O'Keefe, Eric

=see O'KEEFE 2rivkin john doe blows out 501c4 coordination, up dark $capt 617yikesposter boy? faded a bit with kochs, lie low on John Doe wisc? but convention?! =<a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2019/08/23/convention-states-fires-up-base-for-push-to-rewrite-u-s-constitution">https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2019/08/23/convention-states-fires-up-base-for-push-to-rewrite-u-s-constitution</a>david a cmdConvention of States Action (COS) kicked off its first “<a href="https://www.cosleadershipsummit.com/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">Leadership Summit</a>” in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia today. <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Convention_of_States_Action" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">COS</a>, a project of Mark Meckler and Eric O’Keefe’s Citizens for <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_Self-Governance" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">Self-Governance</a>, claims that “hundreds” of activists, state directors, and coordinators from all 50 states will attend to get inspired and learn strategies for passing COS resolutions in the states calling for a constitutional convention to rewrite the U.S. Constitution.Fifteen states have passed the group’s applications so far, with 17 more states considering the resolution this year, according to COS. Wisconsin recently introduced a COS <a href="https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2019/related/proposals/ajr77" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">resolution</a>, which would bump the number up to 18.A constitutional convention has never been held since the Constitution was adopted, and COS will need 34 states to file applications in order for it to occur. If that happens, COS plans to move an array of sweeping amendments to redefine key parts of the Constitution and radically weaken the federal government.COS has ties to the <a href="https://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">American Legislative Exchange Council</a> (ALEC), the National Rifle Association, the right-wing militia group Three Percenters, and the Christian nationalist group <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/WallBuilders" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">WallBuilders</a>.More than 200 civil rights and public interest groups, including the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), signed a <a href="https://www.commoncause.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ConCon-Opposition-Letter-Feb-2018.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">letter</a> last year denouncing such constitutional convention calls as “a threat to every American’s constitutional rights and civil liberties.”<h2 style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Right-Wing Extremists to Speak</h2>Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth, from Trump’s beloved Fox & Friends, addressed the crowd this morning, telling them that the Left hates the Constitution, the founding fathers understood that the word of “Jesus Christ our savior” is the guiding force for our country, and that there “is no other freedom-loving bastion in the world that values the individual with God-endowed rights.”And, referencing the Three Percenters likely in attendance, Hegseth said, “it has always been the one percent or two percent or three percent of people that get it, that are willing to buck the comfiness of their moment and the established norms that everyone is comfortable with, willing to be defiant, willing to stand — be accused of being radical about things that are not radical at all.”Recently, Hegseth has made some radical comments himself, saying that Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-D) has a “<a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-host-pete-hegseth-accuses-rep-rashida-tlaib-of-having-a-hamas-agenda" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">Hamas agenda</a>,” implying that she works with a U.S. designated terrorist organization.Hegseth has also <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/pete-hegseth/foxs-pete-hegseth-defends-blackwater-contractors-convicted-murdering-iraqi-civilians" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">publicly defended</a> Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’s brother Erik Prince’s Blackwater contractors, who were convicted of murdering Iraqi citizens, and <a href="https://www.salon.com/2019/08/13/fox-friends-co-host-climate-change-is-a-religion-that-allows-democrats-to-control-people/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">has called</a> climate change a “religion” that Democrats use to “control” people.David Barton warmed up the crowd with a history lecture on the Constitution’s basis in fixed moral standards based on natural law and scripture, and drew applause with his claim that the federal government has “emasculated the states.”A Christian nationalist with strong anti-LGBT views. Barton once <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/david-barton" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">said</a>,<blockquote style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 40px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“There’s a passage that I love in Romans 1. … [I]t talks about homosexuality and it says that they will receive in their bodies the penalties of their behavior. … The Bible [is] right every time … and that’s why AIDS has been something they haven’t discovered a cure for or a vaccine for. … And that goes to what God says, ‘Hey you’re going to bear in your body the consequences of this homosexual behavior.'”</blockquote>Barton founded the group WallBuilders, which has worked with <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Focus_on_the_Family" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">Focus on the Family</a> and the <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Family_Policy_Alliance" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">Family Policy Alliance</a> to influence judicial elections and selection rules in states across the country, the Center for Media and Democracy <a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Conquering_the_courts_report-FINAL-WEB05-10-18.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">detailed</a>.WallBuilders also works with the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation to push out Christian-Right model legislation in the mold of ALEC to state lawmakers under the name <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Project_Blitz" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">Project Blitz</a>.Also in line to speak at the Summit is one of the NRA’s top attorneys, Charles Cooper. Cooper will speak on, “The Real Threat to Gun Rights.” In an email to COS activists, Cooper is quoted as saying:<blockquote style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 40px; word-spacing: 3.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“The real threat to our constitutional rights today is posed not by an Article V Convention of States, but by an out-of-control federal government, exercising powers that it does not have and abusing powers that it does.”</blockquote>COS materials in recent years have argued that a constitutional convention could be used to rewrite the Second Amendment in order to make it Supreme-Court-proof.Others on the agenda to speak include founding board member <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">Eric O’Keefe</a>, former professor <a href="https://missoulian.com/news/local/former-um-law-professor-natelson-denied-emeritus-status-by-faculty/article_8e69e26c-97cb-11e0-9613-001cc4c002e0.html" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">Rob Natelson</a>, former U.S. Senator and COS Senior Advisor Tom Coburn, and the right-wing author of Liberty Amendments Mark Levin.But the stars of the summit are likely to be the actors COS will have play the founding fathers Patrick Henry, James Madison, and George Washington.Stay tuned to <a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">ExposedbyCMD.org</a> for more on the right-wing’s effort to rewrite the Constitution.==<a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2012/06/rich-rewards-one-mans-shadow-money-network/" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2012/06/rich-rewards-one-mans-shadow-money-network/</a>howard rich 2012<div open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" margin="margin" style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px;"> is the eighth story in an exclusive series about the funding behind politically active tax-exempt organizations that don’t disclose their donors. You can read the other stories in the series <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/news/reports/moneytrail.php" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">here</a>.</div><p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 10px 0px 20px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">Long ago, Earth Day rooted itself in the minds of many Americans as a regular annual event — not bad for what started 42 years ago as a “teach-in” about the dangers of an industrial economy running amok.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 10px 0px 20px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">But there have always been opponents to the environmentalist agenda, and on Earth Day 2012, they found that they had their own, modern-day “teach-in” — a four-and-a-half minute video posted on YouTube. The slick production, titled “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ-4gnNz0vc" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">If I Wanted America To Fail</a>,” is a laundry list of libertarian grievances against big government billed as a response to the “economic suicide pact” of environmentalism.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">“If I wanted America to fail, I would create countless new regulations and seldom cancel old ones,” says the narrator, black background and foreboding music adding to an apocalyptic tone. “They would be so complicated that only bureaucrats, lawyers and lobbyists could understand them. That way, small businesses with big ideas wouldn’t stand a chance.”<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">He goes on to mock alternative energy, the public education system and other standards of the left. “If I wanted America to fail, I would prey on the goodness and decency of ordinary Americans,” he concludes. “I would only need to convince them that all of this is for the greater good. If I wanted America to fail, I…I suppose I wouldn’t change a thing.”<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">Heavily promoted by Michelle Malkin, Rush Limbaugh and other right-wing commentators, the video went viral, racking up 2.3 million views since it debuted.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">But few, if any, of those millions of viewers understand the complicated web of secretive, densely interwoven political groups from which the video emerged.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">While the network is built around nonprofits with vague names and grassroots slogans that imply the participation of many ordinary Americans, it’s primarily the handiwork of one man: Howard Rich.
<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">Rich, 72, made his fortune in Manhattan real estate, but since at least the early 1970s, his passion has been libertarian politics. He decamped from the Libertarian Party in the 1980s to establish his own network of like-minded think-tanks and publishing companies.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">Rich is also prominently attached to leading national libertarian groups — he sits on the boards of directors of the Club for Growth and the Cato Institute. Yet he remains a mysterious figure, rarely interviewed and almost always several steps removed from any direct action.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">Still, an examination of the publicity-shy mogul’s efforts makes several things clear. He is deeply committed to his ideological values — willing to spend massive amounts of money to push projects even in places where he has little apparent personal or business connection. He is single-minded in his approach, willing to lash out at conservatives as quickly and as viciously as he will go after liberals. And all indications are that he believes the ends justify the means, sometimes using money as a blunt force object to get his way.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">His involvement in electoral politics usually consists of transferring money — though it’s often difficult to say exactly whose money — into nonprofit groups that don’t disclose their donors. When he funds causes — or candidates — directly, Rich frequently camouflages his donations under any of dozens of nearly anonymous shell corporations. In that way, he’s the antithesis of a Sheldon Adelson, an ultra-rich Republicans who has openly given tens of millions to GOP presidential super PACs. On those occasions when Rich is revealed as the source of contributions, though, he’s been unapologetic about his role.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">According to Internal Revenue Service records analyzed by the Center for Responsive Politics, from the early 2000s at least through 2010 Rich was the linchpin holding together a confusing, swirling array of political organizations — all of them nondisclosing nonprofit groups — that spent heavily to influence state and federal politics around the country. The constellation of organizations that operate out of a handful of Rich-related addresses is constantly changing, but some of them are well-known: Rich, in his role as chairman of U.S. Term Limits, a 501(c)(4) group under tax rules, has for years been the driving force of the movement to curtail how long  elected officials can stay in office. He’s also the chairman of a 501(c)(4) group called <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cmte=Americans%20for%20Limited%20Government" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Americans for Limited Government</a>, which spent $1.02 million in 2010 targeting Democrats running for Congress and distributed millions more to other groups.<div open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px;">“If I Wanted America to Fail” is a textbook example of Rich’s tangled web. It was produced by a group called Free Market America, which, according to its website, is a joint project of Rich’s Americans for Limited Government and another group, Citizens for Limited Taxes and a Stronger Economy, Inc. Florida state records show that Citizens for Limited Taxes is registered at a Tampa address that also is home to at least 30 political action committees; the group’s only listed officers are two political operatives and the head of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. State campaign finance records show that in 2010, the group collected and spent more than $12 million helping defeat a proposition that would have slowed development in Florida. Its relationship with Rich? Like so much about his empire, that’s not entirely clear.</div><p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">OpenSecrets.org</a> made multiple attempts to interview Rich and other individuals involved with his groups, including several board members. But Ray Wotring, Americans for Limited Government’s treasurer, said the group would not allow any representative to comment.<div open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px;">“You can keep pushing, but we’re not going to talk to you,” Wotring said, complaining that OpenSecrets.org published a “hatchet job on Howie in 2006.” For the record, OpenSecrets.org did not publish any articles about Rich in 2006, and has never written specifically about him.</div><div open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px;">
</div><p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">Eric O’Keefe, who co-founded U.S. Term Limits with Rich and is currently the CEO of the <a href="http://samadamsalliance.org/about" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Sam Adams Alliance</a>, a tea party group, and board member of the <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtedetail.php?ein=452318439&cycle=2012" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Wisconsin Club for Growth</a>, was the only individual close to Rich who would comment for this story. O’Keefe, who is no longer part of Rich’s organizations but said he follows them and counts Rich as a friend, said it is Rich’s deep commitment to libertarian ideals, not an expectation of payback, that drives his donations to political groups and candidates.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">“Howie has given millions of dollars to these causes,” O’Keefe said. “All of us benefit from a functioning democracy and a functioning market economy, but he has never expected to have a tangible return on his investments.”<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">O’Keefe said Rich is careful to obey laws as they are written, but opposes limits on campaign contributions.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">“I can’t speak for him, but I know he pays a lot of money to attorneys to follow the rules,” O’Keefe said. “I know he doesn’t favor the system for limits on contributions” because he believes it favors incumbents.<div open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px;">Occasionally, Rich grants an interview or offers his opinion more directly — posting columns on his own website, for instance. In 2010, he <a href="http://howardrich.org/?p=55" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">penned one about the Rod Blagojevich scandal</a> in Chicago, in which the former governor of Illinois was accused of selling political favors for campaign contributions. Rich, dripping with cynicism, portrayed the world of politics as a grimy, corrupt place.<div style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px;">“First of all, if you think this sort of pay-to-play scamming doesn’t go on every single day in Washington D.C. and state capitals all across America, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you,” Rich wrote, continuing:</div></div><blockquote open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" margin-left="margin-left" px="px" border-top-style="border-top-style" none="none" border-right-style="border-right-style" border-bottom-style="border-bottom-style" font-size="font-size" style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 1em; border-left: 0.35294rem none rgb(225, 225, 225); padding-left: 1.17647rem; display: inline-block;">It may not always be so mindlessly overt (and the tape recorder may not always be on), but in the post-Jack Abramoff world we live in – a world of “free home renovations” for U.S. Senators and cash hidden away in Representatives’ freezers – let’s not delude ourselves.</blockquote><div open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px;"><div open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px;">The network</div><div open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px;"><p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">
<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">One way to begin tracing Rich’s network is to follow the numbers — for example, 9900. At least six of the groups affiliated with Rich are based out of an office at 9900 Main Street in Fairfax, VA.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">Suite 303 of that four-story office building is home to Americans for Limited Government Inc., Americans for Limited Government Foundation, U.S. Term Limits, Inc., U.S.Term Limits Foundation, Legislative Education Action Drive and Parents In Charge Foundation. Some are 501(c)(3) charities under the tax code, and some are 501(c)(4)s.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">Rich is the chairman or president of all of them, with a tight circle of trusted lieutenants in key positions. Bill Wilson, a libertarian political operative who has worked with Rich since the 1990s, is a paid employee of all of the groups. And their various boards of directors are strikingly similar — and dominated by other prominent libertarians, like Ed Crane, the president of the Cato Institute, who in 2010 was a board member of four of Rich’s groups. Frayda Levy, who sits on the board of Club for Growth, is listed as a director of two of Rich’s groups.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">Together, these six groups listed $11.6 million in revenues in 2010, the most recent year for which a report is available, and $12.8 million spent on things like political consultants, mass mailings and grants to other politically-oriented nonprofits. There tax status prevents them from having to publicly disclose their funders, so almost none of the $11.6 million these groups reported in revenue can be traced to a specific source.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">One exception: A <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2012/05/cppr.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">recent OpenSecrets.org investigation</a> into a previously unreported group called the Center to Protect Patient Rights found that the group gave tens of millions to major conservative 501(c)(4) organizations — including $5.6 million to Americans For Limited Government, Inc., in 2010. But that trail dead-ends at a post office box in Arizona, with no indication of who is providing the Center’s funds. And there’s very little indication where the rest of Rich’s network gets its money — although Rich’s own pocket is a possibility.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">O’Keefe declined to say whether Rich’s own money drives his organizations.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">But O’Keefe said that he and Rich share the belief that donors have a constitutionally protected right to contribute to political causes (though not candidates) without having to reveal their names.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">“Our position was always that we were always happy to have people brag about their money, but it’s not our business to brag about their donations,” O’Keefe said.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">Repeating an argument often made by those who oppose disclosure, O’Keefe said that when donors’ names are made public, they become targets for solicitations from other people seeking money, and it opens them up to retribution from powerful interests.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">“That’s a real and ongoing concern,” he said. “We viewed it as our role to protect [donors] from that.”<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">The churn<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">Trying to trace the cashflow between Rich’s groups is a little like watching a Rube Goldberg contraption: there are a lot of moving parts. For instance, in 2010, Americans for Limited Government Foundation gave the Parents In Charge Foundation a grant of $225,000, and the U.S. Term Limits Foundation a grant of $234,000. But it also owed $1 million to its 501(c)(4) sibling, Americans for Limited Government, Inc.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">Americans for Limited Government, Inc., in turn, gave a grant of $125,000 to U.S. Term Limits Inc. — and then lent it $346,000 more.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">Yet the same year, U.S. Term Limits Foundation lent $85,000 back to Americans for Limited Government, Inc.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">Confused yet? This may well be the point, or, according to tax attorney and former top IRS official Marcus Owens, it may be a clever system to skirt restrictions on how the organizations can operate. Because of the similarities between the various groups — their staffs, board members, missions and organizations they fund — the churn of cash back and forth raises questions, Owens said.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">“It’s the same group, at the same address, with occasionally some new faces and they all seem to act on the same set of principles — limited government and term limits — so it seems kind of implausible that there is some sort of benefit from these internal financial relationships other than to disguise and modify the character of the money,” he said.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">For example, grants from a 501(c)(3) organization, such as U.S. Term Limits Foundation, couldn’t be used by a 501(c)(4), such as Americans for Limited Government, Inc., for political activity. Loans from the same group, structured as ordinary business transactions, would have no such restrictions, Owens noted.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">Also, tax law requires 501(c)(4)s like Americans for Limited Government, Inc., to spend the majority of their resources on “social welfare” activities. Spending too much on politics can lead to a challenge of their tax-exempt status.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;"><p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">“If you have a 501(c)(4) that’s heavily engaged in political activity, it needs to somehow establish that 51 percent of what it does, isn’t political — how do you do that quickly? Make a grant,” Owens said. “You could have a sort of circular cycling of dollars that attempts to support the tax status of all the (c)(4)s in the network.”<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">And moving money between groups may help Rich’s organizations appear to be funded by multiple sources. Receiving all its donations from a single source can be problematic for an organization trying to maintain its favorable tax status, according to Owens, as it suggests the group’s purpose is to benefit that single donor.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">The fact that Rich lends money to the groups in his network is unusual, Owens noted.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">In 2010 Rich lent $772,000 to U.S. Term Limits, Inc., through Rich Lending Corporation. In previous years he lent money to Americans for Limited Government, Inc., and sometimes the group lent money back to Rich Lending Corporation, as well.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">According to Owens, this may be a way to gain a tax benefit for funding a politically active nonprofit. Simply donating money to the group money might not be tax deductible as a business expense — particularly if the group engages in lobbying or political activity, which Americans for Limited Government does. But if the money is loaned by a for-profit company it can be used for any purpose by the recipient and the source of the funds would avoid limitations on business deductions.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">“If they loan money, then it’s not an expenditure, it’s a business transaction and any related expenses would likely be deductible,” Owens said.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">The spread<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">Rich’s network, though, isn’t entirely a closed system. The groups also spend money on political campaigns directly. OpenSecrets.org data shows Americans for Limited Government spent $1.02 million on mailers attacking Democrats in 2010 — the biggest target being Sen. <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00006692&cycle=2012" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Barbara Boxer</a> (D-Calif.) Another $6 million was spent hiring political consultants and direct-mailing firms in Utah, California and Arizona, according to the group’s tax form.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">And Rich’s groups also distribute to an array of other nondisclosing nonprofits in the form of grants.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">In 2010, Americans for Limited Government sent $250,000 to <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cycle=2010&cmte=Americans%20for%20Job%20Security" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Americans for Job Security</a>, a nonprofit closely linked to several of George W. Bush’s top political advisers. Americans for Job Security spent almost $9 million in 2010, targeting mostly Democratic congressional candidates. It also stepped into an Alaskan state ballot initiative fight, spending $1.6 million supporting a local 501(c)(4) in an effort to try to defeat a referendum limiting mining. In response to complaints filed about the local group and its claims to be a grassroots organization, the Alaska Public Offices Commission opened an investigation to determine the group’s funding sources.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">“Americans for Job Security has no purpose other than to cover various money trails all over the country,” the commission’s report concluded.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">AJS, whose executive director shared office space with the Karl Rove-linked organization <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cmte=American%20Crossroads/Crossroads%20GPS" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">American Crossroads</a>, was also accused in the report of being an improper conduit for money from the mine’s owner. Though AJS never admitted wrongdoing, it paid a $20,000 settlement.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">Most of the grants Americans for Limited Government gave in 2010 seemed to follow a similar playbook: at least $1.1 million went to other 501(c)(4)s in three states — Colorado, South Carolina and Alaska. Those groups, in turn, passed much of the money on to other groups, which then intervened directly in local and state elections. Rich’s other groups made similar donations to many of the same local groups.