Hanley, Lee

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</div><div>=</div><div><a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/who-funds-conservative-campus-group-turning-point-usa-donors-revealed-2620325">https://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/who-funds-conservative-campus-group-turning-point-usa-donors-revealed-2620325</a></div><div>
</div><div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Conservative campus group Turning Point USA is opposed to “safe spaces” — except when it comes to the generosity of its donors. Charlie Kirk, the group’s 24-year-old founder, has claimed his organization has campus chapters at 1,000 colleges and universities and raised more than $5 million in 2016. Earlier this year, <a href="https://www.thelantern.com/2017/02/leaked-documents-audio-conservative-turning-point-usa-quietly-funding-student-government-campaigns-across-us/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">leaked records</a> <a href="https://www.poynter.org/news/tip-and-some-foia-requests-chronicle-higher-education-broke-open-student-government-scandal" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">revealed</a> TPUSA efforts to secretly funnel thousands of dollars into multiple college student government elections to elect conservatives.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The sources of much of that money have been a mystery, and how much some known sources give is still unknown. “To answer your question, no I will not disclose private giving amounts,” Kirk told International Business Times in an email. “Some people like the amount of their charitable giving to remain anonymous so we wish to honor that request.”<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, TPUSA is not required to disclose its donors. But based on public tax records and some reporting by other outlets, IBT has identified the sources of over $900,000 in funding for TPUSA. Republican mega-donor families, GOP politicians and other wealthy individuals have provided large amounts of money so the organization can spread free-market principles — from which the donors benefit — among young people, the majority of whom, overall, <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/03/20/a-wider-partisan-and-ideological-gap-between-younger-older-generations/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">lean</a> <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/elections/map/2016/us?poll=sm-exit-millennials-cps" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">liberal</a>.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The group’s motto is “Big Government Sucks”; its <a href="https://www.tpusa.com/aboutus/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">mission</a>, “to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government.” TPUSA recruits “free market activists,” creates “innovative grassroots messaging,” puts out publications and hosts conferences.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“We are proud to fight for free markets and smaller government, both of which are ideas that are resonating extremely well to our target demographic of 18-24 year olds,” Kirk told IBT.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Working to appeal to millennials, TPUSA is funded by a substantial number of older, wealthy individuals whose economic views the group promotes. IBT identified 17 donors to TPUSA, including nine from publicly available Internal Revenue Service records. The documented donations came mostly in 2014 and 2015, as tax records from many of the foundational donors are not yet available for 2016.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Wealthy Conservatives Bankroll TPUSA<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Some of the biggest donations came from rich families in the Chicago area, where TPUSA is based.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">From 2014 to 2016, the Ed Uihlein Foundation gave TPUSA $275,000, including $175,000 in 2016. Richard Uihlein, the founder of a lucrative shipping business and president of this foundation named after his father, is a Republican mega-donor and a <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/mega-donor-richard-uihlein-ramps-up-donations-to-conservative-causes/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">“free-markets, smaller-government crusader”</a> from the Chicago area. He and his wife, Elizabeth, spent <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/overview/topindivs.php" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">$23.7 million</a> on politics during the 2016 election cycle, the ninth-highest total in the country, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Richard Uihlein made 6- and 7-figure donations to many independent political spending groups including the Unintimidated PAC, which supported Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker; the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund; and Club For Growth Action. Uihlein is America’s <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/summ.php?cycle=2018&disp=D&type=V&superonly=N" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">top donor</a> to outside spending groups in the current election cycle.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="figure image" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" itemprop="image" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><picture itemprop="contentUrl" width="3000" height="2051" class="mapping-embed lazysize" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; display: block; background-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); width: 736.656px;"><source data-srcset="https://s1.ibtimes.com/sites/www.ibtimes.com/files/styles/embed/public/2017/11/27/bruce-rauner.jpg 1x" media="(min-width: 1200px)" srcset="https://s1.ibtimes.com/sites/www.ibtimes.com/files/styles/embed/public/2017/11/27/bruce-rauner.jpg 1x" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">
