund could not have worked in states to stop “phony [voter] registrations,” which an October 2012 letter to donors said it would do. By then, the voter rolls were closed in many states and could not be changed by anyone.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Starting the day after Obama was reelected, employees at InfoCision began circulating plans for a new message for callers: a case for impeaching the president.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>“Impeachment is our only option,” said a recording that InfoCision planned to play to potential donors,</b>&nbsp;according to emails circulated among the operatives on Nov. 7, 2012. “And Republicans are already considering Obama investigations.&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">As the nation’s most effective conservative group … We are launching the official ‘IMPEACH OBAMA’ campaign.”</span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">At least from a fundraising perspective, the campaign was a success: In the first six months of 2013, FEC records show, the PAC raised an additional $1.7 million.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">At least since 2015, federal regulators have been aware of complaints about the tactics used by the Conservative Majority Fund, as well as other PACs linked to Rogers and Mackenzie, the PAC’s treasurer. But the Conservative Majority Fund continued to operate with relatively little attention from authorities, a reflection of how federal laws do little to protect the public from potential scam PACs, according to watchdogs.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>The FEC has twice probed the Conservative Majority Fund’s activities — but the commission, despite being the main federal regulator, is limited in what it can do.</b>&nbsp;In&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">July 2016, the FEC found the Conservative Majority Fund had misreported items on its federal disclosures during the 2013-14 election cycle. It paid a $3,500 fine.</span>In October 2017, the FEC approved an audit covering the last six months of 2012 that found the Conservative Majority Fund had misstated its financial activity.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Both inquiries only skimmed the surface, looking at financial forms submitted to the commission.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The commission rarely chooses to launch full investigations — which allow it to ask questions, interview employees and demand documents from a group — without first having evidence of wrongdoing.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>There are also holes in federal law that make it difficult for the commission to exercise meaningful oversight of groups like the Conservative Majority Fund. While the law prohibits raising campaign money while fraudulently “acting for or on behalf of any candidate or political party,” it does little to address a PAC like the Conservative Majority Fund that didn’t do this.</b>&nbsp;The bar for federal law enforcement in proving a broader criminal statute like wire fraud is far higher. Last year, prosecutors in the Southern District of New York for the first time indicted two men for wire fraud who ran PACs that raised money in the name of causes such as autism awareness and helping police.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In a 2016 memo on the issue, two FEC commissioners implored their colleagues to take action against scam PACs but acknowledged that federal law gives political committees “great leeway on how they use the funds” they raise.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“The power of the Commission to directly and comprehensively protect political contributors is limited,” the two commissioners concluded.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>In late 2018, the FEC formally asked Congress to take action against “fraudulent PAC practices” by some PACs.&nbsp;</b>“These committees solicit contributions with promises of supporting candidates, but then disclose minimal or no candidate support activities while engaging in significant and continuous fundraising, which predominantly funds personal compensation for the committees’ organizers,” the commission wrote.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">When Cuccinelli, the former Virginia attorney general and gubernatorial candidate, sued Rogers and a PAC called&nbsp;<b>Conservative StrikeForce</b>, he said they’d used Cuccinelli’s name to raise more than $2 million, but donated just $10,000 to Cuccinelli’s campaign.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cuccinelli settled with Rogers and Conservative StrikeForce in May 2015 for $85,000. Cuccinelli’s spokesperson did not respond to an interview request.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In 2017, the FBI raided the Annapolis office of Rogers’ consulting firm. At the time, Rogers said the FBI appeared interested in work his firm did in the 2013 Virginia gubernatorial race, but the FBI did not shed any light on its actions.&nbsp;</span>The pre-dawn raid was a near-unheard of occurence in the political sphere, but it didn’t result in charges being brought against Rogers or the PAC. Rogers’ firm shut down its website and closed the office in Annapolis.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">InfoCision, meanwhile, paid a $250,000 settlement in 2018 for “deceptive charitable solicitation calls” in an unrelated case. InfoCision callers initially told potential donors they were not calling to solicit donations when that was not the case, according to the&nbsp;<b>Federal Trade Commission</b>. But the FTC does not have similar jurisdiction over political fundraising, highlighting that business solicitations are more highly regulated than political fundraising.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Election law experts have proposed changes that would discourage scam PACs by broadening anti-fraud provisions in federal election law or enacting an anti-self-dealing provision that prohibits PAC operators from turning an excessive profit. Smaller changes, such as expanding the requirements for PACs to disclose more information to donors who visit their websites, could also help curb the number of scam PACs operating in the political space.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>
</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>“It seems that it would not be that hard and it should be something that is bipartisan, you would hope,” said Ann Ravel, former chair of the FEC.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The argument for enacting more regulation on scam PACs is “similar to why there’s oversight over nonprofits who take money from individuals in the name of good causes, and then use it to enrich themselves,” Ravel said. “It’s stealing.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Filed under:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Politics</font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div></div><div><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;=</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">kos 719 gop direct mail</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...<span style="" open="Open" sans="Sans" font-size="font-size" px="px" letter-spacing="letter-spacing">In what is surely not a coincidence, not only is Kaepernick’s skin tone altered, but his jersey has been altered, and the placement of the banner across the image hides the fact that his tattoos are mainly Bible verses reflecting his faith....</span></font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></p></div><div><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;=</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">not 1st cruz dirty tricks</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/ted-cruz-mailing-elderly-voters-contribution-spam-disguised-county-summons">https://www.alternet.org/ted-cruz-mailing-elderly-voters-contribution-spam-disguised-county-summons</a></font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">no lnx twit</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Ted Cruz is Mailing Elderly Voters Contribution Spam Disguised as County Summons</b></font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Well, this is despicable.</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Daily Kos September 16, 2018, 7:05 AM GMT</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">What to do when the only Republican who will fund raise with you is a discredited, odious joke of a so called President?</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Try to scam elderly voters of course…</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Received this for my 88-year-old grandma. Says it's a summons from Travis County, but is actually asking for money for @tedcruz . Did your campaign authorize this? Is this even legal? Shame on you. That's one more @BetoORourke voter. pic.twitter.com/NcFoOCvjFj</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">— Sean Owen (@sean_r_owen) September 16, 2018</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It’s not like Cruz hasn’t done anything like this before:</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">You're right , you did -https://t.co/tLh6455DUw</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">— Nalini Moorthy (@KnollMoor) September 16, 2018</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">From that New Yorker article:</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Given its obsession with political science, it’s no surprise that the Cruz campaign decided to adopt the “social pressure” techniques to turn out voters in Iowa for Monday night’s caucuses. On Saturday, Twitter came alive with pictures from voters in the state who received mailers from the Cruz campaign. At the top of the mailers, in a bold red box, are the words “VOTING VIOLATION.” Below that warning is an explanation:</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>“”You are receiving this election notice because of low expected voter turnout in your area. Your individual voting history as well as your neighbors’ are public record. Their scores are published below, and many of them will see your score as well. CAUCUS ON MONDAY TO IMPROVE YOUR SCORE and please encourage your neighbors to caucus as well. A follow-up notice may be issued following Monday’s caucuses.””</b></font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One Twitter user tells you what to do if you get one of the fake summons:</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sean Owen</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">@sean_r_owen</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;· Sep 15, 2018</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Received this for my 88-year-old grandma. Says it's a summons from Travis County, but is actually asking for money for @tedcruz . Did your campaign authorize this? Is this even legal? Shame on you. That's one more @BetoORourke voter. pic.twitter.com/NcFoOCvjFj</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View image on Twitter</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ROB WHITEY</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">@jim_mullarkey</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Bring it to the post office, tell the clerk the senders are trying to steal money by tricking people into thinking its a summons and thats "mail fraud" use those words. And just like that you launched a federal inquiry into the cruz campaign and youre not even in congress.</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10:38 PM - Sep 15, 2018</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2,924</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">460 people are talking about this</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Twitter Ads info and privacy</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Or, you could just send your pocket Change to Beto!</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></font></p><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-10-28/news/8603210017_1_defeat-rose-bird-anti-bird-drive-court-reform-and-californians">http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-10-28/news/8603210017_1_defeat-rose-bird-anti-bird-drive-court-reform-and-californians</a></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" /><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Removing A Chief Justice Can Be Good For Business</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><div>October 28, 1986|By Jon Margolis.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>SAN FRANCISCO — Even if Rose Bird deserves her political fate, which is removal from office as Californias chief justice, there is something about the way it has all been arranged that is disturbing, and not just for Californians.</div><div><br /></div><div>As much as anything can be certain in politics, it is certain that Bird will become the first California justice ever to be kicked out by the voters, for whom she has become the symbol of a judicial system they find arrogant, untouchable and excessively lenient.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">To no small extent, Bird has brought this on herself. By her rulings and demeanor, she has created a fertile field for her opponents, making it easy to plant and nurture the seeds of her destruction.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">But plant and nurture them they did. The extraordinary public disapproval of Bird did not result from spontaneous generation. It was planned and organized, partly for political reasons, but also because, for some people, it was good business.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>These people are in the politics business, which is bigger here than anywhere else, but which is growing everywhere as the political process becomes increasingly dominated by television, polling, direct mail and telephone banks, all of it very lucrative for an increasing battery of professional consultants.</div><div><br /></div><div>There is more of it here because there are more elections. California suffers from an excess of democracy, with the people at large making laws, amending the constitution, setting tax rates and even passing local ordinances in referendums.</div><div><br /></div><div>All this participatory democracy reduces the responsibility of elected officials, increases the importance of 30-second commercials and raises the emotionalism of political debate.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>It has also given rise to an industry which constantly has to create new controversies to cause more referendums so that the industry will have enough business. The result is a cycle in which a political consultant raises money to form an organization to arouse passions to raise more money to put a question on the ballot, which then requires more money to be raised to buy TV time to advertise for a yes or no vote.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>According to several California political observers, this was the genesis of the campaign to oust Bird. More than two years ago, two political consultants, acting separately, organized citizens groups formed to defeat Bird when she came before the voters for retention this year.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Later a third consulting firm that specializes in direct-mail fund-raising began to solicit money in its own anti-Bird drive. Subsequently, the direct-mail firm, Butcher-Ford, merged its operation with the citizens organization formed by consultant Bill Roberts.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Together, the two organizations (called Crime Victims For Court Reform and Californians to Defeat Rose Bird) have raised about $5.5 million, according to Stu Mollrich of Butcher-Ford.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Where did the money go? Well, according to Mollrich, about $440,000 went for radio and television advertising. Assuming a couple of hundred thousand dollars for salaries, office rent, telephones and assorted overhead, that leaves almost $5 million unaccounted for. Where did it go?</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Simple. It went back to the consulting firms, mainly to Mollrichs company, Butcher-Ford, for still more direct-mail fund-raising appeals. True, these mailings were also part of the political persuasion effort, but each asked for another contribution.</div><div>
</div><div>And, by the way, some of the television spending went through an associated company, Stu Mollrich Communications.</div><div>
</div><div>Not all of this money was profit for Butcher-Ford, Roberts and the other consulting firms. Much of it went for salaries, computers and the other costs. But as any businessman knows, keeping the company going can be as important as the profit margin. The campaign against Rose Bird has kept a few companies going, maintaining their abilities for the next profit opportunity, or crusade for the public good, as it is sometimes known.</div><div>
</div><div>There is no reason to question anyone`s sincerity. No doubt Mollrich, Roberts and their allies think Bird should be removed. No doubt they also figured that it might help Republican candidates to get the electorate in a tizzy over the chief justice, a 1978 appointee of Democratic former Gov. Jerry Brown.</div><div>
</div><div>But they also knew it would be good for business, and as political consulting firms blossom nationwide, voters might be wise to start asking themselves not just who is getting paid by whom, but also why</div></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div></div></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
MY NEW HERO:
<a href="https://drowndinginmail.wordpress.com/tag/superpac/page/8/">
https://drowndinginmail.wordpress.com/tag/superpac/page/8/</a>