<p open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; padding: 0px;">In Alaska, Americans for Limited Government sent $66,000 to a 501(c)(4) called Alaskans for Open Government — which in turn sent most of the money to another group called Clean Team Alaska. That group spent heavily to promote a ballot measure that would have banned virtually anyone who received public money — government contractors, municipalities, public employee unions (<a href="http://howardrich.org/?p=583" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">a regular hobgoblin in Rich’s writings</a>) — from lobbying the government or contributing money to political campaigns. The effort was <a href="http://www.adn.com/2010/08/25/1423598/ballot-measure-1-soundly-rejected.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">abruptly abandoned</a> just before the Alaskan Public Offices Commission required the Alaskan groups to disclose their funders.<span open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" /><div open="Open" sans="Sans" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" oxygen="Oxygen" ubuntu="Ubuntu" cantarell="Cantarell" fira="Fira" droid="Droid" arial="Arial" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px;">Rich is fond of ballot initiatives for a very simple reason, U.S. Term Limits co-founder O’Keefe says.“They don’t change their mind after the election,” he said. “They don’t renege on campaign promises. It’s a policy, not a candidate. You don’t actually know what you’re getting back from a candidate.”[dyn graph] cf</div><div style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; margin: 20px 0px 20px 20px;">Rich’s Network: This interactive graphic displays some of the groups that are either part of Rich’s network of non-disclosing 501(c) organizations, or have received money from them, based on 990 forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service. You can zoom in or out, reduce the number of organizations to see only the larger ones, or reshape the network. To see the data behind this visualization — including the value and type of transaction between each group — click <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/news/RichNetwork.xlsx" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">here</a> to download an Excel (.xlsx) spreadsheet. </div>Palmetto State PoliticsRich may have made his biggest mark in South Carolina — a state where he appears to have no personal connections or obvious business interests. But since 2006, Rich has spent large sums in the state, largely to pursue one of his favored causes: School vouchers to allow parents to send their children to educational institutions other than their local neighborhood schools.In 2010 alone, Rich’s organizations gave more than $1.7 million to a handful of South Carolina non-profits — groups like South Carolinians for Responsible Government and Conservatives In Action. South Carolinians for Responsible Government is actually two separate nonprofits, one a 501(c)(3) and another a 501(c)(4). Both groups are based at the same address and have the same president and identical boards of directors. Combined, they listed having more than $1.6 million in revenue in 2010.“South Carolinians for Responsible Government is a statewide grassroots non-profit organization,” the group claims on its <a href="http://www.scrgov.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">website</a>. “Unlike our opponents, who use tax dollars to fund their operations, we depend entirely on the generosity of citizens like you.”But that’s true only if “citizens like you” includes four of Rich’s groups, which, according to their tax filings, made five grants to the two South Carolina organizations totaling $1.5 million — about 90 percent of the recipient groups’ revenues. It’s a classic Rich maneuver, indirect and complicated.As is Rich’s sidestepping of South Carolina’s campaign finance laws: A <a href="http://www.thestate.com/2012/04/08/2225730/ny-dollars-flow-into-sc-school.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">recent investigation</a> by The State newspaper found that since 2008, Rich had contributed at least $188,000 to 38 members of the South Carolina House of Representatives. An OpenSecrets Blog review of South Carolina’s campaign finance disclosures indicate that since that article was published, Rich has given at least another $19,000 to three state Senate candidates facing primary fights.But since South Carolina caps individual donations at $2,000, Rich had to be creative. Instead he made his gifts through shell companies with names like Stillrich LLC, Coolcal LLC, 188 Claremont LLC, 123 LaSalle, Inc., and 51 First Avenue, LLC. The companies, many of which appear to linger from Rich’s time in real estate – a realm in which it’s common for each property to exist as its own LLC — all list 1420 Walnut Street, Suite 1011, Philadelphia, PA, as their address.That’s the address of the Center for Independent Thought, the libertarian think tank run by Rich’s wife, Andrea Millen Rich.Dick Harpootlian, the chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, is blunt in his assessment of Rich.“He owns the whole fing state,” Harpootlian said recently in an interview with OpenSecrets Blog.Phil Noble, a Democratic party activist who in 2010 traveled the state confronting candidates for taking Rich’s campaign contributions, is almost as blunt.“He’s basically bought the Republican Party and virtually all the state House candidates is what it boils down to,” Noble told OpenSecrets Blog. “God knows how many millions he has spent here.” According to Noble, Rich first came to the state to back former governor Mark Sanford, who was a prominent school voucher proponent.Noble said that Rich has targeted candidates, often moderate Republicans, in primary contests, usually shortly before an election. One left-wing South Carolina blog found that in 2008, LLCs and individuals affiliated with Rich contributed $40,000 to a conservative state Senate candidate, Lee Bright, in the final two weeks before he faced off against an incumbent Republican. The contributions, which were not made public until after the vote, accounted for 20 percent of Bright’s funds in that election.Simultaneously, the South Carolina Club For Growth — a group affiliated with the national Club For Growth, where Rich is a board member — dropped <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFwoAEGdNuA" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">an attack ad on the incumbent</a>, blasting him for taking money from trial lawyers.Bright narrowly won the race.Noble blames Rich for corrupting South Carolina’s political culture by encouraging the development and use of secretive non-profits to attack political enemies.“He was sort of the impetus for the the creation of a whole (c)(4) support network for Sanford and his agenda,” Noble said. “He brought that whole culture with him.”Furthermore, said Noble, Rich and his network “don’t care at all” about bad publicity. “They just spend what they have to, and they keep spending big.”Continuing to SpendThere are indications that increasingly Rich is aiming his operation at federal politics. For the past two years, OpenSecrets.org data shows, Americans For Limited Government, Inc., has <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000060083&year=2012" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">employed a federal lobbyist</a>. So far this year, the group has lobbied in support of two anti- union bills, including one sponsored by Rep. <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00030752&cycle=2012" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Jeff Duncan</a> (R-S.C.), to whose campaign Rich personally gave $2,500. <a href="http://netrightdaily.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">NetRightDaily.com</a>, an online publication sponsored by Americans for Limited Government, has <a href="http://netrightdaily.com/2012/05/nlrb-secret-ballot-election-attack-defunded-in-u-s-house-of-representatives/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">trumpeted</a> the role the group played helping Duncan develop the legislation.In March, Rich gave $50,000 to the <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?strID=C00487470&cycle=2012" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Club For Growth Action Fund</a>, a super PAC affiliated with the libertarian Club For Growth where Rich is on the board. Characteristically, Rich shrouded the donation under cover of a shell corporation, <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/usearch/index.php?q=ashborough+investors&searchButt_clean.x=0&searchButt_clean.y=0&searchButt_clean=Submit&cx=010677907462955562473%3Anlldkv0jvam&cof=FORID%3A11" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Ashborough Investors LLC</a>, which lists his wife as the manager.He has given another $48,500 directly to candidates like <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary.php?cycle=2012&id=INS1" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Richard Mourdock</a>, the Indiana Tea Party challenger who successfully upset long-time incumbent Republican Sen. <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00001764&cycle=2012" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Dick Lugar</a>, as well as to PACs — including Club for Growth and the <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?cycle=2012&strID=C00286880" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Term Limits America</a> PAC.If Rich is gearing up his operation for a big effort at the federal level, there will likely be a liberal pushback — his name is often mentioned on liberal blogs in the same breath as the Koch brothers (although CRP found no direct connection between Rich and the Kochs).But if Rich is pushed on his campaign finance activities, expect him to push back.In 2008, when a liberal group took it upon itself to notify conservative donors with ties to non-disclosing outside spending groups that they were being watched for possible election and tax law violations, Howard Rich — despite his own extensive involvement with political groups that hide their funding sources — sent a <a href="http://www.accountableamerica.com/files/letter.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">similar letter</a> to liberal donors.“As a donor to one or more of these organizations and efforts, you have been able to engage in these activities without notice, operating in relative obscurity. I am writing to inform you that this will no longer be the case,” Rich wrote in his letter. “Your name has been put in our database. We are monitoring all reports of a wide variety of leftist organizations. As your name appears in subsequent reports, it is our intent to publicize your involvement in your local community.”Center for Responsive Politics researcher Robert Maguire contributed to this story.</div></div>
 <a href="http://fusion.kinja.com/koch-brothers-former-right-hand-mans-new-gig-helping-r-1796032402" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">http://fusion.kinja.com/koch-brothers-former-right-hand-mans-new-gig-helping-r-1796032402</a>Congratulations are in order for Jim DeMint: Saying that his move signals a “new mission” for the Tea Party, the former senator has gone from presiding over <a href="http://gawker.com/leaked-files-show-how-the-heritage-foundation-navigates-1727706821" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit;">one of the most well-funded institutions</a> in the dark-money ecosystem to advising one of the most radical. DeMint, the Republican who retired from the Senate in 2013 to run the Heritage Foundation has been named a “senior advisor” to the Convention of States Project—a nationwide effort <a href="http://fusion.kinja.com/right-wing-billionaires-are-buying-themselves-a-new-con-1793960357#ga=2.254206336.924033623.1497300927-1445517093.1479398248" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit;">backed by billionaires like the Kochs and the Mercers</a> to revise the United States Constitution without the approval of Congress.<p style="margin: 0px auto 1.25rem; font-size: small; box-sizing: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word; padding: 0px; line-height: 32px; max-width: 636px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">A hero to Tea Party Republicans, DeMint <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/24/us/politics/in-the-demint-era-at-heritage-a-shift-from-policy-to-politics.html?r=0" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit;">was already perceived</a> to have led Heritage away from its policy-oriented beginnings, and <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/02/why-jim-demint-was-ousted-from-heritage-237876" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit;">according to Politico</a>, his continued support for Trump drove a wedge between him and the Heritage Foundation’s board of directors. They voted early last month to remove DeMint as president of the organization amid a broader debate in the conservative establishment over what posture to take towards an increasingly volatile Trump administration. Various activist groups have sought to amend the constitution on specific points through an Article V convention before, but few have been as well-funded or as ideologically driven as theConvention of States Project, steeped in evangelical Christianity and backed by millions of dollars in dark money. Between 2011 and 2015, the group’s <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3525760-Citizens-for-Self-Governance-2015-Form-990.html" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit;">budget</a> more than tripled to $5.7 million—buoyed by donations from the Mercer Family Foundation and various donor-advised funds linked to the Koch brothers. (Eric O’Keefe, a longtime Koch operative, co-founded the Convention of States Project’s parent organization, Citizens for Self Governance, and serves as chairman of its board of directors.) Two thirds of state legislatures (so, 34) must pass resolutions petitioning Congress to hold an Article V convention in order to make it happen; so far, <a href="https://www.cosaction.com/missouri_passes_convention_of_states_application_becoming_12th_state_to_do_so" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit;">12 have passed</a> the Convention of States application.<p style="margin: 0px auto 1.25rem; font-size: small; box-sizing: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word; padding: 0px; line-height: 32px; max-width: 636px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“Convention of States is a much more radical approach to a constitutional convention” than earlier efforts, Arn Pearson, General Counsel at the Center for Media and Democracy, told Fusion. “Their budget has increased dramatically. This is their effort to push the state agenda as far as they can while they hold peak power.”<p style="margin: 0px auto 1.25rem; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word; padding: 0px; line-height: 32px; max-width: 636px;">One Convention of States lobbyist (a member of the Utah legislature in his spare time) lauded <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3525790-Ivory-Texas-Plan-Email-2-25-16.html" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit;">Texas governor and Article V proponent Greg Abbott’s plan</a> for several proposed amendments, including one that would prohibit Congress from regulating activity that occurs wholly within a single state—a proposal that would effectively negate what little remains of progress made during the New Deal and the Civil Rights eras. “I see these guys as the new Confederacy,” Pearson said. “They want to have it so that states are no longer bound by federal law. They want the ability to opt out.”<div class="js_ad-mobile-dynamic js_ad-dynamic" style="font-size: small; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“People are disgusted with Washington,” <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/12/jim-demint-joins-group-that-wants-to-amend-constitution-tea-party/102748540/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit;">DeMint told USA Today</a>. “They are ready to move power back closer to home.” A fitting cause for the gentleman from South Carolina—although, actually, the preferred terminology these days isn’t “states’ rights” but “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2013/12/05/next-up-for-alec-taming-the-federal-government/?utm_term=.48b55023830f" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit;">local control</a>.</div>omg
<a href="http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2017/03/23/kochs-bankroll-movement-rewrite-constitution/">http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2017/03/23/kochs-bankroll-movement-rewrite-constitution/</a>By Alex Kotch, CMD contributorA constitutional convention, something thought impossible not long ago, is looking increasingly likely. Under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, if 34 state legislatures “issue a call” for a constitutional convention, Congress must convene one. By some counts, the right-wing only needs six more states. Once called, delegates can propose and vote on changes and new amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which, if approved, are currently required to be ratified by 38 states.There are two major legislative pushes for a convention at the state level. One would attempt to engineer a convention for a balanced budget amendment only, and the other tries to secure an open convention for the purpose of limiting the power and jurisdiction of the federal government. But once a convention is underway, all bets are off. The convention can write its own rules, resulting in a wide-open or “runaway” convention that can make major changes to the constitution and even change the number of states required to ratify those changes.If America gets saddled with a runaway convention, the Koch coterie of funders will be to blame. Most of the groups pushing the convention idea are being underwritten by one or more institutions tied to billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch.<h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">ATTEMPTS TO LIMIT TOPIC OF THE CONVENTION LIKELY TO FAIL</h3>On Feb. 24, Wyoming became the <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/texas/articles/2017-02-28/call-to-convene-convention-of-states-clears-texas-senate" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">29th state</a> to pass a resolution requesting a convention specifically to add a single balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Many of these legislative resolutions also attempt to set the rules for the convention and limit who can attend it to a select list of largely GOP state leaders.Austerity advocates claim that they need only to convince five of seven targeted states—Arizona, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, South Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin—to get on board, and they will have enough states to convene a convention. As the <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2017/03/13230/wisconsin-lawmaker-echoes-alec-call-constitutional-convention" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">Center for Media and Democracy has reported,</a> three linked measures were just introduced in Wisconsin and were placed on a fast track to approval.Another faction representing a broader “Convention of States” initiative is advocating an open constitutional convention to <a href="https://www.conventionofstates.com/about" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">limit</a> “the power and jurisdiction of the federal government.” Because this open convention format would be called on a particular subject rather than a particular amendment, representatives would likely vote on any number of measures.Legislatures in nine states—Arizona, Georgia, Alaska, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Indiana, Oklahoma, and Louisiana—have signed on to the Convention of States resolution,. Texas appears likely to join in, as the state Senate <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-legislature/2017/02/28/senate-approves-bills-call-convention-states-amend-constitution" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">approved</a> a Convention of States bill in February. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is fiercely campaigning for a convention and has deemed it an “emergency issue.” In 2016, he published a 70-page plan that includes nine proposed amendments aimed at severely limiting federal authority, even allowing a two-thirds majority of the states to override a Supreme Court ruling or a federal law.Groups like the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Common Cause, and the Center for Media and Democracy have raised the alarm about these efforts. No convention has been called since 1787 in Philadelphia where George Washington presided.The <a href="http://www.cbpp.org/research/constitutional-balanced-budget-amendment-poses-serious-risks" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">Center on Budget and Policy Priorities</a> explains why any convention call, no matter how narrowly written, is likely to result in a “runaway” convention. A convention is empowered to write its own rules, including how delegates are chosen, how many delegates attend and whether a supermajority is required to approve amendments.Nothing in the Constitution prevents a convention, once convened, from setting its own agenda, influenced by powerful special interests like the Koch groups. A convention could even choose an entirely new ratification process. “The 1787 convention ignored the ratification process under which it was established and created a new one, reducing the number of states needed to approve the new Constitution and removing Congress from the approval process,” writes CBPP.Legal uncertainly surrounds the entire effort, which is sure to be litigated if successful. For instance, are states bound by resolutions passed many years ago? Will states withdraw their approval? Some states, like Delaware and New Mexico, have already moved to do so.<h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">THE KOCH CONNECTION TO THE PUSH FOR A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION</h3>Libertarian billionaires Charles and David Koch have long opposed federal power and federal spending. Koch Industries is one of the <a href="https://www.peri.umass.edu/water-100-polluters-index" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">nation’s</a> <a href="https://www.peri.umass.edu/toxic-100-air-polluters-index-2016-report-based-on-2014-data" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">biggest</a><a href="https://www.peri.umass.edu/greenhouse-100-polluters-index" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">polluters</a> and has been sanctioned and fined over and over again by both federal and state authorities. In response, the Kochs have launched a host of “limited government” advocacy organizations and have created a massive $400 million campaign finance network, fueled by their fortunes and those of their wealthy, right-wing allies, that rivals the two major political parties.The Kochs’ Americans for Prosperity says it <a href="http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/wisconsin-legislature-joins-radical-rights-call-federal-constitutional-convention" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">favors</a> a balanced budget convention. Such an austerity amendment would drastically cut the size of the federal government, threatening critical programs like Social Security and Medicare and eviscerating the government’s ability to respond to economic downturns, major disasters and the climate crisis.AFP has opposed an open convention, calling it “<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110710152110/http://www.americansforprosperity.org/021911-tx-legislature-considers-us-constitutional-convention" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">problematic</a>.” But whatever qualms the Kochs might have, they continue to be a bedrock funder of the entire convention “movement.”Running the “Convention of States initiative” is an Austin, Texas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit called <a href="https://selfgovern.com/" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">Citizens for Self-Governance</a> (CSG). CSG reported revenue of $5.7 million in 2015, more than double its haul from two years earlier, when it launched its Convention of States Project, according to <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-legislature/2017/02/28/senate-approves-bills-call-convention-states-amend-constitution" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">Dallas News</a>. It now boasts 115,000 “volunteers,” although that figure may represent the number of addresses on its email list.The group is not required to disclose its donors, but research into other organizations’ tax records by the Center for Media and Democracy, Conservative Transparency and this author show a web of Koch-linked groups having provided nearly $5.4 million to CSG from the group’s founding in 2011 through 2015:<ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style-type: initial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Donors Trust, a preferred secret money <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/02/14/12151/following-donors-trust-money-trail" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">conduit</a> for individuals and foundations in the Koch network of funders, has given CSG at least $790,000 since 2011.</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style-type: initial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The Greater Houston Community Foundation, which is funded by Donors Capital Fund (linked to Donors Trust) and the Kochs’ Knowledge and Progress Fund, has donated over $2 million since 2011.</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style-type: initial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program, which has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Donors Capital Fund, gave $2.5 million from 2012-2013.</li></ul>Citizens for Self-Governance also has two Koch-connected board members. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">Eric O’Keefe</a> is a director of the Wisconsin Club for Growth, a group which has taken in <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Wisconsin_Club_for_Growth#Funders" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">considerable funding</a> from Koch-linked groups like the Center to Protect Patient Rights, and was at the center of the long-running “John Doe” criminal investigation of Scott Walker’s campaign coordination with dark money groups.O’Keefe was the<a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/118348/scott-walker-campaign-finance-scandal-serving-higher-purpose" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;"> national field coordinator</a> for the Libertarian Party when David Koch ran for Vice President in 1979 on the Libertarian Party ticket. The party’s platform called for the end of campaign finance law, the minimum wage, “oppressive Social Security,” Medicaid, Medicare and federal deficit spending.The Koch agenda has not changed much since.Another board member is Tim Dunn, an oilman from Midland, Texas who is vice chairman of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Texas_Public_Policy_Foundation" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">Texas Public Policy Foundation</a> (TPPF), a right-wing think tank that’s raked in over $1 million from Koch family foundations, $160,000 from Koch Industries in 2012 alone and at least $1.8 million from Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund.Dunn runs another political group, Empower Texans, which supports Republican candidates and has taken in funds from Donors Trust and “Americans for Job Security,” a <a href="http://www.citizensforethics.org/press-release/koch-brothers-groups-hit-massive-fines-crew-complaint/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">Koch-tied dark money group</a> that was slapped with a severe fine by the FEC for its involvement in a dark money shell game intended to disguise the origin of its funds.Both <a href="http://www.texaspolicy.com/content/detail/tppf-releases-paper-on-article-v-convention-of-states" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">TPPF</a> and <a href="https://empowertexans.com/under-the-dome/legislative-priority-convention-states/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">Empower Texans</a> back the constitutional convention idea.What’s more, a 501(c)4 nonprofit connected to CSG, the Alliance for Self-Governance (which does business as Convention of States Action), received <a href="http://conservativetransparency.org/recipient/alliance-for-self-governance/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">$270,000</a> in 2012 from Americans for Limited Government, which has received funding not only by Donors Capital Fund but by two Koch-funded political groups, the Center to Protect Patient Rights and Americans for Job Security.Those two groups exchanged millions of dollars in 2010 and 2012, illegally hiding the source of funding for political expenditures, lying to the Internal Revenue Service and making unlawful contributions to pass-through groups, prompting investigations and historic fines by the both the <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/dark-money-groups-pay-1-million-dollars-in-fines-in-california-case" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">State of California</a> and the <a href="http://www.citizensforethics.org/press-release/koch-brothers-groups-hit-massive-fines-crew-complaint/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">Federal Elections Commission</a>. Eric O’Keefe’s Wisconsin Club for Growth also funneled $450,000 to Alliance for Self-Governance in 2012, at a time when WCFG was battling the Walker recall.Any time any organization is named “self-governance” or “limited government” you can be sure that Wisconsin’s <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Eric_O%27Keefe" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">Eric O’Keefe</a> is either a founder or on the board, and indeed O’Keefe is tied to all three organizations: CSG, the <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Alliance_for_Self-Governance" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">Alliance for Self-Governance</a> and Americans for Limited Government.If the Kochs and their friends don’t want an open constitutional convention, they’ve sure done a lot to aid the effort.==