</source></picture><span class="figcaption" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 4px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; display: block; line-height: 18px;">[Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner declares victory during his election night gathering while incumbent Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn is yet to concede on November 4, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. <span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Photo: John Gress/Getty Images]<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The family foundation of Republican Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, a former private equity executive worth an estimated <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/bruce-rauner-made-176-million-paid-50-million-in-taxes-in-2015/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">$500 million</a>, gave TPUSA $150,000 from 2014 to 2015, according to tax records. Uihlein spent nearly <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/mega-donor-richard-uihlein-ramps-up-donations-to-conservative-causes/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">$3 million</a> in 2014 to help elect Rauner. The governor, with help from his wealthy friends, is trying to<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/30/us/politics/illinois-campaign-money-bruce-rauner.html" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">remake Illinois</a> into a conservative-dominated state.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The family foundation of healthcare products company CEO <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=29806351&privcapId=6482780" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Vince Foglia</a> and his wife Pat, based in the Chicago area, donated $210,000 to TPUSA from 2013 to 2014. Foglia is a frequent <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/search?cof=FORID%3A11&cx=010677907462955562473%3Anlldkv0jvam&q=vincent+foglia&type=donors" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">donor to Republican campaigns</a>, including <a href="https://www.followthemoney.org/show-me?d-eid=14415954#[%7B1%7Cgro=c-t-id" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">$55,000</a> to Rauner in 2014 and donations to former Illinois Rep. <a href="https://www.tpusa.com/joe-walsh/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Joe Walsh</a>, who is a member of the TPUSA advisory council.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In 2015, Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus’ foundation donated $72,600 to TPUSA. Marcus is a major GOP donor, having given <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/contrib_all.php?cmte=C00618876&type=A&cycle=2016" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">$5 million</a> to the pro-Trump super PAC Rebuilding America Now and millions more to spending groups affiliated with the Republican House and Senate during the 2016 cycle.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">TPUSA advisory council member <a href="https://www.tpusa.com/gary-rabine/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Gary Rabine</a>, an Illinois-based roofing and paving CEO, is a donor, Kirk told IBT.Other GOP mega-donors to the group include the Henry and Lynde Bradley Foundation ($20,000 from 2015 to 2016), the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation, named after the in-laws of current Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos ($10,000 in 2015), and Foster Friess, a Wyoming-based investment manager known for his <a href="https://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/02/foster-friess-in-my-day-gals-put-aspirin-between-their-knees-for-contraception-114730" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">2012 comments</a> about “gals” putting aspirin “between their knees” as a mode of contraception. Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has encouraged Freiss to run for U.S. Senate. IBT did not find public records of Friess’ donations, but Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-07/conservative-boy-wonder" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">reported</a> that <a href="https://www.tpusa.com/aboutus/advisory-council/foster-friess/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Freiss</a>, who is on TPUSA’s advisory council, gave Kirk a “five-figure check.” Freiss made least <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/tariniparti/foster-friess-has-spent-millions-on-republicans-now-hes?utm_term=.smM856nd4#.jg6KQ1lbo" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">$3.4 million</a> in contributions in federal political races since the 2012 election cycle, according to Buzzfeed News.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Other donors identified by IBT include:<ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 14px 20px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; position: relative;"><a href="https://www.tpusa.com/aboutus/advisory-council/mike-leven/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Mike Leven</a>, a TPUSA adviser and former CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corporation whose Michael and Andrea Leven Family Foundation gave the group $50,000 in 2015. Leven was vice-chair of the Marcus Foundation as of 2015.</li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 14px 20px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; position: relative;">Illinois-based finance executive Peter Huizenga ($50,000 in 2014, according to <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/03/the-21-year-old-becoming-a-major-player-in-conservative-politics/451110/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">The Atlantic</a> )</li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 14px 20px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; position: relative;">Chicago jeweler and TPUSA adviser <a href="https://www.tpusa.com/mike-miller/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Mike Miller</a> ($50,000 in 2014, according to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-07/conservative-boy-wonder" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Bloomberg</a> )</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 14px 20px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; position: relative;">Dunn’s Foundation for the Advancement of Right Thinking ($20,000 in 2014)</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 14px 20px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; position: relative;">The Einhorn Family Foundation ($5,000 in 2015). Venture capitalist <a href="https://www.tpusa.com/stephen-einhorn/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Stephen Einhorn</a> is a TPUSA adviser.