junkmail


<b>Drowning in Junk Mail

</b></font><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
<b>feel like I have been chasing <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Brown" target="blank">Floyd Brown</a></span> and his “Band of Merry Men” all over the internet. Read about that <a href="https://drowndinginmail.wordpress.com/2014/04/10/where-does-the-junk-mail-get-printed-opt-out-of-publishers-clearing-house/" target="blank">here</a> and <a href="https://drowndinginmail.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/drowning-in-junk-mail-how-to-opt-out-of-junk-mail-from-citizens-united/" target="_blank">here</a>.

Policy Issues Institute does not have a website. White House Watch (A

project of Policy Issues Institute) had a website but it is now dead. <a href="http://www.impeachobamacampaign.com/" target="_blank">Impeach Obama Campaign</a>

has a website but no contact info. Every project of Policy Issues

Institute has a different&nbsp;PO Box. I need to find the&nbsp;physical address.</b></font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>
</b></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>
</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://drowndinginmail.wordpress.com/tag/policy-issues-institute/page/2/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
<b style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">....</b>

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Their Mailing address is:

Law Offices Of <a href="http://italkyoubored.wordpress.com/2012/12/28/maureen-otis-a-mystery-inside-a-mystery/" target="_blank">Maureen E. Otis</a>, PC

4850 Wright Rd Site 168

STAFFORD TX 77477</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

But their street address is:

<strong>Civic Center Plaza</strong>

<strong> 30011 Ivy Glenn Drive</strong>

<strong> Suite 223</strong>

<strong> Laguna Niguel, California 92677</strong><b>
</b></font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">But how is this law office connected to Policy Issues Institute (PII)? There are <a href="http://www.bizapedia.com/addresses/30011-IVY-GLENN-DR-STE-223-LAGUNA-NIGUEL-CA-92677.html" target="_blank">14 companies</a>&nbsp;that are listed at this address:</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><ul><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://www.coalitionforliteracy.org/"><strong>Coalition For Literacy</strong></a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><strong>California Conservative Coalition</strong></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><strong style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><a href="http://www.capoliticalreview.com/">California Political Review</a>&nbsp;LACY</strong></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><strong>California Grizzly Mountain Wines Inc.</strong></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><strong>The Legacy Committee</strong></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><strong>Values In Common</strong></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><strong>Nonpartisan Voter Information Institute</strong></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><a href="http://www.westernjournalism.com/"><strong>Western Center For Journalism</strong></a></span></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><strong>Policy Issues Institute</strong></span></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><strong>Policy Issues Institute Incorporated</strong></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://www.coalitionforcalifornia.org/"><strong>Coalition For California</strong></a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://tricountytax.org/" target="blank"><strong>Tri County Taxpayers Association</strong></a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://www.catermlimits.org/" target="blank"><strong>California Term Limits</strong></a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://www.escuchaacalifornia.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Escucha A California</strong></a></font></li></ul><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">They are all run by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Brown" target="blank">Floyd Brown</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/James-V.-Lacy/e/B00J22T238" target="blank">James Lacy</a> and few friends<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>. <a href="http://www.hughhewitt.com/taxifornica-james-lacy/" target="blank">James Lacy</a> is listed as the Registered Agent for Policy Issues Institute</b></span>, and his email address is at the top of the &nbsp;<a href="http://www.wewerlacy.com/office.html" target="blank">Wewer & Lacy LLC</a>&nbsp;website,

so I sent a note to&nbsp;his work email. Now I am not so high and mighty as

to think that a big fancy lawer with an office in ritzy Laguna Niguel

would answer&nbsp;my email himself, he tossed it to a&nbsp;lackey in the office

(probably some poor kid with a brand new law degree and a mountain of

student loan debt) who wrote me a nice note saying that I would be off

the mailing list that day. He then passed it on to someone at Policy

Issues Institute who would delete me from their mailing list.</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.profile&ein=330973052#.VFAJivTF-K0" target="blank">Charity Navigator</a> page, <a href="https://www.citizenaudit.org/organization/330973052/policy-issues-institute/" target="blank">Citizen Audit </a>page</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">An <a href="http://news-register.net/page/content.detail/id/583668/Junk-Mail-Scams-Are-Aimed-At-Seniors.html?nav=515" target="_blank">article</a>&nbsp;from The Intelligencer,&nbsp;Wheeling News Register from&nbsp;West Virginia, about junk mail aimed at seniors that mentions our friends at<b>&nbsp;Policy Issues Institute.</b></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2003/feb/24/local/me-slates24" target="_blank">Los Angeles Times article</a> about how&nbsp;Policy Issues Institute sells it’s self out to PACs so they can use&nbsp;Policy Issues Institute’s lower postal rate.</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">here are all the projects of Policy Issues Institute (PII):

</font></p><ul><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Americans Against U.N. Control</span></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><a href="http://www.impeachobamacampaign.com/" target="_blank">Impeach Obama Campaign</a></span></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">United States Investigative Unit</span></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">United States Health Congress</span></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">White House Watch, The</span></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><strong>...</strong></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><strong>..</strong></font></li></ul><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><strong>...</strong></font></p><header class="entry-header">

       <h1 class="entry-title"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://drowndinginmail.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/drowning-in-junk-mail-how-to-opt-out-of-junk-mail-from-citizens-united/" rel="bookmark">Drowning in Junk Mail – How to Opt-Out of Junk Mail from Citizens&nbsp;United</a></font></h1>      <div class="entry-meta">

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="posted-on"><a href="https://drowndinginmail.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/drowning-in-junk-mail-how-to-opt-out-of-junk-mail-from-citizens-united/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2014-04-18T19:54:39+00:00">April 18, 2014</time></a></span> <span class="comments-link"><span class="sep"> / </span><a href="https://drowndinginmail.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/drowning-in-junk-mail-how-to-opt-out-of-junk-mail-from-citizens-united/#respond">Leave a comment</a></span>

        </font></div>

</header><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><strong>Opt-out here: info@citizensunited.org if that doesn’t work contact the direct marketing firm that makes their mail <a href="https://drowndinginmail.wordpress.com/2014/08/16/drowning-in-junk-mail-how-to-opt-out-of-junk-mail-from-hsp-direct/" target="blank">HSP Direct</a>, Also Contact&nbsp;<a href="http://www.infocision.com/Pages/default.aspx" target="blank">InfoCision</a>,&nbsp;Call them at (330) 668-1400&nbsp;or email them at&nbsp;infocis@infocision.com.

</strong></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In a&nbsp;<a href="https://drowndinginmail.wordpress.com/2014/04/10/where-does-the-junk-mail-get-printed-opt-out-of-publishers-clearing-house/">previous post</a> we met&nbsp; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Brown" target="_blank">Floyd Brown</a> and his Super PACs: Policy Issues Institute, White House Watch and his <a href="http://www.impeachobamacampaign.com/">Impeach Obama Campaign</a>. Today let’s talk about another Super PAC he founded, <a href="http://www.citizensunited.org/">Citizens United</a>.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://www.citizensunited.org/">Citizens United</a> is most famous for winning a Supreme Court case <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._Federal_Election_Commission">Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission</a>.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">From <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31786.html">Politico:</a>

“The case stems from a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission

brought by an obscure conservative group called Citizens United. It

alleged that its free speech rights were violated when the FEC moved to

block it from using corporate cash to promote and air “Hillary: The

Movie,” a feature-length movie harshly critical of then-Sen. Hillary

Clinton – the current secretary of state – during her 2008 campaign for

the Democratic presidential nomination.

The FEC asserted that the movie expressly opposed Clinton’s election and

therefore was subject to campaign laws that bar the use of corporate

cash to air election ads, and require donor disclosure. Citizens United

disagreed and sued.”</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“Obscure conservative group” Tell that to my mailbox Politico.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Stephen Colbert&nbsp;parodied the&nbsp;decision, and SuperPACs in general. A great&nbsp;article by <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/16/stephen-colbert-pac-parody_n_1206439.html">Huffington Post</a>. <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000024850">Open Secrets</a> page</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

Pinning down their junk mail has been&nbsp;difficult because it comes in

so many flavors. Here are 2 examples that feature their current

President <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bossie">David N. Bossie</a>, they are the most obvious: ALSO RAND AND HUCHABEE]

<b>ncppr?
</b></font><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">National Campaign to Impeach Obama

A project of the FRC (<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><a href="http://www.frcitizens.org/" target="_blank">Federation of Responsible Citizens</a>)</span></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Health Care Reform Task Force

A project of <a href="http://www.nationalcenter.org/" target="_blank">The National Center for Public Policy Research</a></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">White House

Watch&nbsp;&nbsp;

A project of Policy Issues Institute (Can not find anything about this

group except a brief mention on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Brown" target="_blank">Floyd Brown’s wiki page</a>.)</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Something they do have in common (I can not prove Policy Issues

Institute but I strongly suspect) they share the same print shop <a href="http://www.responsedynamicsinc.com/" target="blank">Response Dynamics Inc</a>. “We are everything you need for direct mail success!” <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Response_Dynamics" target="blank">Wiki page.</a>&nbsp;I still don’t know who makes their mail.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Response_Dynamics_Inc." target="_blank">Source Watch</a> mentions that Response Dynamics Inc. is run by <a title="Ron Kanfer" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Ron_Kanfer">Ron Kanfer</a> the guy that helped raise money to pay for the notorious <a class="external text" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io9KMSSEZ0Y" rel="nofollow">1988 Willie Horton political attack ads.&nbsp;</a></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Hay didn’t <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Brown" target="blank">Floyd Brown</a> also have something to do with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Horton" target="blank">Willie Horton</a> ad?</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">...</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">See the plastic envelope? Same packaging as the <a href="http://www.frcitizens.org/" target="blank">Federation of Responsible Citizens</a>. Except the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.frcitizens.org/" target="blank">Federation of Responsible Citizens</a> gave me money. Time to step up your game <a href="http://www.nationalcenter.org/" target="_blank">The National Center for Public Policy Research</a>.