together at last:

I also wanted to point out that last week we broke the story that notorious media-for-hire hatchet man James O'Keefe (remember ACORN?) appeared to be working hand in hand with Wisconsin Club for Growth's Eric O'Keefe in attacking Wisconsin Republicans who were not working in lockstep with Governor Walker. Last year, James released a video of an inebriated Wisconsin Senate President Mike Ellis, which forced him out of office. CMD exclusively revealed that the Koch-tied dark money guru Eric O'Keefe gave James O'Keefe $50,000, presumably for the hit on Ellis who was a quiet critic of the extreme Walker agenda.

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http://www.prwatch.org/news/2015/01/12714/eric-okeefe-james-okeefe-mike-ellis

Madison – With Donald Trump on the news every day declaring that the "rules are rigged" and speculation rampant that the GOP may see a contested convention, the Wisconsin GOP can be forgiven for getting all starry-eyed about the possibility that native son Speaker Paul Ryan might throw his hat into the ring.After all Ryan is working on his own "parallel platform," says the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/11/us/politics/paul-ryan-a-mirage-candidate-wages-a-parallel-campaign.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">New York Times</a>; he is fundraising with major GOP donors, he is releasing videos that look a heck of a lot like <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/04/08/paul_ryan_s_40_second_ad_he_s_a_uniter_apparently.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">campaign ads</a> and he just jetted to Israel to kiss the ring of Benjamin Netenyahu, a ritual only candidates undertake.But Ryan dashed the hopes of many when he held a press conference at the RNC yesterday to declare:"Let me be clear: I do not want, nor will I accept the Republican nomination."This would have been more convincing had Speaker Ryan not told us that he would "never" become House Speaker a short time ago.Ryan will Chair the GOP Convention in Cleveland in July. What else could he say? "Yes, the rules are rigged and they are in my hands, mwahahahaha?"It is his job to talk about rules, right up until the moment they change, and if he decides to throw his hat into the ring to save the GOP from Donald Trump, he will have powerful players at his side including Wisconsinite and RNC Chair Reince Priebus; dark money man Eric O'Keefe, who was key to Donald Trump's loss in Wisconsin; head of delegation Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker; and even the Koch Brothers, who have long supported Ryan's career.And these folks don't always play by the rules.<h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Dark Money Don Dreams of Smoke Filled Back Rooms</h2>Nostalgic for the smoke-filled back rooms of yesteryear, Wisconsin's dark money don Eric O'Keefe was given almost a full page in the <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-case-for-a-really-open-gop-convention-1460154691" style="text-decoration: none;">Wall Street Journal's</a> opinion section over the weekend to call upon GOP convention delegates to seize the nominating process to stop Trump and ensure that the right kind of candidate is chosen. The paper's opinion page, of course, is run by Green Bay native Paul Gigot.O'Keefe "sees a contested convention as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the delegates of a private political party to assert their power," writes the paper.And when asked if allowing delegates to decide means a return "to the smoke-filled backroom bargaining of the past?" O'Keefe opined, "And what's wrong with that process? It worked well. Those rooms were full of engaged citizens."O'Keefe is no stranger to back rooms. He has deep ties to the Koch brothers going back to David Koch's 1980 run for VP on the Libertarian ticket. O'Keefe and his Wisconsin Club for Growth (WCFG) dark money group were <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/11/12309/new-john-doe-investigation-probes-dark-money-wisconsin-recall-elections-club" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">previously under investigation</a> for secretly funneling the money of millionaires and billionaires into the Wisconsin recall campaigns. After almost 1,000,000 Wisconsin residents signed recall petitions, WCFG funneled $20 million into multiple committees with names like "Citizens for a Strong America" to give the impression that Walker had broad support from the community. Combined groups and committees fighting the recall outspent pro-recall forces <a href="http://www.wisdc.org/pr072512.php" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">$59 million to $22 million</a>. O'Keefe's bank of lawyers succeeded in getting a compromised Wisconsin Supreme Court (elected to office with <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/02/13040/JohnDoe_order_Wisconsin" style="text-decoration: none;">$10 million</a> in expenditures by the parties under investigation) to shut down the investigation, but the case is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.O'Keefe did not say who his perfect candidate was for the GOP convention in Cleveland, but given his history, Paul Ryan and Scott Walker would be on a very short list.The Kochs seem to be leaning in that direction as well. An unnamed source "close to" the Koch brothers told the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/charles-koch-paul-ryan-nomination_us_57029099e4b083f5c6082b95" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">Huffington Post</a> that Charles Koch believes Ryan is a "shoo-in" for the nomination at a brokered GOP convention. Koch Industries has long been one of Representative <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cycle=Career&cid=n00004357&type=I" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none;">Ryan's top contributors</a>, and now is one of Speaker Ryan's biggest boosters. This quarter, the Koch's are helping to fuel his staggering $17 million war chest, reports <a href="http://koch%20industries%20has%20long%20been%20one%20of%20ryan%27s%20top%20contributors%20and%20has%20deep%20and%20abiding%20ties%20to%20o%27keefe%2C%20who%20has%20been%20dubbed%20the%20%22third%20koch%20brother%22%20operating%20out%20of%20the%20great%20state%20of%20wisconsin./" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none;">Politico</a>. Charles Koch, CEO of Koch Industries, and his wife gave his "Team Ryan" fundraising vehicle $488,400 in March alone; Koch Industries gave $71,000.<h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Cheddar Mafia Wants to Stop Trump, Elect Ryan</h2><div class="clearfix">In the run-up to Wisconsin's April 5 primary, the state's GOP machine worked in lockstep to throw their support behind Ted Cruz in a last ditch effort to block Trump.First, Scott Walker suggested that with an open GOP convention, "it's very likely [the nominee] would be someone who's not currently running."Then right-wing radio hosts lead by WTMJ's Charlie Sykes <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOif2C3jPr8" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">savaged Trump on the air</a>. In Sykes' <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/wisconsin-paul-ryan-ted-cruz-221337" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">view</a>, it is Ryan who represents Wisconsin's "sort of inclusive, aspirational style of conservatism" that could win support.Then Walker made a last minute, tepid endorsement of Cruz on Sykes' show, saying Cruz was "the best positioned by far" to beat Trump.Then national Club for Growth spent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T95DqjUwEKo&feature=youtu.be" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">a whopping $1 million on TV ads</a> instructing the GOP faithful to skip John Kasich and support Ted Cruz as the only way to stop Trump.Watching all this U.S. Rep. Scott Krug, a bemused Kasich supporter, explained: "I think this is a three-corner bank shot." Krug told the right-wing outlet Breitbart, "I don't think there's that much of a lovefest for Ted Cruz, but they're just using him to keep Trump below 1,237 delegates so they can broker the convention for Paul Ryan."In the end, Trump won the majority of Wisconsin counties, 44 out of 72, but lost the key counties where the right-wing radio hosts had the best opportunity to pound home the Club for Growth message.<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Beware "Wisconsin Nice"</h2>If the anti-Trump wing of the GOP coalesces around Ryan, it won't be because the Ayn Rand fan represents a moderate, "inclusive" conservatism when it comes to policy. Ryan just puts a smiling face on the same extremist policies the Kochs and their allies have been pushing all along.For years, Ryan has been in charge of producing the GOP budget, and he has trotted out budgets so extreme and damaging, nuns had to take to the road to educate the public about how harmful they would be. They made a stop in <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/06/11598/nuns-bus-go-and-down" style="text-decoration: none;">Ryan's home town</a> some years ago and were part of the reason Ryan lost his hometown of Janesville in the 2012 election, his county, and even his precinct.Economist Dean Baker <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dean-baker/paul-ryan-wants-to-shut-d_b_8395344.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">has read every one of the Ryan budgets and writes that Ryan is willing to cut government to an astonishing</a> degree: "In addition to wanting to privatize both Social Security and Medicare, Ryan has indicated that he essentially wants to shut down the federal government in the sense of taking away all of the money for the non-military portion of the budget."While Ryan tends to avoid controversial statements when it comes to issues like immigration and reproductive health, his stated positions are hardly less extreme than Cruz's or Trump's. Ryan's "immigration reform" policy would spend hundreds of millions more on border security and would increase deportation of child refugees.Anti-abortion groups were elated when Ryan became House Speaker. Ryan is <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/08/ryan-explains-his-abortion-view-and-then-romneys-133019" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">"proud"</a> of his anti-abortion record and has strong support from anti-abortion groups, thanks to his consistent voting record and the occasional <a href="https://twitter.com/SBAList/status/705066914431811589%20at%20an%20anti-abortion" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">photo ops</a> at rallies.As Trump works to make sure his delegates make it into the convention, he should be aware that they will be up against a very sophisticated crew that does not always play by the rules.<a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/04/13083/dark-money-is-contested-convention-paul-ryan">http://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/04/13083/dark-money-is-contested-convention-paul-ryan</a>jacobin:<div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Broken Train</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">dissent requires enough money to sustain activists and carry a message to voters,” Eric O’Keefe (no relation to ACORN muckraker James) wrote in his 1999 book Who Rules America: The People vs. The Political Class.</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">O’Keefe served as the national field coordinator for the Libertarian presidential ticket in 1980, when David Koch ran as the vice presidential nominee, very explicitly in an effort to bring his considerable wealth to bear on the campaign. O’Keefe spent the intervening decades as a quiet architect overseeing the Kochs’ plan to remodel the GOP in their own image.</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Though Eric O’Keefe is not a blood relation to James O’Keefe, he was one of the first people that James and Hannah’s lawyer — infamous Senate Watergate counsel, Mike “Mad Dog” Madigan — would reach out to.</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Sources close to James O’Keefe confirmed that Eric played a lead role in the management of James’s emergency legal trust. (This information was garnered from emails provided by an anonymous source to both myself and my frequent coreporter on the O’Keefes for Wonkette and Gawker, New York state-licensed private investigator Liz Farkas.)</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">For Eric O’Keefe, then, private capital plays both a virtuous and necessary role in politics. It provides complex, nuanced, and counterintuitive policy proposals with the robust patronage that they so desperately need to get a fair hearing in the marketplace of ideas.</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“In business,” he writes in Who Rules America, “entrepreneurs with innovative ideas frequently bring their product to market with the backing of just a few investors . . . Campaign-finance reform, as defined by the elite media and their partners in the seats of power, is a sham that uses high-sounding rhetoric in the service of incumbency protection.”</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In other words, for the professional technicians toiling away at the heart of the libertarian right, placing limits on campaign spending is tantamount to gerrymandering. It only aims to protect the tired, establishment politicians from courageous outsiders’ weird and innovative ideas.</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">This comes from an alternate universe of radical theory, taking a parallax view on the persistent problem of money in politics. In this version, politicians — not wealthy donors — corrupt the system. It takes as axiomatic that all governments, even democratic ones, inevitably trend toward criminality and totalitarianism: a difficult presupposition to challenge in American political life considering the country was founded on it.</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">This is the kind of carefully crafted intellectual scaffolding upon which Andrew Breitbart and his compatriots have swung, and scaled, and beat their chests. Very real financial and intellectual resources have been devoted to producing an entire corpus of literature to defend and legitimize the gut beliefs of a wealthy group of conservatives, libertarians, and Randian Objectivists.</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The dissemination of that literature to a mass audience operates on a highly coded, conscious level that has been partitioned from the preconscious bigotries that it simultaneously excites. This has been a seemingly arduous fact for liberals to properly grasp, but it is no less true for it. People who have been led to believe that they claim a direct lineage to “The Party of Lincoln,” that Soviet Russia manipulated the Civil Rights Movement to undermine America during the Cold War, that the welfare reforms of LBJ’s Great Society legislation were actually just a cynical ploy to purchase blocs of underprivileged voters, and so on, are people who simply cannot be shamed by charges of racism. They earnestly do not consider themselves racists; they perceive the charge as an ad-hominem attack.</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Andrew Breitbart’s confrontational style leaned into these hostile reactions and recognizeding the value of negative press.[--> trump?]</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">When the establishment media attacks “a Hannah Giles, or a James O’Keefe,” he once boasted to Politico, “it only weaponizes them . . . And that’s the reason they have a smile on their face — they know that they now have a platform. They’re not shying away from their notoriety here.”</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">At the time, Breitbart had high hopes that he could somehow mass-produce the success he garnered by stumbling on O’Keefe and Giles. “My business model is I want to be a talent scout,” he told Politico during that same conversation. “I want to be an American Idol for weaponized freedom fighters.”</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Unfortunately for Breitbart, it was not meant to be. Savvier ideological entrepreneurs cut him out.</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">James O’Keefe also wanted to stake out a position as “talent scout,” and, according to individuals formerly affiliated with his competing venture, Eric O’Keefe supplied the initial salaries for James’s “citizen journalism” group, Project Veritas. Then serving as the president and CEO of the Tea Party astroturfer the Sam Adams Alliance, Eric installed a former employee, Izzy Santa, as Project Veritas’s first executive director.</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“You’d be great at this,” another Sam Adams board member, Denis Calabrese, reportedly told Santa. “We need someone to control James.”</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">This is how Project Veritas became the first stop for every aspiring hidden camera stunt-artist, fresh out of the College Republicans. His brand was selected; Breitbart’s was passed over.</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">When Brietbart passed away in March 2012, many wondered whether or not his organization could survive. His larger-than-life presence, his proficiency in cable-news optics, his Barnum-like ability to pull off promotional stunts (like hijacking Anthony Weiner’s press conference at the height of his sexting scandal): all of these qualities left many with the illusion that Andrew Breitbart was the animating force behind Breitbart News.</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In reality, Andrew Breitbart was more like an ad-agency creative director — adept at getting his client’s message maximal attention, but ultimately replaceable. He primarily functioned as a passionate conduit between the media contacts he had built up during his early years in Los Angeles and the luxuriously financed political operatives who were hoping to place their narratives in the mainstream news cycle.</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">A quieter Breitbart News emerged from the demise of their loudmouth standard-bearer, one that its opponents found blessedly (but deceptively) easier to ignore.</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Get Real Paid</div><a href="http://www.progressive.org/news/2016/01/188520/dark-money%E2%80%99s-front-man">http://www.progressive.org/news/2016/01/188520/dark-money%E2%80%99s-front-man</a>In November 2013, a little-known conservative activist named Eric O’Keefe brazenly disobeyed a court order and leaked information to The Wall Street Journal editorial page about a secret “John Doe” investigation involving campaign finance violations by political operatives surrounding Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. O’Keefe’s group, the conservative Wisconsin Club for Growth, was among the parties being investigated.It was the beginning of an extraordinary scorched-earth campaign by O’Keefe to harass and undermine the John Doe investigators, who had targeted alleged illegal coordination between Walker and conservative groups including Club for Growth and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. But O’Keefe had a bigger goal in mind: overturning decades of established law in America saying that independent advocacy groups could not coordinate with political campaigns.O’Keefe launched a series of suits against the prosecutors leading the investigation, continued to leak information about the probe, and publicly denounced it as a “partisan” attack on free speech. He went on conservative talk radio to <a href="http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/eric-o-keefe-compares-john-doe-subpoena-targets-to-rape/article_1184498c-5e46-5eae-b3c2-033d74d900ca.html" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">accuse</a> prosecutors of imposing “a traumatic, unconstitutional abuse on people” and compared those being investigated to “a rape victim”—adding, “I am saying this deliberately.”Together with his lawyer, David Rivkin, O’Keefe pushed the idea that the John Doe investigators conducted early morning “paramilitary raids” violating the constitutional rights of those being investigated, and which resulted in <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417155/wisonsins-shame-i-thought-it-was-home-invasion-david-french" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">stories</a> in conservative publications like National Review.  