</li></ul><p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">According to a <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=838mDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA266&lpg=PA266&dq=greg+gianforte+%22turning+point+usa%22&source=bl&ots=hj6SRxyv0u&sig=IY5Zu4uK4A8P41qPFAC3MKqedDc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjc0cOIt9DXAhWBkOAKHejYBE0Q6AEISTAF#v=onepage&q=greg%20gianforte%20%22turning%20point%20usa%22&f=false" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">book</a> co-authored by Kirk, TPUSA has also received unknown amounts of money from Montana Congressman Greg Gianforte, who is known for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/us/politics/greg-gianforte-sentenced.html" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">assaulting a reporter</a> during a campaign event this year; Allie and Lee Hanley (<a href="https://www.tpusa.com/aboutus/advisory-council/allie-hanley/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Allie Hanley</a> is a TPUSA adviser, and Lee Hanley is deceased); Tom Patrick; and the late Jack Roeser.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Kirk would not disclose amounts but told IBT that most members of the <a href="https://www.tpusa.com/aboutus/advisory-council/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">TPUSA advisory council</a> “are financially supportive on a varying degree of support.” While IBT did not discover records of contributions from TPUSA advisory council member Doug Deason, a big donor to Republican candidates whose <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/darwin-deason/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">father</a> is worth $1.3 billion, he is likely an important donor to TPUSA.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="figure image" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" itemprop="image" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><picture itemprop="contentUrl" width="3510" height="2416" class="mapping-embed lazysize" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; display: block; background-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); width: 736.656px;"><source data-srcset="https://s1.ibtimes.com/sites/www.ibtimes.com/files/styles/embed/public/2017/11/27/charlie-kirk-tomi-lahren.jpg 1x" media="(min-width: 1200px)" srcset="https://s1.ibtimes.com/sites/www.ibtimes.com/files/styles/embed/public/2017/11/27/charlie-kirk-tomi-lahren.jpg 1x" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">
</source></picture><span class="figcaption" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 4px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; display: block; line-height: 18px;">Tomi Lahren (L) and Charlie Kirk at Politicon at Pasadena Convention Center on July 29, 2017 in Pasadena, California. Kirk is the founder of Turning Point USA, and Lahren, a Fox News contributor, will speak at the group's December seminar. <span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Photo: John Sciulli/Getty Images]<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Event Sponsors Add To List Of TPUSA Supporters<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In addition to traditional funders, TPUSA has a host of event sponsors, many of which are key organizations in the right-wing advocacy movement such as the conservative public policy think tank Heritage Foundation, the nonprofit Christian law firm Alliance Defending Freedom and the libertarian think tank the Reason Foundation. Kirk said event sponsors typically top out at $5,000-$10,000. <p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“Most of the speakers we bring to campus are paid for by Turning Point USA but we do [have] several partnerships throughout the year with select organizations,” said Kirk. The Foundation for Economic Education provided its CEO Larry Reed to “speak on free markets and the purpose of limited government” at a TPUSA-sponsored <a href="https://fee.org/events/lawrence-reed-at-university-of-colorado-denver/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">event</a> in April at the University of Colorado at Boulder. FEE is a <a href="http://conservativetransparency.org/recipient/foundation-for-economic-education/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">recipient</a> of donations from the Charles Koch Foundation and from TPUSA donor Dunn’s Foundation for the Advancement of Right Thinking.Just a few weeks ago, Dennis Prager — CEO of digital media organization PragerU, a TPUSA <a href="https://www.tpusa.com/sas/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">sponsor</a> — spoke at a TPUSA <a href="http://www.kgwn.tv/content/news/UW-students-protest-speaker-Dennis-Prager-456551563.html" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">event</a> at the University of Wyoming. Kirk says it was a “packed house,” but students came out to protest as well, upset at potential “hateful rhetoric” and the fact that student fees covered the event’s $10,000 price tag.Another TPUSA sponsor, the National Rifle Association, visits TPUSA campus events to “speak about the constitution,” said Kirk. In October, the NRA participated in an <a href="http://www.statepress.com/article/2017/10/sppolitics-tpusa-discusses-second-amendment" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">event</a> at the University of Arizona.