</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Back to <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><a href="http://www.frcitizens.org/" target="_blank">Federation of Responsible Citizens</a> They also go by the names:</span></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">

</span></font><ul><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>American Federation of Senior Citizens</b></span></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>National Campaign to Guarantee Social Security</b></span></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">National Committee</span></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>National Senior Action Council (NSAC)</b></span></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Political Headquarters</span></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">National Campaign to Impeach Obama</span></font></li></ul><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Here a nice story from 2005 about American Federation of Senior Citizens from <a href="http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Washington_Times_liaison_targeted_seniors_with_Social_Security_sc.html" target="_blank">Raw Story</a>.</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">offic BS</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></p><div class="tel"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="type">Voice</span> 703-259-6470</font></div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><div class="tel"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="type">Fax</span> 703-259-6473</font></div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">E-mail: <a class="email" href="mailto:office@frcitizens.org">office@frcitizens.org</a></font></div><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></p><div class="bd-block" id="block-75">

<h2><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Mission Statement</font></h2>

<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The Federation of Responsible Citizens (FRC) was founded with the

goal of educating, energizing and mobilizing politically engaged senior

citizens about the legislation that directly impacts their lives.

Fortunately, our democracy gives us input into the law-making process of

this land and empowers the seniors who comprise our membership. We

don't just believe, we know that the input from an engaged constituent

makes all the difference in the world when a Member of Congress is

deciding how to vote. Time and again, we have spoken with congressional

aides who have told us that their boss wanted to know how many

constituents weighed in on an issue before they voted.</font>

<font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The FRC has seen our members' letters, petitions, postcards, surveys,

and polls make a key difference in the legislative outcome. Our

continued dissemination of information regarding proposed legislation

and current affairs is crucial to our members feeling engaged in the

process. With so many issues at stake (foreign policy, terrorism, tax

policy, social security, Medicare, insurance reform and prescription

drugs) it has never been more critical for the public and senior

citizens, in particular, to voice their concerns about the issues that

affect them personally, but also significantly impact future

generations.</font>

<font face="Times New Roman" size="4">FRC projects reflect the priorities of our members. In 2012, we

conducted over 500,000 national surveys on issues like Social Security

and Medicare reform so that our letter writing and postcard campaigns

would advance the policy goals of our supporters. We forwarded nearly

40,000 letters to Speaker of the House Boehner alone, urging him to use

his leadership position to protect the programs FRC supporters depend on

while implementing reforms to preserve them for years to come. Through

our postcards and petition drives in 2012, over 10 million Americans

citizens were informed about pending legislation that would impact their

pocketbooks. We also sent over 2.5 million surveys, postcards, letters

from our supporters to Members of Congress, the White House and federal

agencies.</font>

<font face="Times New Roman" size="4">We are grateful for the engagement and commitment of our members in

the fight to preserve our freedoms and the Constitution for future

generations.</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">---</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">eg</font></p><h1><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Latest News</font></h1>

<div class="date"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">December 10, 2014</font></div>

         
         
         <div class="body">

<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">For many years, the Federation of Responsible Citizens has stood firm

against any proposed changes to Social Security. When Members of

Congress have proposed any changes, whether it was in the form of a cost

of living adjustment, reduced coverage under Medicare or increasing the

retirement age, we have fought back. Our members and supporters have

signed millions of postcards, petitions and letters that we have

delivered to leaders of both parties on Capitol Hill.

We have been largely successful to date, but are now faced with our

greatest challenge to date: President Barack Obama's Executive Amnesty

for illegal immigrants. Adding millions of people to a weak system will

be a crippling blow, and one that will ultimately reduce the Social

Security and Medicare benefits our members depend on.

Economists estimate that granting amnesty to 4 million illegal

immigrants could cost 2 trillion dollars, with one trillion paying for

increased outlays for Social Security and Medicare. This is not just

unsustainable, it is unconscionable.

The FRC has stayed out of the immigration debate until now. However,

after careful consideration, we must join the fight because the risk to

older Americans is too high. We cannot allow funds allocated towards

Social Security and Medicare benefits to be used by illegal immigrants.

In the weeks and months ahead, we will deliver petitions to Congress to

let them know that their most vulnerable constituents are watching their

actions and are counting on them to fight back against President Barack

Obama's Executive Amnesty order.</font></p>

</div>

</div><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">http://www.frcitizens.org/about.php</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">---</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/521/521662991/521662991_201412_990O.pdf</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">$12.5 million 2014
</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">1800 DIAGONAL RD STE 600 PMB 33,<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> ALEXANDRIA</span> VA 22314-2840
</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Ein: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 521662991
Date Established: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1990/05
Contact: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; DENISE SINGLETON
Deductability Status: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Contributions are not deductible
Revenue: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $11,190,827 as of 2014/12
Income: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $11,190,827 as of 2014/12
Assets: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">$674,035 as of 2014/12</span>
</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://www.citizenaudit.org/organization/521662991/FEDERATION%20OF%20RESPONSIBLE%20CITIZENS%20INC/">https://www.citizenaudit.org/organization/521662991/FEDERATION%20OF%20RESPONSIBLE%20CITIZENS%20INC/</a>
</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=
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</font><hr /><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2 letters from Policy Issues Institute <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Brown" target="_blank">Floyd Brown’s </a>group

Policy Issues Institute: United States Health Congress, and White House

Watch. TheWhiteHouseWatch.com is broken. The only website connected to

this group that I could find is <a href="http://www.impeachobamacampaign.com/" target="blank">Impeach Obama Campaign</a>. I think he runs <a href="http://www.westernjournalism.com/" target="blank">WesternJournalism.com</a>. So I sent a note to the <a href="http://www.westernjournalism.com/contact-us/" target="_blank">Contact Us</a> page. I also sent an e-mail to <a href="http://www.citizensunited.org/">Citizens United</a>&nbsp;a SuperPac he founded. Their e-mail is &nbsp;info@citizensunited.org.&nbsp;Hopefully it works.</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=
</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">I receive over 130 pieces of junk mail a week. This is my journey to make it stop.
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Drowning in Junk Mail – This Week in Junk Mail, 124 pieces
April 29, 2014&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; / Leave a comment

St. Rand and Our Lady of Perpetual Dumb-ocracy
It looks like my prayers to St. Rand Paul the patron saint of junk mail, and our Lady of Blessed Contribution Dr. Annette Bosworth worked. I got ten fewer pieces of junk mail this week – 124:)

I got 2 from everyone’s favorite front group for Big Pharma 60 Plus.
60 Plus, junk mail
Thank you for your generous donation to my “Stop Junk Mail Fund” it will be going to stamps and envelopes to stop scam junk mail.