Stories of these abuses were <a href="http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2015/08/10/data-wonk-about-those-john-doe-paramilitary-raids/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">discredited</a> by an audiotape in which investigators treated their alleged victim politely. Yet a majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court in July released an extraordinary <a href="http://wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/DisplayDocument.html?content=html&seqNo=144527" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ruling</a> that shut down the John Doe probe, with three of the four-member majority citing unproven violations of constitutional rights.The Club for Growth and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce had together provided more than $8 million supporting these four justices in their last elections, accounting for anywhere from 48 percent to 76 percent of the total spent on each justice’s behalf. The justices returned the favor, writing a decision that seemed to ignore Wisconsin law and decades of U.S. Supreme Court decisions holding that independent advocacy groups cannot coordinate with political campaigns, since that would make them no longer independent.It was a huge victory for O’Keefe and for Walker, one that has legalized the unlimited use of dark money in campaigns in Wisconsin and could influence how such cases are handled in other jurisdictions. Long after the end of Walker’s 2016 Republican presidential campaign, O’Keefe’s national aspirations still have legs. “Wisconsin has sort of become ground zero for the testing of how far outside groups could coordinate with candidates,” says Tara Malloy, senior counsel for the <a href="http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Campaign Legal Center</a>, a nonprofit advocacy group that has closely followed the Wisconsin fight. But she notes that what is happening here is part of a much larger conservative agenda. Across the country, Malloy says, “The envelope is being pushed on coordination in all areas.”All of which has made O’Keefe a public figure, despite a long history of quietly effective conservative advocacy. He has been <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-bottari/walkers-dark-money-allies_b_7096498.html" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">dubbed</a> the “third Koch brother” for his efforts to lead and recruit donors to numerous advocacy groups connected to billionaire industrialists David and Charles Koch. O’Keefe founded the Sam Adams Alliance, which has trained Tea Party activists. He helped establish a network of rightwing journalistic publications, hired lawyers who are gradually chipping away at legal restrictions on independent advocacy groups, and created groups to challenge Obamacare. Though poorer than the Kochs, he is arguably just as indispensable to the rightwing agenda.   O’Keefe, sixty-one, was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit known as a wealthy community for auto executives. His father was an investor and Eric did well in the stock market, telling friends he was independently wealthy by age twenty-five. When David Koch ran as a Libertarian for vice president in 1980, O’Keefe served as the party’s national field coordinator. As The Washington Post <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/wisconsin-gov-scott-walkers-recall-sharpens-fight-over-money-in-politics/2012/03/22/gIQAbUHDaS_story_1.html" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; line-height: 1.6;">reported</a>, he “became friendly with the Koch brothers, with whom he has joined in many battles.”O’Keefe has been at the center of a series of national rightwing policy efforts, including the fight for term limits and a so-called taxpayer bill of rights. Paul Jacob, executive director of U.S. Term Limits, has <a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/pauljacob/2013/11/24/who-is-eric-okeefe-n1752221/page/full" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">written</a> that O’Keefe “should be known, but isn’t, as the man who came up with the plan to blitz the country with statewide ballot initiatives aimed at limiting the terms of politicians.”O’Keefe <a href="http://www.eric-okeefe.com/past-experience/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">was</a> a founding board member of U.S. Term Limits, and also served as president of Americans for Limited Terms, which during the 1994, 1996, and 1998 congressional election cycles ran ads bashing candidates who opposed term limits. The movement also pushed  twenty-three states to put congressional term limit initiatives in front of voters. The Koch brothers were “the main financial backers” of the effort, The New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/31/us/campaign-on-term-limits-taps-a-gusher-of-money.html" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">reported</a>. Some $300,000 went into a series of attack ads targeting House Speaker Tom Foley, Democrat of Washington, for attempting to overturn the term limits law voters in his state had approved in 1992. The TV ads, relates O’Keefe on his <a href="http://www.eric-okeefe.com/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">website</a>, “showed a tear rolling down the cheek of the George Washington face” on Mount Rushmore.<a href="http://www.eric-okeefe.com/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"> </a>Foley became the first Speaker to lose re-election since the Civil War.O’Keefe also served on the board of Americans for Limited Government, founded in 1996 and <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2012/06/inside-koch-world-077453" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">funded</a> by the Koch brothers.<a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77453.html" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"> </a>The group has backed “taxpayer bill of rights” ballot initiatives in Colorado and other states, with a goal of slashing state government spending. The group systematically <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/26/us/politics/26activist.html" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">savaged</a> President Obama, calling him “‘the biggest liar of all” and comparing his vision of a national volunteer service agency to the Hitler Youth.A fierce opponent of the McCain-Feingold law’s campaign finance restrictions, O’Keefe helped create the<a href="http://www.campaignfreedom.org/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"> Center for Competitive Politics</a> in 2005. The group filed briefs in Citizens United, the 2010 Supreme Court case that allows unlimited campaign donations by corporations and unions to the kind of independent advocacy groups O’Keefe has used to target incumbents for defeat. This greatly expanded the political might of these groups, many of which do not disclose their donors. OpenSecrets.org <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/summ.php?cycle=2014&chrt=V&disp=O&type=U" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">found</a> that 72 percent of all such spending in 2014 was by conservative groups.O’Keefe also launched the Health Care Compact Alliance to combat Obamacare and undermine Medicare and Medicaid by letting states use the funding as they wished. The group’s approach reinforced the anti-Obamacare ads by Americans for Prosperity.The Sam Adams Alliance, which O’Keefe created in 2006, helped train citizen activists and bloggers and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380662.html" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">provided</a> key support to the Tea Party, as did the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity. In 2009, the group provided the seed money to create the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, which has bankrolled a huge new network of conservative news publications. By 2012, Media Matters <a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2012/07/11/how-a-right-wing-group-is-infiltrating-state-ne/187059" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">reported</a>,<a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2012/07/11/how-a-right-wing-group-is-infiltrating-state-ne/187059" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"> </a>there were “fifty-five news sites covering state government in thirty-nine states that have ties to the Franklin Center.”The total amount of spending by the vast network of rightwing advocacy groups O’Keefe has helped create is unknown but formidable indeed. While much of the money came from the Kochs, O’Keefe has also “created a network of uber donors and of fundraisers,” says an O’Keefe sympathist who declined to speak on the record.But when asked about concerns over wealthy donors spending fortunes to influence elections and government policy, O’Keefe <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/wisconsin-gov-scott-walkers-recall-sharpens-fight-over-money-in-politics/2012/03/22/gIQAbUHDaS_story.html" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">told</a> The Washington Post that voters don’t care. “That’s inside baseball,” he said. R. J. Johnson, a longtime Republican operative, was likely the person who connected O’Keefe to Scott Walker, first elected governor in 2010. Walker’s campaign <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Wisconsin_Club_for_Growth#RJ_Johnson" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; line-height: 1.6;">paid</a> Johnson’s consulting firm more than $130,000 between July 2009 and January 2012. Johnson also worked as a top adviser to Wisconsin Club for Growth.Just three days after Walker introduced his bill gutting collective bargaining for public employees in February 2011, the Center for Media and Democracy reported, “Wisconsin Club for Growth began running slick ads accusing state workers of not having to sacrifice, and urging support for the legislation to make state workers ‘pay their fair share.’ ”When the bill passed, and opponents tried to recall a group of state senators and Walker himself, Club for Growth spent an estimated $9 million on the recalls, <a href="http://www.wisdc.org/pr072512.php" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">according</a> to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Johnson served as a key consultant to both Club for Growth and Walker’s campaign in his 2012 recall election.That would seem to make it impossible for coordination not to have occurred between the two groups, and such coordination was then considered illegal in Wisconsin. Emails later <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/walker-wanted-funds-sent-to-wisconsin-club-for-growth-b99336519z1-272364371.html" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">showed</a> that Walker secretly fundraised for the Club for Growth; his staff <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/wisconsins-walker-confronted-damaging-new-details" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">advised</a> the governor to “stress that donations to [Club for Growth] are not disclosed.” Walker met with donors who soon contributed to Club for Growth.There was every reason to believe the John Doe might succeed. It was actually the second probe involving Walker launched by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, a reputed straight arrow who had previously <a href="http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2014/03/06/murphys-law-why-didnt-chisholm-go-after-democrats/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">angered</a> Democrats by prosecuting several Democratic politicians. The first probe, which concerned Walker’s tenure as the Milwaukee County executive, led to the <a href="http://host.madison.com/news/local/crime_and_courts/prosecutor-closes-john-doe-investigation-into-former-scott-walker-aides/article_5952999e-8283-11e2-b977-001a4bcf887a.html" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">convictions</a> of six people, including three members of his staff, for campaigning on government time. While Chisholm was a Democrat, the special prosecutor he chose was Francis Schmitz, a longtime Republican who <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/255433971.html" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">revealed</a> that he voted for Walker in the recall election. Two Republican district attorneys and three chief judges of circuit courts with Republican credentials also took part in the multicounty, bipartisan investigation.Yet Walker supporters condemned the probe as a “partisan witch hunt,” and this became a conservative mantra on talk radio and at <a href="http://watchdog.org/category/wisconsin/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">WisconsinWatchdog.org</a>, one of the rightwing news sites funded by the Franklin Center. To date, it has published more than 300 stories condemning the probe and repeating O’Keefe’s criticisms of it. Those criticisms have been echoed by The Wall Street Journal and National Review.O’Keefe went on the offensive right away. He hired Rivkin, a top attorney in Washington, D.C., to sue Chisholm and all the prosecutors involved in the John Doe probe, accusing them of violating the civil rights of those under investigation and demanding personal damages from the prosecutors. A WisconsinWatchdog story <a href="http://watchdog.org/116566/conservative-john-doe-democrats/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">cheered</a> this, warning that Chisholm and company are “in for a very unpleasant time. He’s got a tiger by the tail, and he’s not up to it.”<a href="http://watchdog.org/116566/conservative-john-doe-democrats/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"> </a>O’Keefe and Rivkin launched a barrage of suits, tied the investigation in legal knots, and eventually brought it to a halt. Frank Gimbel, a top Milwaukee defense attorney for more than five decades who represented one of the Walker aides convicted in the first John Doe probe, marvels at what O’Keefe has done.“I have not ever seen an individual being investigated who has gone on the offensive like this,” Gimbel says in an interview. “Most of the time it’s an uneven battle with the police and prosecutors. But he has gone on the offensive with very high quality lawyering.”Malloy of the Campaign Legal Center agrees. “It’s definitely become a bit of an ugly personal fight,” she says of O’Keefe’s effort “to hold the prosecutors personally liable.” A federal appeals court <a href="http://cases.justia.com/federal/appellate-courts/ca7/14-2006/14-2006-2014-09-24.pdf?ts=1411664907" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">rejected</a> this line of contention, and the U.S. Supreme Court <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/okeefe-v-chisholm/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">denied</a> a petition for review.To further frighten Chisholm, O’Keefe and other conservatives threatened to bankroll a recall effort against him. It never materialized, but the threat hung over his head for a year or so.O’Keefe also put a scare into Walker. In June 2014, as news surfaced that the governor was seeking an out-of-court settlement to the Doe probe, The Wall Street Journal editorial page <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/scott-walkers-friends-1401233872" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">excoriated</a> Walker, charging that while O’Keefe’s group “fights for its First Amendment rights to speak out on the issue, the Walker campaign apparently seeks to negotiate a settlement with the prosecutors that will keep the issue out of the spotlight.” It concluded: “Mr. Walker has to decide whose side he’s on—his own, or the larger principles he claims to represent.” For O’Keefe and other conservative activists, Walker’s re-election was small potatoes compared to pushing the courts to kill restrictions on independent advocacy groups. Walker got the message, quickly backing off from talk of a settlement.Walker’s collapse as a presidential candidate does not mean much to O’Keefe and company either. They have a loftier goal: doing away with campaign finance limits and other regulations that keep the wealthy from swaying elections. Rivkin is probably the foremost proponent of the view that the First Amendment prohibits coordination between political campaigns and independent advocacy groups only when the groups expressly advocate for someone’s election, rather than simply running ads condemning or praising a candidate.The U.S. Supreme Court, since the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/424/1" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Buckley v. Valeo</a> case of 1976, has repeatedly ruled that once groups have coordinated with campaigns the money they spend becomes subject to campaign finance disclosure laws. Yet the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision bought Rivkin’s argument and ignored both Buckley v. Valeo and a recent Seventh Circuit Federal Court of Appeals ruling on the John Doe which found that “no opinion issued by the [U.S.] Supreme Court, or by any court of appeals, establishes. . . that the First Amendment forbids regulation of coordination between campaign committees and issue-advocacy groups—let alone that the First Amendment forbids even an inquiry into that topic.”Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Patrick Crooks, who died suddenly in September, <a href="http://wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/DisplayDocument.html?content=html&seqNo=144527" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">dissented in part</a> from the court’s decision, calling it “erroneous” and “unprecedented.” As for O’Keefe’s complaint that the John Doe infringed on his First Amendment rights, Crooks wrote, “There is a simple solution to that problem: stop coordinating. In the absence of coordination, the contributor is free to discuss candidates and issues.” Crooks said the John Doe probe “should not be terminated.” The ruling was a tremendous victory for O’Keefe, but there were more to come. In the fall of 2015, the Wisconsin legislature passed a law ending the use of John Doe probes into political corruption, a measure The New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/opinion/the-revenge-of-scott-walker.html?_r=0" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">dubbed</a> “The Revenge of Scott Walker.” Another law dismantled the Government Accountability Board, a nationally praised nonpartisan watchdog of ethics and elections,which had been involved in the John Doe probe, replacing it with two toothless boards whose funding to pursue cases must be approved by the Republican-controlled legislature. A third law lets independent advocacy groups coordinate with candidates they favor, clearly violating past U.S. Supreme Court decisions, and even opens the door to express advocacy groups (which openly tell people how to vote) to coordinate with candidates, so long as the candidate doesn’t specifically ask that the groups spend campaign money in a certain way. “This is a loophole large enough to drive a Koch Industries truck through,” <a href="http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2015/11/10/murphys-law-how-dark-money-will-rule-wisconsin/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">declared</a> Matt Rothschild, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Another longtime observer of state politics, Jay Heck of the group Common Cause in Wisconsin, said the new laws, all of which Walker signed, were products of “the Eric O’Keefe session of the Wisconsin legislature.”Malloy thinks the U.S. Supreme Court might consider a review of the case, seeing it as an opportunity to rethink its past positions and open the floodgates to new kinds of campaign activity. And, she says, “Walker’s departure from the presidential race can only improve slightly the case’s chance of being heard, because the issues are at least somewhat less politically ‘hot.’ ” O’Keefe’s many legal and legislative victories will allow the nation’s wealthiest people and corporations to secretly bankroll the candidates and political outcomes they favor in Wisconsin. But his long-term goal is to achieve a similar victory in other jurisdictions and, ultimately, turn the entire country into a land where dark money rules all politics. ωmayer dk $:<span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9 Money is speech : the long road to "Citizens United" ; 
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">SpeechNow, but $ in campaign should still be public survived; <span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">100 yrs of law going back to robber baron gone; eg mark Hanna st’d oil → teddy Tillman Act 1907 ban corp $ to fed pols and PACS.<span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Justice Stevens dissent, radical departure from 1st amendment settled law 229<span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Problems in US but no one thought it was lack of corp $.
<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DeVos; 11b$ gross 2011. Indep biz owners, not employees as tax dodge 230 (also no SS or benefits).  FTC problems led to Pres ford visit, 2 staffers jumped ship; Invisible hands book; “quasi-religious sociopolitical org” 231 free mkt; RNC chair and jay van andel head of CoC; busted cda tax;  devos canned from rnc (said 1982 recession a cleansing process”
<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">RWI, ISI, CNP (w Friess)<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bought Orlando magic<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amway expand into china.
<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dick retired to do pol, nit lost voucher michigan 2m$. 35 mil to be state sen but lost; 
<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">McC sez if we can stop camp finance reform, we can control congress? 20 years 235
<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BOPP madison ctr: all $ goes to bopp firm; <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Betsy: soft $ is just hard$ they have not Big bro found a way to control 235
<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Soros
<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bopp 10 yr plan to get rid of campaign fin law 236; uses lang of left to ju jitsu.
<span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-style="font-style" normal="normal" font-variant="font-variant" text-decoration="text-decoration" none="none" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" white-space="white-space" pre-wrap="pre-wrap" background-color="background-color" transparent="transparent">Speechnow not a real org, invented to challenge law; origin with eric o’keefe<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 237<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liar Bradley Smith from ctr compet pol; Inst for Justice (koch) [fred yung outsourced jobs]; Spnow superpac went after Feingold, who told outside groups not to rally to him, he lost. 238
<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CU ~ BO: alito” not true”
 [elections now perpetual?] all negative, drives down faith [and partic?] in gov’t 239.