<a href="https://www.tpusa.com/wrc2017/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Sponsors</a> of TPUSA’s recent Western Regional Conference, which featured speakers including former Breitbart writer Ben Shapiro and Benny Johnson, now a Daily Caller reporter known for his previous <a href="https://www.poynter.org/news/report-benny-johnson-was-accused-plagiarism-again" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">plagiarizing</a>, include nonprofits to which TPUSA funders also donate. They include the Heritage Foundation, the Job Creators Network, the Leadership Institute and Alliance Defending Freedom, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled an <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/alliance-defending-freedom" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">anti-LGBTQ hate group</a>.TPUSA’s upcoming <a href="https://www.tpusa.com/sas/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Student Action Summit</a> in December has additional sponsors including the Reason Foundation, the Koch-connected Generation Opportunity Institute and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. Most featured speakers listed on the event page are either Trump insiders, Fox News employees, or both; speakers include Donald Trump Jr., former White House chief strategist <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/thousands-of-students-to-attend-turning-point-usas-student-action-summit-in-west-palm-beach-300546936.html" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Steve Bannon</a>, former White House press secretary Anthony Scaramucci, former Trump White House adviser and current Fox News “national security strategist" Sebastian Gorka, Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade, Fox News host Greg Gutfield, Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, Fox News contributor and <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/05/22/tomi-lahren-joins-pro-trump-great-america-alliance/102006120/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">pro-Trump nonprofit</a> employee Tomi Lahren, Fox News host Jesse Waters and Fox News contributor Guy Benson. Some speakers listed on the event page and other not listed are not affiliated with Fox or the Trump administration, Kirk said.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The events are being held in West Palm Beach, Florida, the town that is home to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, but Kirk says his summit will take place at the Palm Beach Convention Center. Kirk said that “one of our supporters is thinking of hosting a small dinner early that week at Mar-a-Lago, but nothing [is] finalized and not officially part of [the Student Action Summit],” and that he could end up attending the dinner.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In addition to sponsoring events, the Heritage Foundation provides pocket constitutions to TPUSA students, said Kirk. Heritage is one of the most influential conservative think tanks in America, and its healthy <a href="http://conservativetransparency.org/org/the-heritage-foundation/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">funding</a> comes from the likes of TPUSA donors the DeVos Foundation and Dunn’s Foundation, as well as from multiple Koch family foundations.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Controversial Moves<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">TPUSA has had its fair share of controversy over the last several years.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">On Nov. 15, journalist Adam Weinstein reacted on Twitter to a <a href="https://twitter.com/TPUSA/status/930808954329763843" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">meme</a> generated by the group with the heading, “Socialism Hurts Everyone.”<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[pix eg]<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">After enormous criticism, TPUSA deleted the tweet and issued an <a href="https://twitter.com/TPUSA/status/930887779168370688" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">apology</a>, saying the tweet was in “poor taste” and was meant to be a Harvey Weinstein joke and not anti-Semitic.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The organization has invited former Breitbart News editor and right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos to <a href="https://cuindependent.com/2017/01/26/turning-point-usa-defends-decision-invite-milo-yiannopoulos-cu-boulder/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">college</a> <a href="https://www.tpusa.com/miloatcsu/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">campuses</a>. During an appearance at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Yiannopoulos <a href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2016/12/14/breitbart-writer-targets-transgender-uwm-student/95420206/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">targeted a transgender student</a>.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In November 2016, the group launched a “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/28/us/professor-watchlist-is-seen-as-threat-to-academic-freedom.html" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Professor Watchlist</a>,” which lists professors who allegedly “advance a radical agenda in lecture halls.” Media Matters <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2016/12/02/meet-charlie-kirk-boy-wonder-trump-ally-behind-poorly-sourced-mccarthy-watchlist-professors/214688" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">found</a> that most of the alleged incident reports on the various academics cited by TPUSA came from conservative activist groups such as the Leadership Institute (which is a <a href="https://www.tpusa.com/resources/activismgrants/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">partner</a> of TPUSA and receives donations from TPUSA donors such as the Ed Uihlein Foundation), heavily biased sources such as The College Fix and discredited sources such as the David Horowitz Freedom Center and Project Veritas, which was revealed on Monday to have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/a-woman-approached-the-post-with-dramatic--and-false--tale-about-roy-moore-sje-appears-to-be-part-of-undercover-sting-operation/2017/11/27/0c2e335a-cfb6-11e7-9d3a-bcbe2af58c3a_story.html?utm_term=.c1a31d85a81b" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">botched a sting operation</a> targeting the Washington Post. Some have compared the watchlist to a Cold War-era, anti-Communist <a href="http://www.thecut.com/2016/11/turning-point-usa-launches-professor-watchlist.html" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">McCarthyism</a>.