Citizens United junk mail
3 from David Bossie and Citizens United Opt-out here: info@citizensunited.org

Junk mail made by Response Unlimited
4 with a similar look and PO boxes in Houston TX. OMG one of them is The Western Center for Journalism run by Floyd Brown! How many of these things does he have his fingers in?
Ahhhh! Ahhhh! the junk mail it burns!

Ahhhh! Ahhhh! The junk mail it burns!

7 from NCPPR junk mail
7 from The National Center for Public Policy Research. Opt out here: info@nationalcenter.org, with the subject header “Delete from Solicitation”

11 from PII junk mail
11 from Policy Issues Institute. Opt-out here: james.lacy.@wewerlacy.com

And this week’s the winner of the most junk mail sent by one 501(c)(4) is:
16 from FRC junk mail
16 from Federation Of Responsible Citizens. Good job guys! Opt-out here: FedofRespCitizen@aol.com

In the junior division we have these people running for office:
Various people running for office
Come on Dr. Annette Bosworth only 2 in one week? You need to step up your game, if you are going to play with the big boys. Ballotpedia page

12 charties
12 charities. It was a big week for blind kids and horses.

30 junk mail scams
30 scams.

It was a tough week to pick out the worst of the worst. For most of the week it was scams from St. Louis MO leading the pack. They combined a fake lottery with a fake charity.
Care For Our Wounded Soldiers
Very dirty stuff. But then at the last moment this arrived:
Marie de Fortune, Astral Check
I know what you are thinking, just another scam fortune teller. Let’s take a closer look, The exterior return address is 1250 Valley Brook Ave. #102 Lyndhurst, NJ 07071. But the Return envelope is PO Box 451 Oxenford Qld 4210 Australia.
And it came with this:
Marie de Fortune, Astral Check
You are supposed to fill it out with at least $50,00 and send it back. I don’t know exactly what happens after that but it can’t be good.

This week’s aftermath:
Left overs of this week's junk mail
Not nearly as good as last week. Let me show you why
9 pre-paid envelopes stuffed and ready to go
Only 9 envelopes with pre-paid postage. Once I get conformation from each group that they are going to take my address out of their system, I stop stuffing and mailing their pre-paid envelopes. I am saving them though, just in case the mail doesn’t stop.

The form 1500’s this week go to 2 people, remember I only send these to the most thirsty scammers of the week.
This weeks from 1500's
One is going to my second favorite city in The Netherlands: Bilthoven. The other is going to Linden NJ.

St. Rand Paul the patron saint of junk mail, and our Lady of Blessed Contribution Dr. Annette Bosworth

I will continue to prey to St. Rand Paul the patron saint of junk mail, and our Lady of Blessed Contribution Dr. Annette Bosworth. Here’s hoping for 114!
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Drowning in Junk Mail – How to Opt-out of Junk Mail from Policy Issues Institute (PII)
April 25, 2014&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; / 18 Comments

To opt-out from Policy Issues Institute contact James Lacy of Wewer & Lacy LLC james.lacy@wewerlacy.com and call (949)495-3314.

Update: It has been brought to my attention that in this post I do not use strong enough language about Policy Issues Institute. Do not send them money. They are not going to Impeach Obama. The only thing that will happen is that you will get 10+ letters from them every week. And your information will be sold to every mailing list in the US.

14 from PII

I feel like I have been chasing Floyd Brown and his “Band of Merry Men” all over the internet. Read about that here and here. Policy Issues Institute does not have a website. White House Watch (A project of Policy Issues Institute) had a website but it is now dead. Impeach Obama Campaign has a website but no contact info. Every project of Policy Issues Institute has a different PO Box. I need to find the physical address.
To the Googles! Thanks Washington State and GuideStar:)

14 from PII

Their Mailing address is:
Law Offices Of Maureen E. Otis, PC
4850 Wright Rd Site 168
STAFFORD TX 77477

But their street address is:
Civic Center Plaza
30011 Ivy Glenn Drive
Suite 223
Laguna Niguel, California 92677</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
Policy Issues Institute HQ
Google Street View
<b>That is the address of Wewer & Lacy LLC “Leaders in Nonprofit and Election Law”</b>

<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Policy Issues Institute</span>

But how is this law office connected to Policy Issues Institute (PII)? There are 14 companies that are listed at this address:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Coalition For Literacy
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; California Conservative Coalition
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; California Political Review
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; California Grizzly Mountain Wines Inc.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Legacy Committee
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Values In Common
<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Nonpartisan Voter Information Institute</span>
&nbsp;&nbsp;<b>&nbsp; Western Center For Journalism
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Policy Issues Institute
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Policy Issues Institute Incorporated</b>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Coalition For California
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Tri County Taxpayers Association
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; California Term Limits
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<b> Escucha A California</b>

They are all run by Floyd Brown, James Lacy and few friends. James Lacy is listed as the Registered Agent for Policy Issues Institute, and his email address is at the top of the&nbsp; Wewer & Lacy LLC website, so I sent a note to his work email. Now I am not so high and mighty as to think that a big fancy lawer with an office in ritzy Laguna Niguel would answer my email himself, he tossed it to a lackey in the office (probably some poor kid with a brand new law degree and a mountain of student loan debt) who wrote me a nice note saying that I would be off the mailing list that day. He then passed it on to someone at Policy Issues Institute who would delete me from their mailing list.

PII envelopes

That was overly complicated. If they would just have a real website like a normal SuperPAC, I would have just sent it to info@PII or some such thing, but no. Now I am the official web page for Policy Issues Institute. But instead of spewing their rhetoric, all I do is tell people how to stop it from invading their homes.

PII

Charity Navigator page, Citizen Audit page

An article from The Intelligencer, Wheeling News Register from West Virginia, about junk mail aimed at seniors that mentions our friends at Policy Issues Institute.

Los Angeles Times article about how Policy Issues Institute sells it’s self out to PACs so they can use Policy Issues Institute’s lower postal rate.

Policy Issues Institute, White House Watch Junk Mail

Here are all the projects of Policy Issues Institute (PII):

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Americans Against U.N. Control
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Impeach Obama Campaign
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; United States Investigative Unit
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; United States Health Congress
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; White House Watch, The

All the projects of Policy Issues Institute
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Drowning in Junk Mail – How to Opt-out of Junk Mail from the Federation of Responsible Citizens (FRC)
April 22, 2014&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; / 2 Comments

Opt-out here:FedofRespCitizen@aol.com

16 from FRC junk mail

This one took some doing. The website for Federation Of Responsible Citizens (FRC) is terrible. The one page I needed to work is the “Contact us” page. Click on it. All I get is a string of HTML code. I had to dive into the depths of Google to pull out the magic e-mail address that would stop the flood of letters from them every week: FedofRespCitizen@aol.com. At first I thought it would be dead because of the aol.com domain. But lo and behold this morning I got a reply from Denise Singleton that I was off the mailing list:)
but it may take up to 8 weeks to cycle out of the system??