===

WALKER

Wisconsin Club for Growth has launched a new legal volley in its well-funded effort to thwart the state’s John Doe campaign finance probe. On Friday, WCFG and its director Eric O’Keefe <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/files/gab_complaint_5_29.pdf" style="border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">filed suit</a> against the Government Accountability Board (GAB) in the Republican stronghold of Waukesha County, claiming the board exceeded its authority by assisting prosecutors in the probe.

One of many problems with that claim: the Republican Attorney General disagrees.

The crux of WCFG’s latest suit is that the GAB – the state agency tasked with interpreting and enforcing Wisconsin election law -- exceeded its authority by helping the bipartisan district attorneys leading the investigation into possible criminal charges of illegal coordination between WCFG, the Walker campaign and others during the 2011 and 2012 recall elections. Any taxpayer dollars spent on the probe were illegal expenditures, WCFG alleges.

According to WCFG and its Washington DC lawyer David Rivkin (a former attorney in George W Bush's Justice Department perhaps best known for <a href="http://harpers.org/blog/2008/12/what-motivates-the-torture-enablers/" style="border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">defending torture</a> and <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070328/opcom28.art.htm" style="border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">the Iraq war</a>), the GAB only has statutory authority to investigate and prosecute civil violations. They assert that if the GAB identifies criminal violations, it must refer the charges to a county district attorney for criminal enforcement, and the GAB's participation must end.

“Wisconsin law requires that GAB investigations be used for civil enforcement or end with referral to prosecutors,” WCFG claimed in a press release announcing the suit. “Instead, GAB funded and staffed the investigation against conservative groups that was focused on alleged criminal violations from the start. GAB also continued to participate in the process after it referred the matter to prosecutors.”

Yet that claim – that the GAB must drop out of an investigation if it could involve criminal charges and prosecutors become involved -- is at odds with interpretations from Wisconsin’s Republican Attorney General, J.B. Van Hollen. Their claim is also at odds with the efficient use of taxpayer dollars to vindicate Wisconsin's clean election laws.

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.25;">Van Hollen: GAB Has Authority to Investigate Both Civil and Criminal Violations ...</h2>

===

Wisconsin Club for Growth's allegations that prosecutors in the John Doe campaign finance probe have engaged in politically-motivated "selective prosecution" don't stand up to even limited scrutiny.

On February 10, Wisconsin Club for Growth (WCFG) and its director Eric O'Keefe <a href="http://media.jrn.com/documents/johndoelawsuit.pdf" target="_blank" style=" font-weight: normal; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">filed</a> a lawsuit in federal court challenging the John Doe probe as a violation of the First and Fourteenth amendments, and alleging that John Doe prosecutors have "singled out Plaintiffs as targets for investigation, ... while others similarly situated were not targeted." [// irs TP?]

John Doe prosecutors are reportedly pursuing a theory of illegal electoral coordination during Wisconsin's 2011 and 2012 recall elections between candidates such as the Walker campaign and "independent" groups like WCFG, which spent $9.1 million on election ads during the recalls and funneled millions more to other politically-involved groups.