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">As part of its student activism efforts, TPUSA chapters sometime demonstrate against liberals on campus. One recent demonstration in which a Kent State student wore a diaper and played with toys in a public, outdoor area ended up causing much of the social media world to ridicule TPUSA.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-error" data-lang="en" data-twitter-extracted-i1558193118328630596="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 4px; border-style: none none none solid; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-image: initial; list-style: none outside none; margin: 45px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 54px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p dir="ltr" lang="en" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 30px; max-width: 80%;">Safe spaces are for children. <a href="https://t.co/OSsETyDbC4" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">pic.twitter.com/OSsETyDbC4</a><p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 30px; max-width: 80%;">— TPUSA at Kent State (@TPUSAatKent) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPUSAatKent/status/921005124947988480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">October 19, 2017</a></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, TPUSA is not allowed to engage in direct political advocacy, and the organization has not done so, according to Kirk. But its funding by major Republican donors and close ties to the White House project the image of a partisan organization.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Kirk, a former contributor to Breitbart News, the online platform of the racist alt-right, is an ally of the Trump administration. He worked for the Trump campaign in 2016 and spoke at the Republican National Convention that year. Kirk has appeared on Fox News alongside members of the Trump family.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Two members of the TPUSA advisory council, investor <a href="https://www.tpusa.com/aboutus/advisory-council/gentry-beach/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Gentry Beach</a> and <a href="https://www.tpusa.com/thomas-o-hicks-jr/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Thomas Hicks, Jr.</a>, the son of a Dallas billionaire, worked with Trump’s sons Donald Jr. and Eric to establish a Texas nonprofit to <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2016/12/19/donald-trumps-sons-behind-texas-nonprofit-selling-/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">sell access to the president</a> to big donors during inauguration festivities in January. Beach and Hicks, who were both national vice chairmen of the Trump campaign, <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/donald-trump-1/2017/05/22/art-schmooze-trump-pal-dallas-enjoys-special-access-white-house" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">raised millions of dollars</a> for the campaign. Beach has visited the White House multiple times in 2017.Beach’s father, Gary, was <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/donald-trump-1/2017/05/22/art-schmooze-trump-pal-dallas-enjoys-special-access-white-house" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">indicted</a> on five charges of bankruptcy fraud in 2016. Charlie Kirk's father is allegedly <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150512012916/http://www.groupaarch.com:80/staff/principal.html" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Robert W. Kirk</a>, the project architect manager for Trump Tower in New York City.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“We stay totally removed from restricted political activity,” said Kirk. “Instead, we focus on starting chapters, hosting debates on campus, planning training seminars, and hosting national training conferences such as our upcoming one in Palm Beach in December.”<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The organization has over 100 people on staff, and the highest salary is $70,000. “Considering the size of our budget and organization that is something that is not typical with non profits in today’s time,” said Kirk.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><twitter-widget class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" id="twitter-widget-2" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; position: absolute; visibility: hidden; display: block; transform: rotate(0deg);" />Controversy aside, Kirk says that the last year has been “amazingly successful.” TPUSA chartered over 350 new chapters and expects over 2,000 students at its December summit in Florida, said Kirk. “We are proud to have the support of thousands of grassroots Americans that want to see the next generation more understanding of the ideas of free enterprise and smaller government.”<p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
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</div><div>=</div><div>off bs regnery </div><div>
</div><div><h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);" open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" line-height="line-height" px="px" letter-spacing="letter-spacing">William Lee Hanley, Jr., Chairman Lexington Management Group, Inc.</h2>Mr. Hanley joined Hanley Petroleum and Lexington Management Group in 1964.  He was Chairman of the Board of Greenwich Hospital, served as Chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and served as Chapter Chairman of the Young Presidents’ Organization (Metro New York Chapter).  Mr. Hanley has served as Director on several boards including Regnery Gateway, Inc.  He was a Trustee of the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich.  He is Director and Treasurer of the J.M. Foundation.  Mr. Hanley joined the Eagle Board in 1996.</div><div>===</div>