FRC

The web is woefully bereft of information on Federation of Responsible Citizens (FRC) and Denise Singleton.&nbsp; She doesn’t even have a wiki page. Well good for you Denise Singleton. I suppose when you run a junk mail mill that scares old people out of their money, it is good to fly under the radar.

Federation of Responsible Citizens

Here is the list of all the of Federation of Responsible Citizens (FRC) groups that are all connected:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; American Federation of Senior Citizens
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; National Campaign to Guarantee Social Security
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; National Committee
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; National Campaign to Impeach Obama
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; National Senior Action Council (NSAC)
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Political Headquarters

Letter head for each group
FRC projects

Here are some examples of the return envelopes from the FRC. They will all have “A Project of FRC” under the big headline name on the return envelope.
FRC Envelopes

“A Project of FRC” highlighted in green
FRC Close up

Opt-out here:FedofRespCitizen@aol.com
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Drowning in Junk Mail – This Week in Junk Mail, 134 pieces
April 21, 2014&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; / Leave a comment

Last week I estimated that I received about 120 pieces of junk mail. This week I actually&nbsp; got 134 pieces. From the smallest post card to giant manila envelopes with photos of Rand Paul.

Here is a recap of the junk mail this week:

8 From National Center for Public Policy Research
8 from the NCPPR
Opt out here: info@nationalcenter.org, with the subject header ‘Delete from Solicitation’.

10 from Federation of Responsible Citizens
10 From the Federation Of Responsible Citizens FRC
Opt-out here: FedofRespCitizen@aol.com

14 from PII
14 from Policy Issues Institute PII
Opt-out here: james.lacy@wewerlacy.com instead

4 from Citizens United
4 from Citizens United
Opt-out here: info@citizensunited.org

Global Reporting Network, Junk Mail
Who can forget the 10 mailers from Global Reporting Network
Opt-out here: info@divmarketgroup.com

and 35 scams of one kind or another
Pile of junk mail scams

These guys will all be getting Post office from 1500. 2 or more mailers in one week from the same address is an automatic smack down.

2 getting a USPS form 1500
That little post card drives me nuts. It is ugly, and they send one every week.

Scams from PO Box 41 394 AA Doorn The Netherlands
4 from this one PO Box in Doorn The Netherlands

Scams from 2037 Lemoine ave #155 Fort Lee New Jersey 07024
3 from one PO Box in Fort Lee New Jersey

Scam from Independent Catalog Services PO Box 6487 Providence, RI 02940
and 2 from&nbsp; Providence, Road Island

6 USPS form 1500's ready to go
Here they are all 6 wrapped up and ready to go. (Sorry I forgot to take photos of 2 of them)

This is what I started out with on Saturday morning
Box o' Junk Mail, 134 pieces
134 pieces of mail

20 Stuffed and ready to go
Here it is all stuffed and ready to go in 20 pre-paid envelopes.

20 Stuffed and ready to go
I found an old roll of duct tape in the garage so I used that to seal everything up (every ounce counts). Note the big USPS envelops. They have easy open tabs on the sides, I duct taped over them, just to be extra mean.

St. Rand guarding all that is left of this weeks junk mail
My new patron saint of junk mail, Rand Paul guards over what is left of this weeks junk mail. It is mostly exterior envelopes that were awkward sizes that didn’t fit nicely into larger envelopes.

I will pray to St. Rand this week, in hopes that there will be less junk mail.
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Drowning in Junk Mail – How to Opt-Out of Junk Mail from Citizens United
April 18, 2014&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; / Leave a comment

Opt-out here: info@citizensunited.org if that doesn’t work contact the direct marketing firm that makes their mail HSP Direct, Also Contact InfoCision, Call them at (330) 668-1400 or email them at infocis@infocision.com.

In a previous post we met&nbsp; Floyd Brown and his Super PACs: Policy Issues Institute, White House Watch and his Impeach Obama Campaign. Today let’s talk about another Super PAC he founded, Citizens United.

Citizens United is most famous for winning a Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

From Politico: “The case stems from a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission brought by an obscure conservative group called Citizens United. It alleged that its free speech rights were violated when the FEC moved to block it from using corporate cash to promote and air “Hillary: The Movie,” a feature-length movie harshly critical of then-Sen. Hillary Clinton – the current secretary of state – during her 2008 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The FEC asserted that the movie expressly opposed Clinton’s election and therefore was subject to campaign laws that bar the use of corporate cash to air election ads, and require donor disclosure. Citizens United disagreed and sued.”

“Obscure conservative group” Tell that to my mailbox Politico.

Stephen Colbert parodied the decision, and SuperPACs in general. A great article by Huffington Post. Open Secrets page

Pinning down their junk mail has been difficult because it comes in so many flavors. Here are 2 examples that feature their current President David N. Bossie, they are the most obvious:
David N. Bossie, President, Citizens United

Citizens United Junk Mail
This one (on the left) from Mike Huckabee is more stealthy, Citizens United is in the smaller print under Mr. Huckabee’s name, and are calling themselves Citizens United for American Sovereignty.

2 from Mike Huckabee
And could you please get a better photo of Mr. Huckabee, that black and white one is dreadful.

Citizens United, Pand Paul photo
They also use Rand Paul in their mailings

Citizens United junk mail
They can also be called Citizens United for a Secure America and Citizens United Foundation

Here are all the names that Citizens United uses:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Citizens United For A Secure America
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Citizens United For American Sovereignty
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Citizens United Foundation
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Citizens United Political Victory Fund
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; National Committee For Faith & Family
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; National Committee For Family Faith & Prayer

This is the Data Card for Citizens United from Next Mark.



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Drowning in Junk Mail – Rand Paul = Scammers from Jamaica
April 14, 2014&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; / Leave a comment

Remember this bit of mail from Rand Paul from a couple of weeks ago?

Senator Rand Paul, National Pro-Life Alliance

Well he has sent another. This time it is from his re-election SuperPAC He sure does like the fold out letter a lot.

Rand Paul 2016

I am working on the junk mail front, but the phone calls continue. My family is at this lady’s house taking care of her, and the phone won’t stop ringing. This house had had the same phone number for 50 years. And the lady that lives there has helped a lot of people in her town over the years. They still call to check up on her. But so do scammers. Everyday calls from Jamaica pour in. DON’T PICKUP!! It is a reverse charge. This lady’s phone bill was a mess. The other person who calls everyday is Rand Paul. Well not Rand Paul, but someone from his SuperPAC, asking for money. Everyday. A real person. Maybe if they didn’t call everyday, they wouldn’t need to beg for as much money, to pay for the guy working the phones.

This is the note I sent to the contact page of his SuperPAC:

Please remove [name removed] from your system. Delete everything like she never existed. You will not be getting any more money from her ever again. You have contributed to her loosing her house and being put into a nursing home. I hope you can sleep at night knowing you were calling a 86 year old woman with dementia everyday. You could do that because she didn’t remember that you called, and she wrote a check to you yesterday. She only gets calls from 2 places everyday, you and scammers from Jamaica. So forever in my mind Rand Paul = scammers from Jamaica.