WCFG devotes seven pages of its federal complaint to what it calls "materially identical" conduct by Democrats or liberal groups, which it claims shows that WCFG and other "targets of the investigation were selected based on political views and associations."

Yet a review of the alleged acts of impropriety demonstrates that WCFG is grasping at straws. Many of the alleged acts of impropriety did not violate Wisconsin law. Others were investigated and dismissed. Others lacked any documentation.

In one example, WCFG claims that "coordination" between a gubernatorial candidate, Kathleen Falk, and an independent group, Wisconsin for Falk, is "clearly demonstrated" by footage of Falk appearing in a Wisconsin for Falk ad -- despite the <a href="http://youtu.be/QV4CM-QbTn8?t=25s" target="blank" style="border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">2012 "Wisconsin for Falk" ad in question</a> clearly recycling footage from Falk's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ysa78O4K_M" target="blank" style="border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">2006 Attorney General campaign</a>. Another example of alleged coordination is based entirely on a conversation outside of a bar, secretly recorded by a Walker staffer who lied about his name and occupation, and which did not violate any laws, according to experts from both ends of the political spectrum. Another claim of liberal "coordination" was premised on a complaint that the Government Accountability Board rejected as "frivolous."...

http://www.prwatch.org/node/12384

==

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.25; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">Latest Effort by Eric O’Keefe and Wisconsin Club for Growth to End Criminal Investigation Makes False Claims to Federal Court</h2>

<p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">MADISON – The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) today denounced false claims filed in federal court by Eric O’Keefe and Wisconsin Club for Growth (WCFG) who are seeking to derail a bipartisan, multi-county criminal investigation into their electoral activities.

“Eric O’Keefe and WCFG have misled a federal court with false claims about CMD in their effort to thwart a criminal investigation into their activities during the 2011-2012 recall elections in Wisconsin,” said CMD’s Executive Director Lisa Graves, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice. “The legal complaint of O’Keefe/WCFG demonstrates a reckless disregard for the truth and defames our investigative watchdog group,” she noted, adding: “Their claim of selective prosecution, which suggests that CMD should be subject to criminal prosecution, is injurious and based on manufactured falsehoods.“

Graves believes CMD has been targeted as part of an effort to discredit the organization and its thoroughly documented investigative reporting about O’Keefe/WCFG, Citizens for a Strong America, David Koch’s Americans for Prosperity and other groups. CMD/PRWatch will not be intimidated by these smears or stop reporting on these issues.

In the complaint, signed under penalty of perjury and filed on February 10:<div class="print-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><div id="node-12383" class="node node-news-article node-odd node-print" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><div class="node-inner" style="border-width: 0px 1px 1px; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-bottom-color: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-left-color: rgb(229, 229, 229); margin: 0px; padding: 20px 15px 15px 90px; position: relative;"><div class="node-content" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(74, 74, 74);"><div class="section field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="field-items" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="field-item odd" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">

<li style="border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">O’Keefe/WCFG allege that on a November press call CMD’s executive director purportedly admitted that liberal groups engage in the same electoral activities that the bipartisan prosecutors are investigating. Their complaint asserts: “One reporter asked about the investigation and whether the same activity being investigated had occurred among liberal and Democratic groups. Graves’s response indicated that such activity did occur, but was distinguishable . . . .” Graves was never asked about any John Doe investigation on that call.</li>

<li style="border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">O’Keefe/WCFG then use a quote from Graves responding to a question from a reporter from the Topeka Capitol-Journal about how national and state non-profit think tanks are funded (the topic of the press conference) to assert that she made an admission regarding coordination around electoral campaigns. During that press call, Graves made no reference to any criminal investigation whatsoever, let alone any electoral coordination by non-profit groups.</li>

<li style="border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">O’Keefe/WCFG also falsely allege that CMD illegally spent tens of thousands of dollars lobbying in Wisconsin in 2013, implying that this is “materially identical” to the alleged criminal activity under investigation in the John Doe. Although CMD received a donation to support its research regarding lobbying by corporations and others, CMD does not lobby Wisconsin legislators about Wisconsin bills. CMD does on occasion respond to requests for information from lawmakers and participates in educational activities. CMD does not engage in electioneering, does not run TV ads, and does not engage in any of the activities reportedly under investigation.</li>

</li></ul>

<p style="font-style: normal; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Lead attorney David Rivkin, who is best known for his previous defense of Bush Administration torture policies, has been hired to represent O’Keefe/WCFG and filed the complaint. The federal filing is predicated in part on the suggestion that county prosecutors violated O’Keefe/WCFG’s civil rights by selectively prosecuting them while failing to prosecute CMD. “I hope the court will consider imposing Rule 11 penalties against the attorneys for making false claims,” said Graves.

With the cascading news leaks about the John Doe, apparently from subpoenaed parties in the case and with important decisions of campaign finance law being discussed, CMD urges the John Doe judges to consider opening up proceedings as much as possible to the press and public so that citizens, election and non-profit law experts, and others can better understand the legal policies at stake. CMD also urges the John Doe judges to consider releasing as many documents as possible to the public, especially due to the fact that O’Keefe/WCFG have sought to distort public opinion through selective and self-serving leaks.

<p style="font-weight: normal; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;">CMD has reported on the “dark money shell game” that O’Keefe/WCFG engaged in during the 2012 elections, and on the close ties between O’Keefe/WCFG and right-wing outlets writing about the John Doe, such as the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity and its “Wisconsin Reporter,” which was founded and has been funded by O’Keefe and his allies:

* <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/01/12371/undermine-wisconsin-elections" target="_blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Secret Court Ruling Could Undermine Wisconsin Campaign Finance Law </a>[3]

* <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/12/12344/why-franklin-center-wisconsin-reporter-attacking-john-doe" target="_blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Why Are the Franklin Center's "Wisconsin Reporter" and "Watchdog.org" Attacking the John Doe?</a> [4]

* <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/11/12309/new-john-doe-investigation-probes-dark-money-wisconsin-recall-elections-club" target="_blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">WI Club for Growth, Target of Walker Recall Probe, at Center of Dark Money Web</a> [5]

</div>

</li><li class="field-item even" style="border: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none; display: inline-block; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px !important;"><a href="http://www.prwatch.org/topics/defend-press" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Defend the Press</a> [6]</li>

</ul>

</div>

</li><li class="field-item even" style="border: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none; display: inline-block; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px !important;"><a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news-types/press-release" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Press Release</a> [7]</li>

</ul>

</div>

PR Watch is published by the <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/cmd" target="_blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Center for Media and Democracy</a>. © Center for Media and Democracy 2013.

Center for Media and Democracy • 520 University Avenue, Suite 260 • Madison, Wisconsin 53703 • Phone: 608-260-9713 • Fax: 608-260-9714

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<div class="print-source_url" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">Source URL: <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/02/12383/wisconsin-club-growth-makes-false-claims-federal-court" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none;">http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/02/12383/wisconsin-club-growth-makes-false-claims-federal-court</a></div>

Links:

[1] http://www.prwatch.org/users/35278/prw-staff

[2] http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/02/12383/wisconsin-club-growth-makes-false-claims-federal-court

[3] http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/01/12371/undermine-wisconsin-elections

[4] http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/12/12344/why-franklin-center-wisconsin-reporter-attacking-john-doe

[5] http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/11/12309/new-john-doe-investigation-probes-dark-money-wisconsin-recall-elections-club

[6] http://www.prwatch.org/topics/defend-press

[7] http://www.prwatch.org/news-types/press-release

</div>

===

<div class="byline story" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Center for Media and Democracy / By <a href="http://www.alternet.org/authors/brendan-fischer" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">Brendan Fischer</a> [1]</div>

<h1 property="dc:title" datatype="" class="node-title">Right-Wing Front Group Poses as Journalists to Attack Investigation Into Political Money Laundering</h1>

</div>

<div class="story-date" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">December 19, 2013  |  </div>

The Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity (through its Wisconsin Reporter and <a href="http://watchdog.org/" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Watchdog.org</a> [2] websites) has aggressively attacked the government’s "John Doe" probe into possible campaign finance violations during Wisconsin's 2011 and 2012 recall elections. Its media outlets have also published new information about the apparent targets of the investigation, but they have omitted an important detail: Franklin Center has close ties to individuals and groups that may be caught up in the John Doe probe.

The only name associated with the investigation led by the Milwaukee County's District Attorney's office, Eric O'Keefe, helped launch the Franklin Center's operations in 2009, and his Sam Adams Alliance group <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/noquarter/127152603.html" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">provided the majority</a> [3] of its startup budget. O'Keefe has <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304799404579155953286552832" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">spoken publicly</a> [4] about being subpoenaed in his capacity as director of Wisconsin Club for Growth. Franklin Center's <a href="http://franklincenterhq.org/about/staff/" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">Director of Special Projects</a> [5] John Connors, and the <a href="http://franklincenterhq.org/about/staff/" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">Executive Assistant to the President</a> [5] Claire Milbrandt, also have close ties to a group reportedly involved in the probe. Its former Director of Operations and General Counsel, James Skyles, worked with another group active in the Wisconsin recalls.

Franklin Center's Wisconsin Reporter has written 16 stories so far that are highly critical of the anti-corruption probe and prosecutors (calling its series <a href="http://watchdog.org/series/wisconsins-secret-war/" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">"Wisconsin's Secret War"</a> [6]), but these latest revelations raise questions about whether the outfit has a conflict of interest in its coverage.

"It does sound like a conflict-of-interest situation that minimally ought to be disclosed, whenever stories are written," said Robert Drechsel, Director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism and Mass Communications. "Particularly if the reporting in question is being done by an entity that holds itself out as nonpartisan and as doing the same kind of journalistic work being done by any traditional journalism institution."

Franklin Center Attacks John Doe, Citing Unnamed Sources

After Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Dan Bice <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/noquarter/secret-probe-spreads-to-five-wisconsin-counties-b99124190z1-228569231.html" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">first reported on</a> [7] the new "John Doe" investigation -- a secret inquiry unique to Wisconsin that is "<a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/what-even-is-a-wisconsin-john-doe-investigation" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">just like a grand jury except no jury</a> [8]," led by special prosecutor Francis Schmitz, a former federal counterterrorism prosecutor with <a href="http://sensenbrenner.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=54611" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">Republican credentials</a> [9] -- interest was high, but thanks to the John Doe's strict secrecy rules, details were hard to come by.

The Franklin Center/Wisconsin Reporter quickly filled the void.

Wisconsin Reporter launched its "Wisconsin's Secret War" series in October, citing unnamed sources to <a href="http://host.madison.com/news/local/writers/jack_craver/wisconsin-reporter-says-new-john-doe-investigation-focused-on-conservative/article_b3c94a06-40b2-11e3-bda1-001a4bcf887a.html" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">reveal</a> [10] that Wisconsin Club for Growth, Americans for Prosperity, and Republican Governors Association <a href="http://watchdog.org/113017/conservatives-wisconsin/" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">had received subpoenas</a> [11], and describing details about "after-hours visits to homes and offices" and prosecutors' "demands for phone, email and other records." Thanks to those unnamed sources, Wisconsin Reporter had a new platform, and used it to recast the John Doe investigation as "an abuse of prosecutorial powers" with "the apparent goal of bringing down Gov. Scott Walker." The Walker campaign and 28 other groups also reportedly received subpoenas.

"This is a taxpayer-funded, opposition-research campaign," an anonymous source told the Wisconsin Reporter.

Wisconsin Club for Growth soon became the most prominent name associated with the John Doe after its director, Eric O'Keefe, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304799404579155953286552832" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">told the Wall Street Journal editorial board</a> [4] that he had been subpoenaed, with the investigation allegedly looking into what the Wall Street Journal called "illegal campaign coordination" between campaigns and independent groups. The group is also led by RJ Johnson, a top Walker advisor.

CMD <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/11/12309/new-john-doe-investigation-probes-dark-money-wisconsin-recall-elections-club" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">uncovered</a> [12] how in 2011, O'Keefe's Wisconsin Club for Growth <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/contrib.php?cmte=C90009945&cycle=2012" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">took in $12 million</a> [13], some of it from dark money conduits like the Koch-connected <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Center_to_Protect_Patient_Rights" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">Center to Protect Patient Rights</a> [14] (CPPR) and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Wellspring_Committee" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">Wellspring Committee</a>[[koch]] [15], and in turn <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/11/12309/new-john-doe-investigation-probes-dark-money-wisconsin-recall-elections-club" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">shuffled millions</a> [12] to other organizations that spent money on ads during Wisconsin's Supreme Court race and recall elections. (CPPR, which is connected to the billionaire Koch brothers, was <a href="http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/politics/a-money-shuffle-to-avoid-donor-disclosure/552/" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">recently fined $1 million</a> [16] by California's elections board for its role in what the Washington Post called "<a href="http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/politics/a-money-shuffle-to-avoid-donor-disclosure/552/" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">a series of money swaps and transfers through a network of politically active nonprofit groups</a> [16]" to avoid donor disclosure. California prosecutors called it "campaign money laundering").[prop 37?]

All of the groups involved in Wisconsin Club for Growth's monetary transfers are "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_money" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">dark money</a> [17]" groups, a phrase which refers to election spending by nonprofits that exploit loopholes in campaign finance disclosure laws, and keep their donors secret by running "issue ads" designed to influence elections.

Franklin Center's John Connors Directly Connected to Dark Money Web

A central character in the Wisconsin Club for Growth dark money web is John Connors, the Franklin Center's "Director of Special Projects," who has close ties to many of the groups receiving funding from O'Keefe's Wisconsin Club for Growth. Some of those groups have reportedly been subpoenaed.

In the wake of the Center for Media and Democracy's <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/11/12309/new-john-doe-investigation-probes-dark-money-wisconsin-recall-elections-club" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">reporting</a> [12] on money changing hands between O'Keefe's Wisconsin Club for Growth and groups tied to Connors, Franklin Center's <a href="http://watchdog.org/about/" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">Wisconsin Reporter</a> [18] quickly went on the offensive in a <a href="http://watchdog.org/117604/liberal-money-conservative/" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">series</a> [19] of <a href="http://watchdog.org/118311/shouting-echo-chamber/" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">articles</a> [20], making up <a href="http://watchdog.org/118639/dark-money-wisconsin/" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">its own definition of "dark money"</a> [21] for an unfounded attack on CMD's credibility, and falsely claiming that CMD's reporting constituted the launch of a "national campaign" to "unseat the governor."

None of the articles note Connors' ties to the Franklin Center/Wisconsin Reporter, <a href="http://watchdog.org/117604/liberal-money-conservative/" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">even when attacking</a> [19] CMD's stories that address him by name.

Here are some examples of those ties:

<ul>

<li>Connors is president of Citizens for a Strong America, whose entire <a href="https://bulk.resource.org/irs.gov/eo/2012_12_EO/27-1204594_990O_201112.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">$4.62 million budget</a> [22] in 2011 <a href="https://bulk.resource.org/irs.gov/eo/2012_12_EO/27-1204594_990O_201112.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">came from Wisconsin Club for Growth</a> [22], and which spent <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/judicial-public-financing-wisconsin-%E2%80%94-2011" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">$836,000</a> [23] on ads (some of which included <a href="http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/apr/01/citizens-strong-america/ad-says-joanne-kloppenburg-jailed-80-year-old-farm/" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">misleading</a> [24] claims) in support of Justice David Prosser during his 2011 Supreme Court race, and <a href="http://m.startribune.com/news/?id=127118328" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">additional undisclosed amounts</a> [25] on Senate recall races that year. The Treasurer of Citizens for a Strong America is Valerie Johnson, wife of R.J. Johnson, who is a top advisor to both Wisconsin Club for Growth and Governor Walker.</li>

</ul>

<li><a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/11/12309/new-john-doe-investigation-probes-dark-money-wisconsin-recall-elections-club" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">90 percent</a> [12] of the <a href="https://bulk.resource.org/irs.gov/eo/2012_08_EO/83-0448717_990O_201112.pdf" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">grants received by</a> [26] Wisconsin Family Action in 2011 <a href="https://bulk.resource.org/irs.gov/eo/2012_12_EO/27-1204594_990O_201112.pdf" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">came from Connors' Citizens for a Strong America</a> [22], which was entirely funded by Wisconsin Club for Growth. Wisconsin Family Action spent <a href="http://www.wisdc.org/pr072512.php" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">an estimated $850,000</a> [27] on the Senate recall campaigns in 2011. Connors <a href="http://media.jsonline.com/documents/Martens+Letter_120511.pdf" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">acted as a consultant</a> [28] to Wisconsin Family Action during the election year and helped plan a scheme that resulted in a different <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/noquarter/groups-accused-of-voter-bribery-cleared-by-das-investigation-953bdus-135147838.html" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">John Doe investigation</a> [29] into possible election bribery, which resulted in no charges. The <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304799404579155953286552832" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">Wall Street Journal</a> [4] reports that Wisconsin Family Action has received a subpoena in the latest John Doe probe.</li>

</ul>

<li>Connors <a href="http://cognidissidence.blogspot.com/2011/04/koch-brothers-heavy-hand-behind-anti.html" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">registered</a> [30] the web domain for United Sportsmen of Wisconsin, a group that <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/08/12224/wisconsin-prepares-hand-half-million-taxpayer-funds-koch-tied-gop-lobby-shop" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">worked with</a> [31] Wisconsin Family Action and Americans for Prosperity on an operation during the 2011 recall races in which absentee ballot applications were sent with the incorrect date for elections. Connors' Citizens for a Strong America <a href="https://bulk.resource.org/irs.gov/eo/2012_12_EO/27-1204594_990O_201112.pdf" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">transferred $236,000</a> [22] to United Sportsmen in 2011. The United Sportsmen group was <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/221667081.html" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">embroiled in scandal</a> [32] earlier this year after outgoing Assembly Majority leader Scott Suder <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/08/12224/wisconsin-prepares-hand-half-million-taxpayer-funds-koch-tied-gop-lobby-shop" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">cut a $500,000</a> [31] taxpayer-funded "sweetheart deal" for the group, which Governor Walker <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/fishing-trip-underscores-close-ties-between-suder-united-sportsmen-b99108668z1-225745101.html" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">rescinded</a> [33] after public outcry.</li>

</ul>

A review of Franklin Center's tax filings shows that it has paid $235,157 to Connors' Milwaukee-based consulting firm, J Connors & Co, over the past two years ($114,930 <a href="http://franklincenterhq.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/990-2012-Franklin-Center.pdf" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">in 2012</a>[34] and $119,227 <a href="https://bulk.resource.org/irs.gov/eo/2012_12_EO/26-4066298_990_201112.pdf" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">in 2011</a> [35]). A close Connors associate, Claire Milbrant, who has worked at J Connors & Co since its founding in 2009, was also hired by the Franklin Center last month as its Executive Assistant to the President.

In addition to being the Franklin Center's "Director of Special Projects" -- part of its "leadership team," <a href="http://franklincenterhq.org/about/staff/" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">according to the organization's website</a> [5] – Connors <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/04/10534/group-called-citizens-strong-america-operates-out-ups-mail-drop-runs-expensive-ad" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">registered</a> [36] Wisconsin Reporter's "<a href="http://watchdog.org/" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">Watchdog.org</a> [2]" web domain.

Franklin Center/Wisconsin Reporter has <a href="http://watchdog.org/117604/liberal-money-conservative/" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">attacked CMD's reporting</a> [19] about Connors' groups but has failed to mention that one of its directors is directly tied to those organizations.

CMD's calls to John Connors for comment have not been returned.

Club for Growth's Eric O'Keefe Helped Launch and Fund Franklin Center

Mike McCabe, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, cautioned that the public still doesn't actually know what the John Doe investigation is about: we only know what Franklin Center has reported, and what Eric O'Keefe, the Wisconsin Club for Growth chair, told the Wall Street Journal editorial board.

"Its no accident that he went to Murdoch's newspaper, and no accident that it ran as an editorial [in the Wall Street Journal] rather than a news story," said McCabe, whose nonpartisan, nonprofit group tracks election spending in Wisconsin.

On Wisconsin Club for Growth's last published IRS Form 990, O'Keefe was listed as one of just three board members who spend hundreds of hours a year leading and guiding that group, whose budget increased twelve-fold in 2011 while Scott Walker was facing a potential recall election and also grew in the 2012 election year.

O'Keefe ties to the Franklin Center run deep. He was the CEO and chairman of the Sam Adams Alliance, which in 2009 launched and funded the Franklin Center. According to an O'Keefe <a href="http://www.libertyguide.com/resources/9-how-understanding-politics-helps-in-policy/" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">bio from last year:</a> [37] "Under his leadership, the Sam Adams Alliance (SAM) has established some of the most active and respected organizations in the freedom movement, including American Majority and the Franklin Center." Whether he continues to fund or direct funds to Franklin Center is unknown.

O'Keefe's Sam Adams Alliance, whose president was the former executive director of the Illinois State Republican party, <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/the-group-em-behind-em-the-group-behind-that-sketchy-wisconsin-poll?ref=fpa" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">acted as</a> [38] the Franklin Center's "sponsoring organization" until the group obtained its 501(c)(3) status, <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/the-group-em-behind-em-the-group-behind-that-sketchy-wisconsin-poll?ref=fpa" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">according to its communications director</a> [38]. According to the <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/noquarter/127152603.html" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</a> [3], much of the $2.9 million Franklin Center raised in its first year came from the Sam Adams Alliance. (The other group that O'Keefe boasts of creating in his bio, American Majority, was established to recruit and train Tea Party political candidates, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/192810837409217/" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">held a rally</a> [39] in support of Governor Walker during the height of the 2011 protests featuring Andrew Breitbart and others.)

Franklin's President, Jason Stverak, previously worked as Regional Field Director for O'Keefe's Sam Adams Alliance, after leading the South Dakota Republican Party for six years. Their allies speak of O'Keefe and Stverak in the same breath. For example, in the <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=XpB5w-rpUq4C&pg=PT251&lpg=PT251&dq=Jason+Stverak+and+Eric+o'keefe&source=bl&ots=amTAoCkq9l&sig=tYkGFrMHYYP_k8REbk82x7tCV9k&hl=en&sa=X&ei=3QGpUtvFJ8XuyQGc9IGQBA&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Jason%20Stverak%20and%20Eric%20o'keefe&f=false" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">acknowledgement section</a> [40] of James O'Keefe's book, the undercover videographer whose heavily-edited videos helped bring down ACORN (and who is not related to Eric O'Keefe) thanks "Eric O'Keefe and Jason Stverak for their role in the citizen journalism movement."

In only <a href="http://watchdog.org/116566/conservative-john-doe-democrats/" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">one</a> [41] of the sixteen articles Franklin Center/Wisconsin Reporter has written on the John Doe have they touched on O'Keefe's ties to Franklin Center.

"The public has to be very wary of taking for granted what is being reported by the Wall Street Journal and Wisconsin Reporter," McCabe said. "O'Keefe and others have decided that is who they want reporting on John Doe, they've decided what to leak, and how they want it framed, and what they want the public to believe what the investigation is about," he said, while prosecutors and judges are gagged by the John Doe's secrecy order.

Ties to the "Coalition for American Values"

Franklin Center also has connections to another mysterious organization active during the Wisconsin recalls called "Coalition for American Values." That group dropped <a href="http://www.wisdc.org/pr072512.php" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">$400,080</a>[27] on a flood of ads in the final weeks before Governor Walker's recall election, and attracted significant attention by making a unique appeal: instead of promoting Walker or attacking his opponent, the ads attacked the premise of the recall itself. The ads depicted individuals who claimed they would vote for Walker not necessarily because they support his policies, but because they opposed the use of recall under these circumstances.

These ads, coupled with similar messaging from Governor Walker, proved effective. Exit polls on June 5, 2012 showed that sixty percent of voters thought recalls were only appropriate for cases of official misconduct -- a complete reversal from polls conducted in November 2011, just as the recall was launched.

The address Coalition for American Values lists on its <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/files/cfav_gab_registration.pdf" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">filings with Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board</a> [42], and on its associated PAC's filings with the <a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/581/13964021581/13964021581.pdf#navpanes=0" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">Federal Election Commission</a> [43], is 119 S Emerson St #231 in Mt. Prospect, Illinois. This is also the address given for Coalition for American Values' lawyer, James Skyles, who was <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/files/skyles_linkedin.pdf" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">General Counsel and the Director of Operations for the Franklin Center</a> [44] until March 2011.

The "treasurer" listed on Coalition for American Values' FEC filings and the contact on its filings with Wisconsin's election board is Brent Downs. In 2008, when Connors chaired the Marquette College Republicans, <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/files/connorsdowns.doc" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Downs was his treasurer</a> [45]. Both were both students at Marquette University at the same time, and Downs, like Connors, also <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/files/downs_website.png" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">chaired the Students for Prosperity</a> [46] chapter of David Koch's Americans for Prosperity at Marquette University.

In its FEC filings, the Coalition for American Values <a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/581/13964021581/13964021581.pdf#navpanes=0" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">reports</a> [43] <a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/452/12954430452/12954430452.pdf#navpanes=0" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">tens of thousands</a> [47] of <a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/138/12961466138/12961466138.pdf#navpanes=0" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">dollars</a> [48] of <a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/824/12951655824/12951655824.pdf#navpanes=0" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">payments</a> [49] <a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/614/13940509614/13940509614.pdf#navpanes=0" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">to</a> [50] Connors' Campaign Now! consulting and direct mail firm (which he has run out of the same office as J Connors & Co, along with Claire Milbrant).

The Coalition for American Values explicitly called for the reelection of Governor Walker, so the group reported its spending, but it did not report the true origin of its funds. Wisconsin law requires that nonprofits or corporations disclose the source of all contributions "made for" the purpose of funding their ads -- but Coalition for American Values sidestepped those rules by claiming that the $400,080 was not specifically provided to the group for the ads, despite there being few other reasons that a donor would have given the group hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Franklin Center Takes Bull by Horns

The Franklin Center/Wisconsin Reporter has led the charge against the John Doe investigation, the prosecutors involved, and even reporters covering the topic.

Professor <a href="https://comm.stanford.edu/faculty-glasser/" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">Theodore L. Glasser</a> [51], a Professor of Communications at Stanford University, told CMD that at a minimum, a news outfit should disclose their connections to the subjects they are reporting on. "For the reader, without that transparency, it is hard to make a judgment about the independence of that reporting," he said.

"Not to say that the conflict [of interest] would go away with transparency, but it would at least allow readers to judge for themselves."

</div>

<div class="tags" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">See more stories tagged with:

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<div class="print-source_url" style=" text-align: left;">Source URL: <a href="http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/right-wing-front-group-poses-journalists-stop-campaign-finance-investigation" style=" text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: none;">http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/right-wing-front-group-poses-journalists-stop-campaign-finance-investigation</a></div>

</div>

==Eric O'Keefe is a right-wing political operative with deep ties to the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Koch_brothers" title="Koch brothers" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Koch brothers</a>. O'Keefe is currently the director of the<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Wisconsin_Club_for_Growth" title="Wisconsin Club for Growth" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Wisconsin Club for Growth</a> (WCFG). He was heavily involved in the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Libertarian_Party" title="Libertarian Party" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Libertarian Party</a> in the 1980s, worked to enact congressional term limits in the 1990s, and transitioned into a leader of the Tea Party movement in the late 2000s. His group, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Sam_Adams_Alliance" title="Sam Adams Alliance" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Sam Adams Alliance</a>, led to the founding of numerous tea party organizations, and also helped launch the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Franklin_Center_for_Government_and_Public_Integrity" title="Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity</a>. He is married to <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Leslie_Graves" title="Leslie Graves" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Leslie Graves</a> of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Lucy_Burns_Institute" title="Lucy Burns Institute" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Lucy Burns Institute</a>, publisher of Ballotpedia and Judgepedia.O'Keefe is at the center of the 2014 "John Doe" criminal investigation of the campaign of Wisconsin Governor <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Scott_Walker" title="Scott Walker" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Scott Walker</a>, Wisconsin Club for Growth, and numerous other "dark money" groups.
<table style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(37, 37, 37); line-height: 22.4px; vertical-align: top; border: 1px solid rgb(216, 216, 205);"><tbody><tr><th style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 48, 21); color: rgb(255, 255, 255); padding: 0.2em 0.4em; background: rgb(222, 21, 13);">Koch Wiki</th></tr><tr><td style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><div style="padding: 2px 5px;">The <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Koch_brothers" title="Koch brothers" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Koch brothers</a> -- <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/David_H.Koch" title="David H. Koch" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">David</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Charles_G.Koch" title="Charles G. Koch" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Charles</a> -- are the right-wing billionaire co-owners of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Koch_Industries" title="Koch Industries" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Koch Industries</a>. As two of the richest people in the world, they are key funders of the right-wing infrastructure, including the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Legislative_Exchange_Council" title="American Legislative Exchange Council" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">American Legislative Exchange Council</a> (ALEC) and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/State_Policy_Network" title="State Policy Network" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">State Policy Network</a> (SPN). In SourceWatch, key articles on the Kochs include: <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Koch_Brothers" title="Koch Brothers" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Koch Brothers</a>,<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Koch_Industries" title="Koch Industries" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Koch Industries</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Americans_for_Prosperity" title="Americans for Prosperity" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Americans for Prosperity</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore" title="American Encore" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">American Encore</a>, and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Freedom_Partners" title="Freedom Partners" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Freedom Partners</a>.</div></td></tr></tbody></table><div id="toc" class="toc" style="background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1; color: rgb(37, 37, 37);"><div id="toctitle" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;"><h2 style="color: black; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border: none; display: inline; line-height: 1.3; background: none;">Contents</h2>  [<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#" id="togglelink" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">hide</a>] </div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#2013_Wisconsin_Criminal_Investigation_into_Illegal_Campaign_Coordination" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">1 2013 Wisconsin Criminal Investigation into Illegal Campaign Coordination</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#O.27Keefe_Compares_Criminal_Investigation_to_Rape" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">1.1 O'Keefe Compares Criminal Investigation to Rape</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#WCFG_Lawsuits_Against_John_Doe_Fail_in_Court" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">1.2 WCFG Lawsuits Against John Doe Fail in Court</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#Ties_to_Right-Wing_Groups" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">2 Ties to Right-Wing Groups</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#Ties_to_the_Koch_Brothers" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">2.1 Ties to the Koch Brothers</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#Wisconsin_Club_for_Growth" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">2.2 Wisconsin Club for Growth</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#Sam_Adams_Alliance" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">2.3 Sam Adams Alliance</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#The_Franklin_Center" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">2.4 The Franklin Center</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#Project_Veritas" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">2.5 Project Veritas</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#Background" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">3 Background</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#Libertarian_Party" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">3.1 Libertarian Party</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#Affiliations" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4 Affiliations</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#Articles_and_resources" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5 Articles and resources</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#Related_PRWatch_articles" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5.1 Related PRWatch articles</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-15" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#Related_SourceWatch_articles" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5.2 Related SourceWatch articles</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-16" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#References" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5.3 References</a></li></ul></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">2013 Wisconsin Criminal Investigation into Illegal Campaign Coordination</h2><div class="floatright" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); clear: right; float: right; position: relative; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 0.5em; border: 0px; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); line-height: 22.4px;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/File:Cap-Times-Dark_money.jpg" class="image" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><img alt="Cap-Times-Dark money.jpg" src="http://www.sourcewatch.org/images/thumb/3/3b/Cap-Times-Dark_money.jpg/500px-Cap-Times-Dark_money.jpg" width="500" height="721" srcset="/images/3/3b/Cap-Times-Dark_money.jpg 1.5x, /images/3/3b/Cap-Times-Dark_money.jpg 2x" style="border: none; vertical-align: middle;" /></a></div>
