Hopefully that will make it stop.
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Drowning in Junk Mail – New Week, New Strategy
April 13, 2014&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; / Leave a comment

For the past 2 weeks, everyday I have sorted, opened, piled, paper clipped, mail to try and figure out what was going on with the junk mail I was being bombarded with. I have sent out pre-paid envelopes stuffed to the gills, with notes inside asking to be taken off mailing lists. I have sent e-mails to some of the biggest junk mail mills asking to be taken off their lists. I have even declared 2 scammers from the Netherlands porn.
Now it is time to wait. This is the part I hate. I need for my address to cycle out of the system. To keep myself entertained, I will be tossing all the junk mail this week into a big box, and keep count of the number of letters I get a week. For the past 2 weeks, the average has been around 15 a day, or 90 a week. This week, it should start to go down. I hope.

I am also going to really hit the Catalog Choice service this week. I am going to go after the smaller groups that don’t give out pre-paid postage envelopes.

I was starting to turn into a junk mail pack rat, with piles of stuff everywhere. So I tossed it all out, clean slate. I figure that the real nasty scammers will just send more, and I can catch them again. And don’t worry about missing your daily dose of junk mail, I have a feeling next week’s mail will be just as silly as ever.

Here is a cute cartoon from Cyanide and Happiness about junk mail

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Drowning in Junk Mail – Where Does the Junk Mail Get Printed? & Opt-out of Publishers Clearing House
April 10, 2014&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; / 1 Comment

Remember the other day when I said that I was going to let the American political junk mail go for a while. Well, I lied. Everyday I do more research and find out more about the junk mail industry.

When I was writing about The National Center for Public Policy Research I accidently tossed in a group that wasn’t theirs. How? It looked and was formatted exactly the same except for some small print under the group’s name.

3 SuperPACs

I have highlighted the different parent groups in green. They are:

National Campaign to Impeach Obama
A project of the FRC (Federation of Responsible Citizens)

Health Care Reform Task Force
A project of The National Center for Public Policy Research

White House Watch&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A project of Policy Issues Institute (Can not find anything about this group except a brief mention on Floyd Brown’s wiki page.)

Something they do have in common (I can not prove Policy Issues Institute but I strongly suspect) they share the same print shop Response Dynamics Inc. “We are everything you need for direct mail success!” Wiki page. I still don’t know who makes their mail.

Source Watch mentions that Response Dynamics Inc. is run by Ron Kanfer the guy that helped raise money to pay for the notorious 1988 Willie Horton political attack ads.

Hay didn’t Floyd Brown also have something to do with the Willie Horton ad?

I haven’t seen that ad in years. Let’s take a look:

It seems quaint and child like, compared to today’s SuperPAC fueled ads.

Where was I? Oh yah, all of the best political junk mail comes from one print shop in Virginia.

Federation of Responsible Citizens

Federation of Responsible Citizens this was the group I initially confused to be someone else.

Health Care Reform Task Force a project of The National Center for Public Policy Research

See the plastic envelope? Same packaging as the Federation of Responsible Citizens. Except the Federation of Responsible Citizens gave me money. Time to step up your game The National Center for Public Policy Research.

Back to Federation of Responsible Citizens They also go by the names:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; American Federation of Senior Citizens
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; National Campaign to Guarantee Social Security
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; National Committee
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; National Senior Action Council (NSAC)
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Political Headquarters
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; National Campaign to Impeach Obama

Here a nice story from 2005 about American Federation of Senior Citizens from Raw Story.

Policy Issues Institute

2 letters from Policy Issues Institute Floyd Brown’s group Policy Issues Institute: United States Health Congress, and White House Watch. TheWhiteHouseWatch.com is broken. The only website connected to this group that I could find is Impeach Obama Campaign. I think he runs WesternJournalism.com. So I sent a note to the Contact Us page. I also sent an e-mail to Citizens United a SuperPac he founded. Their e-mail is&nbsp; info@citizensunited.org. Hopefully it works.

&nbsp;

419 scam in the news

Lady from Emporia, Va is almost scammed by someone from Africa. All she wanted was a new heater.

Publishers Clearing House

Let’s end on a happy note. It is Publishers Clearing House season (Wiki page). At the end of April they will give out their prize. If you would like to opt-out of their mailing list do it here
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Drowning in Junk Mail – How to Opt-out of Junk Mail from The National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR)
April 8, 2014&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; / 2 Comments

That was quick! After tweeting my blog post yesterday to the twitter account for The National Center for Public Policy Research, (@NationalCenter) they got back to me. They told me how to get off their mailing list.
View the story "Tweet to @NationalCenter gets Results" on Storify
This is how you do it, from the Privacy Policy page of the NationalCenter.org site:
“Send an e-mail to info@nationalcenter.org, with the subject header ‘Delete from Solicitation’. Please include your name and mailing address in your e-mail correspondence.”
This will take a while. Give them 6 weeks for you to cycle out of their mailers.

The National Center for Public Policy Research also goes by these names:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; American Criminal Justice Center
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Health Care Reform Task Force
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; National Retirement Security Task Force
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Americans Against U.N. Control

The same e-mail address will get you off the list for those mailers too. One e-mail and letters from all those organizations should stop.

This was none to soon as I got 4 new letters from them on Monday.

National Center for Public Policy Research junk mail

Because Amy and her team got back to me so quick, I won’t stuff them and send them out. I will put them in the recycle bin. This is such a relief. Every sub group has it’s own PO Box. It was going to take a lot of time and postage to send form 1500 to the postmaster for each of them. (Update: It wouldn’t have worked anyway. A form 1500 doesn’t work on this type of mail) I can let my American battle front for junk mail lie low for a while, and let everyone update their mailing lists. Now I can set my sights on the scammers from The Netherlands.

Charity Navigator page 1 star 26% of budget spent on fundraising.

A reporter from 435mag contacted the Ridenours about the scare mail that National Center for Public Policy Research sends out.

Some how NCPPR has gotten it’s self involved with food legislation?? OK Amy whatever you think will scare people to give you money.
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Drowning in Junk Mail – Political Whiplash: National Center for Public Policy Research and Food & Water Watch
April 7, 2014&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; / Leave a comment

Pile of Junk Mail, 15 items
It is a busy day today. Lots of mail, 15 items in all. There is a lot of “official business”, “no bending”, “time sensitivity”, “date stamped” action going on.

I got a bit of&nbsp; political whiplash while writing this post. 2 different groups 2 completely different agendas. But they both use the same aggressive scare tactics to get money from people.

First we have 2 letters from 2 totally different groups. Or are they?

The National Center for Public Policy Research
The National Center for Public Policy Research (Wiki page)

“We’re so effective in thwarting Obama’s big-government agenda that the Administration has been trying to silence us.”

It goes on to talk about the IRS auditing Tea Party groups and this group.
Aside from the hand placed stamps this is the classiest junk mail yet. The quality of the paper is very nice.

Boo! They have pre-printed the return address for me, so I can’t over stuff the envelope??&nbsp; But I did write a note asking to be taken off the mailing list.:)

Health Care Reform Task Force
Health Care Reform Task Force a project of the National Center for Public Policy Research “PLEASE SAVE THE BRIGHT RED ENVELOPE I SENT YOU WITH THIS FINAL NOTICE ALERT TODAY. YOU WILL NEED IT LATER. THANK YOU!”

Don’t worry Amy M. Ridenour I will put it to good use.

Looks like I have stumbled on the fountain of junk mail for the elderly. (Source Watch)
Here is an article from 1998 by SFGate about Amy M. Ridenour and all the junk she sends out.

Junk Mail, American Criminal Justice Center, Washington DC

I have already sent out a stuffed envelope from one of their other front groups, American Criminal Justice Center.

Now my #1 goal is to get off this group’s mailing list. I have a feeling if I can get off Amy’s radar most of the junk mail will disappear.

Update: I have found out how to get off the mailing list for this group

From the Privacy Policy page of the NationalCenter.org site

“Send an e-mail to info@nationalcenter.org, with the subject header ‘Delete from Solicitation’. Please include your name and mailing address in your e-mail correspondence.”

This will take a while. Give them 6 weeks for you to cycle out of their mailers.

National Campaign to Guarantee Social Security

National Campaign to Guarantee Social Security
Careful this one is protected by federal law. But all I can see is that giant envelope.

Food & Water Watch
Food & Water Watch&nbsp; (Wiki page) (SourceWatch)

“From Wenonah Hauter
Last week, notorious corporate PR flack, Rick Berman, a man dubbed “Dr. Evil” by 60 Minutes for his work on behalf of Big Tobacco and the fast food industry, turned his sights in Food & Water Watch. Shilling on behalf of a corporate front group named “Environmental Policy Alliance”, Mr. Berman has launched a massive campaign to smear Food & Water Watch and disrupt our work to ban fracking and ensure clean water and safe food for us all.”

Let me stop you there Wenonah Hauter. How did you get into this pile of crap? How did the conservative woman who this is addressed to get on the mailing list for your liberal cause? Oh I know, you are using the same scare tactics, the same deceptive envelope, the same “Quick! Give me money!!!11!”, that the conservative think tank up there is using. Shame on you. From all I can find your group actually does good work (Charity Navigator.org)

I learned another hot tip about messing with business reply mail. Sharpie out the 3 bar codes on the envelope. They will get charged more if the routing codes aren’t there.

Stuffed, Sharpied and ready to go

Thanks to volund on Instructables
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1. Resources to Stop Junk Mail

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 41pounds
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Cancel Wizard
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Catalog Choice
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; DMA Choice
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; File a complaint with the DMA
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; GreeNYC Stop Junk Mail
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Paperkarma
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Stop Junk Mail
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; US Junk Mail

2. Ani-Junk Mail Sites

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Politicrap" and the companies that just won't listen
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Attempts to extract money from the elderly
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; inforandum: Junk Mail Hell
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Lifehacker: How to Banish Junk Mail from Your (Real World) Mailbox
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mailing SCAMs
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: A gift from a thief
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: A letter from Allen West
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: A letter I am sending in postage-paid envelopes to the thieving bastards who want my mother-in-law's Social Security
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Any organization whose letter for donations starts this way isn’t honest
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Are so-called Republicans the only ones doing this?
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Back in March, I sent this to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.):
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Christmas doesn't slow thieving lobbyists
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Examples of those who prey on fear
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: G.H.W Bush Library fundraising letter deceptive
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Larry Klayman is just plain nuts
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Mike Huckabee is a liar, a charlatan and a thief
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Monday’s mail also brought …
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: New thieving bastards
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Saying 'No' to the Sierra Club
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Senator Boozman replies
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Thank you, John Petray, Arkansas Attorney General’s office
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: The absolute dumbest (and probably successful) fraud sent by thieving lobbyists
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: The thieving bastards surprised me
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Thieves
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Thieving bastard group uses senator’s name without permission
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Thieving bastards
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Thieving bastards finally got address change
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Thieving bastards never stop
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Today’s messages from thieving bastard political lobbyists
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Today’s thieving bastard mail – 26 letters
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sgt. Bob's Place: Wow! A letter from Pat Boone!
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Something Better to Do – Fighting Junk Mail One Envelope at a Time
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Something Better to Do – DMA's Mail Preference Service: Once a Fraud-Always a Fraud
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Stop Junk Mail Today
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Stop Junk Mail, Pinterest board
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Stop SCAMMING the ELDERLY
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Stop Sending My Dad Your Junk Mail
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The art of the con part 1
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The art of the con part 2
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Think Jessica

3. Anti-Fraud Sites

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 419 Eater
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Against Senior Fraud
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; AgingCare.com Frauds-Scams Questions
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Anti-Fraud Hotline 1-855-303-9470
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Anti-Fraud News
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Department of Commerce Western Australia Scam Net
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; File a complaint with the FTC
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Fraud.org
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; How to Report a Scam
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Money Smart for Older Adults (PDF)
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Scam Warners
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Senate Special Committee on Aging
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sweepstakes Fraud Factsheet

4. Stop International Junk Mail

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Adviceguide.org.uk: How can you stop un-addressed junk mail?
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Canada Post: How do I stop delivery of Unaddressed Admail items to my home or business?
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Stop Junk Mail in Canada
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Stop Junk Mail UK: Mailing Preference Service (MPS)
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Stop Junk Mail.org.uk

5. Junk Mail in the News

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 'Are You Real?' — Inside an Online Dating Scam
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Jamaican lottery scam" can turn violent, take toll on elderly
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 435mag, Fright Mail Targets Seniors
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Driven to death by phone scammers
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Family helps Leominster man get out from blizzard of political solicitations
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Generous North York widow flooded with charity junk mail
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Lies, Secrets, and Scams: How to Prevent Elder Abuse
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Man deposits fake check, gets to keep the money
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The subliminal secrets of junk mail

6. Tools to Research Charities, PACs and Scams

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; America's Worst Charities
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ballotpedia
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Charity Navigator
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Charity Navigator – Donor Advisories List
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Citizen Audit
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; MLM Watch
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Open Secrets
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Rational Wiki
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Source Watch
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Southern Poverty Law Center
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Washington State Charity and Commercial Fundraiser Search

7. Media Reports about DIJM

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Advance Fee Fraudsters Offended When I Use Junk Mail Nuclear Option
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; DailyCaring: GET RID OF JUNK MAIL TO PREVENT ELDER FRAUD
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Scam PACs keep money churning, but not to candidates
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Too much political PAC mail and junk mail

Top Posts & Pages

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Are You Drowning in Junk Mail? Start Here
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Drowning in Junk Mail - Catalog Choice vs. PaperKarma
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Drowning in Junk Mail - How to Stop Scam Junk Mail Using a Prohibitory Order
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; How to Stop Junk Mail from the Major Party US Presidential Candidates 2016
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Drowning in Junk Mail - How to opt-out of Junk Mail from Specialized Fundraising
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Drowning in Junk Mail - A Reply to my Prohibitory Order from Kingsley, Harper & Hatfield
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Drowning in Junk Mail - How to Opt-Out of Publishers Clearing House (again)
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Drowning in Junk Mail - How to get Junk Mail Revenge
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Drowning in Junk Mail - Rules for the Stop Junk Mail Project
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Drowning in Junk Mail - Getting Rid of Junk Mail the Scientology way

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