In October 2013, O'Keefe broke a secrecy order and told the Wall Street Journal editorial board that he had been served with a subpoena in a "John Doe" investigation into possible campaign finance violations during Wisconsin's 2011 and 2012 recall elections, apparently in his capacity as chair of<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Wisconsin_Club_for_Growth" title="Wisconsin Club for Growth" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Wisconsin Club for Growth</a>. The investigation is being conducted under Wisconsin's "<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/John_Doe" title="John Doe" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">John Doe</a>" laws, which is similar to a grand jury investigation, and is being overseen by former federal prosecutor Francis Schmitz, who was once considered for a position as U.S. attorney by George W. Bush and who voted for Republican Governor <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Scott_Walker" title="Scott Walker" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Scott Walker</a>.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[1]</a> The Journal's <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304799404579155953286552832" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background-image: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E); background-color: initial; background-position: 100% 50%, 100% 50%;">editorial board</a> characterized the investigation as a "political speech raid." <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[2]</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-3" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[3]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6;">O'Keefe Compares Criminal Investigation to Rape</h3>In October 2014 while on a conservative talk radio show, O'Keefe compared the subpoena targets of the John Doe investigation to rape victims. As reported by the Wisconsin State Journal:<dl style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); line-height: 22.4px;"><dd style="margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;">“I have read some about rape and I have talked about rape and I am saying this deliberately,” O’Keefe said. “The reactions that I got from the people I interviewed were similar to a rape victim.”</dd><dd style="margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;">He said prosecutors “imposed a traumatic, unconstitutional abuse on people and told them you can’t talk to your colleagues, you can’t talk to your friends.”<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-defour-4" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[4]</a></dd></dl>During the show, O'Keefe also called the Government Accountability Board "corrupt" and called the investigation "spying."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-defour-4" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[4]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6;">WCFG Lawsuits Against John Doe Fail in Court</h3>O'Keefe and WCFG filed several lawsuits seeking to end the John Doe probe. On February 10, 2014, they <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://media.jrn.com/documents/johndoelawsuit.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 16px; background-image: url(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Icons-mini-file_acrobat.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">filed a suit</a> with the U.S. District Court in Milwaukee claiming that "the probe violates their rights to free speech, free assembly and equal protection under the law" and seeking "to block prosecutors from continuing the John Doe probe, relieve O'Keefe and the Wisconsin Club for Growth from having to cooperate with it, and order prosecutors to pay them compensatory damages for violating their constitutional rights."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a> On May 30, 2014, O'Keefe and WCFG filed a suit in the Waukesha County Circuit Court seeking to remove the Government Accountability Board, Wisconsin's elections and ethics agency, from the John Doe case.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[6]</a>On September 24, 2014, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the lawsuit to be thrown out, declaring that federal Judge Rudolph Randa never should have taken the case in the first place.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[7]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">Ties to Right-Wing Groups</h2><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6;">Ties to the Koch Brothers</h3>According to the Washington Post:<dl style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); line-height: 22.4px;"><dd style="margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;">"Early in his libertarian days, O’Keefe became friendly with the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Koch_brothers" title="Koch brothers" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Koch brothers</a>, with whom he has joined in many battles, mainly through independent groups that the courts have empowered to raise unlimited money, often without having to identify their donors."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-recall_sharpens-8" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[8]</a></dd></dl>More recently, O'Keefe was listed as a presenter at the June 2010 <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Koch_network" title="Koch network" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Koch network</a> meeting in Aspen, Colorado. He sits on the board of the Koch's <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Institute_for_Humane_Studies" title="Institute for Humane Studies" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Institute for Humane Studies</a> (IHS) and was formerly on the board of directors of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Cato_Institute" title="Cato Institute" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Cato Institute</a>, a Koch-founded libertarian think tank..<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-past_experience-9" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[9]</a> SAM's internship recruitment page was connected to Koch Industries through the Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow Program. The program was administered through the IHS and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/State_Policy_Network" title="State Policy Network" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">State Policy Network</a> and featured on the IHS website.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-Anatomy-10" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[10]</a>O'Keefe previously worked for Citizens for Congressional Reform, a project of David Koch's <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy" title="Citizens for a Sound Economy" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Citizens for a Sound Economy</a> (the predecessor to <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Americans_for_Prosperity" title="Americans for Prosperity" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Americans for Prosperity</a>). He has also been featured at events funded by David Koch's <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Americans_for_Prosperity" title="Americans for Prosperity" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Americans for Prosperity</a> group.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[11]</a>According to reporting by the Center for Media and Democracy, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Wisconsin_Club_for_Growth" title="Wisconsin Club for Growth" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Wisconsin Club for Growth</a>, for which O'Keefe is a board member, "took in funds from some of the top Republican donors and Koch-connected dark money conduits in the country," including the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Center_to_Protect_Patient_Rights" title="Center to Protect Patient Rights" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Center to Protect Patient Rights</a> and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Wellspring_Committee" title="Wellspring Committee" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Wellspring Committee</a>, as part of a "dark money web" funding at least $9.1 million in spending in 2011 and 2012 recall elections in Wisconsin.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-new_john_doe-12" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[12]</a>O'Keefe also appears to have ties going back decades to other individuals who have been close to the Kochs, such as <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Edward_H.Crane" title="Edward H. Crane" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Edward H. Crane</a>. O'Keefe's website states, for example, that in 1981, "<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Joseph_McCarthy&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Joseph McCarthy (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Senator McCarthy</a> invited Ed Crane and Eric to dine with him in the Senate dining room, where the trio discussed the situation with political speech and regulation, among other things."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-about_eric-13" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[13]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6;">Wisconsin Club for Growth</h3>O'Keefe is on the Board of Directors and is chair of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Wisconsin_Club_for_Growth" title="Wisconsin Club for Growth" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Wisconsin Club for Growth</a> (WCFG). O'Keefe was also on the board of the national <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Club_for_Growth" title="Club for Growth" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Club for Growth</a> organization in 2007.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-past_experience-9" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[9]</a>WCFG has funneled millions of dollars to other right-wing advocacy groups, many of which have spent large sums on political ads. In 2011 and 2012, WCFG "spent more than $9.1 million during the [Wisconsin] recalls, one of the biggest sources of “issue ad” funding during that period" even though the group spent only $100,000 directly, according to Express Milwaukee.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-million_dollar-14" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[14]</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-WPRecall-15" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[15]</a>In 2011 and 2012, donations from WCFG have provided almost the entire budget of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Citizens_for_a_Strong_America" title="Citizens for a Strong America" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Citizens for a Strong America</a>, which in turn funded conservative organizations including the anti-gay Wisconsin Family Action, anti-abortion Wisconsin Right to Life, and the Healthcare Compact Alliance--whose parent organization, Competitive Governance Action,<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-16" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[16]</a> included Eric O'Keefe on its board of directors.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-17" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[17]</a>In 2011, WCFG also provided about half the budget for the pro-business Jobs First Coalition, which in turn transferred $245,000 to a group called the American Federation for Children (AFC). AFC reported spending $1.1 million supporting Gov. Scott Walker during his recall, in addition to $1.3 million supporting Wisconsin Republican state senators being recalled in 2011.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-new_john_doe-12" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[12]</a> In 2012, WCFG donated $250,000 directly to AFC.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-2012_990-18" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[18]</a>Wisconsin Club for Growth was one of 29 right-wing groups (including nonprofits, political vendors and party committees) that has reportedly been subpoenaed as a part of a "<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/John_Doe" title="John Doe" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">John Doe</a>" investigation into possible campaign finance violations during Wisconsin's 2011 and 2012 elections, according to the Wall Street Journal.<h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6;">Sam Adams Alliance</h3>O'Keefe founded the Sam Adams Alliance (SAM) and served as chairman and CEO. According to O'Keefe's website, SAM was intended to be a right wing source of support for freedom of speech and discussion of political issues, training citizens to be activists and bloggers. The organization was active from 2007 to 2011.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-19" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[19]</a> The development of SAM led to the foundations of the tea party movement, allowing activists like <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_Odom" title="Eric Odom" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Eric Odom</a> the opportunity to develop websites and social media as a organizational platform. Odom was SAM's new media director before he branched out on his own.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-Anatomy-10" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[10]</a>According to the State Policy Network's (SPN) website, SAM received funding from SPN and was listed in their network of state think tanks. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-20" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[20]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6;">The Franklin Center</h3>In 2009, under O'Keefe's leadership the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Sam_Adams_Alliance" title="Sam Adams Alliance" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Sam Adams Alliance</a> helped launch the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Franklin_Center_for_Government_and_Public_Integrity" title="Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity</a>, and provided the new organization with "seed money," according to the National Journal.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-21" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[21]</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-22" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[22]</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-23" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[23]</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-24" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[24]</a>The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that in “its first year, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Franklin_Center" title="Franklin Center" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Franklin Center</a> had a $2.9 million budget, much of it from the libertarian Sam Adams Alliance.” <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-25" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[25]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6;">Project Veritas</h3>In 2015, the Center for Media and Democracy (which publishes SourceWatch) discovered tax filings showing that Eric O'Keefe made a $50,000 donation to <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Project_Veritas" title="Project Veritas" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Project Veritas</a> in 2013. Project Veritas is a group affiliated with <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/James_O%27Keefe" title="James O'Keefe" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">James O'Keefe</a>, known for a series of deceptive videos attacking targets like <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Planned_Parenthood" title="Planned Parenthood" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Planned Parenthood</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/ACORN" title="ACORN" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">ACORN</a>, a community organizing group. In early 2014, Project Veritas published a video it had recorded of an enebriated <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mike_Ellis&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Mike Ellis (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Mike Ellis</a> (R-Neenah), then President of the Wisconsin State Senate, discussing the possibility of "setting up an illegal political action committee to attack his Democratic opponent."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-26" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[26]</a> Ellis later speculated that WCFG was behind the sting.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-27" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[27]</a>When called by CMD and asked about the $50,000 donation, Eric O'Keefe said "I didn't give that in 2013," then ended the call.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-money_trail-28" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[28]</a> A copy of the relevant section of the tax filing is available <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://prwatch.org/news/2015/01/12714/eric-okeefe-james-okeefe-mike-ellis" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">here.</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">Background</h2>According to his personal website, O'Keefe is originally from Grosse Pointe, Michigan. He briefly worked at Detroit Broach and Machine and was a member of the United Steelworkers of America Local 7489.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-about_eric-13" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[13]</a>He lives in Spring Green, Wisconsin with his wife, Leslie Graves, who is president of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Lucy_Burns_Institute" title="Lucy Burns Institute" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Lucy Burns Institute</a>.<h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6;">Libertarian Party</h3>O'Keefe became involved with the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Libertarian_Party" title="Libertarian Party" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Libertarian Party</a> in the mid-1970s and was elected to the Libertarian National Committee in 1979. In 1980, he served as National Field Coordinator for the Libertarian presidential campaign,<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-about_eric-13" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[13]</a> in which <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/David_Koch" title="David Koch" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">David Koch</a> was the vice presidential candidate, and was elected National Director of the Libertarian Party.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-speech_raid-29" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[29]</a> According to O'Keefe's website, he left the Libertarian Party in 1983.In the 1980s, O'Keefe was involved with the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/National_Taxpayers_Union" title="National Taxpayers Union" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">National Taxpayers Union</a>. In 1988, he joined the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Cato_Institute" title="Cato Institute" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Cato Institute</a> board of directors.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-about_eric-13" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[13]</a> In 1991, O'Keefe formed <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/U.S.Term_Limits" title="U.S. Term Limits" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">U.S. Term Limits</a> to push for legislation limiting congressional term limits across the US. As described by O'Keefe's website, the group was involved in "major innovation" related to political advertising.<dl style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); line-height: 22.4px;"><dd style="margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;">"U.S. Term Limits also implemented a major innovation in political communication by creating Americans for Limited Terms to run aggressive pre-election issue advertising. The complex new laws of 1974 and the rewrite by the Supreme Court deterred participation in politics, as it was intended to do.</dd></dl><dl style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); line-height: 22.4px;"><dd style="margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;">"However nothing in the law, the Buckley decision, or subsequent decisions precluded advertising to promote issue positions, even if that advertising might well influence voters, and therefore elections. So Eric recommended that friends of U.S. Term Limits set up a new entity, to limit exposure in the event of the F.E.C. complaints and possible other litigation we expected to meet for promoting our political views."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-about_eric-13" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[13]</a></dd></dl>Since the 1990s, O'Keefe has been involved in a number of right-wing political organizations engaged on topics such as fighting campaign finance reform, opposing the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/PPACA" title="PPACA" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Affordable Care Act</a>, and supporting Wisconsin Gov. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Scott_Walker" title="Scott Walker" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Scott Walker</a>.<h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">Affiliations</h2>As of June 2014:<ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" color="color" rgb="rgb" line-height="line-height" px="px" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Wisconsin_Club_for_Growth" title="Wisconsin Club for Growth" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Wisconsin Club for Growth</a>, director</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Sam_Adams_Alliance" title="Sam Adams Alliance" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Sam Adams Alliance</a>, founder and past chairman. Later operating as <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Competitive_Governance_Institute&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Competitive Governance Institute (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Competitive Governance Institute</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Competitive_Governance_Action&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Competitive Governance Action (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Competitive Governance Action</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Franklin_Center_for_Government_and_Public_Integrity" title="Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity</a>, founder</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/National_Taxpayers_Union" title="National Taxpayers Union" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">National Taxpayers Union</a>, founder</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Cato_Institute" title="Cato Institute" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Cato Institute</a>, former board member</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/U.S._Term_Limits" title="U.S. Term Limits" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">U.S. Term Limits</a>, founder</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Limited_Terms&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Americans for Limited Terms (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Americans for Limited Terms</a>, president (1996-2000)</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Institute_for_Humane_Studies" title="Institute for Humane Studies" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Institute for Humane Studies</a>, former board member<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-past_experience-9" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[9]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Majority" title="American Majority" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">American Majority</a>, a Tea Party group that trains right-wing candidates to run for office; co-founder<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-WPRecall-15" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[15]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Center_for_Competitive_Politics" title="Center for Competitive Politics" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Center for Competitive Politics</a>, a legal organization that opposes campaign finance regulations; founding board member<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-30" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[30]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Campaign_for_Primary_Accountability&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Campaign for Primary Accountability (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Campaign for Primary Accountability</a>, a super PAC that funds opposition to incumbent members of Congress; co-founder.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-WPRecall-15" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[15]</a> O'Keefe reportedly donated $100,000 to the group.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-31" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[31]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Citizens_for_Self-Governance" title="Citizens for Self-Governance" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Citizens for Self-Governance</a>, co-founder and board member</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Health_Care_Compact" title="Health Care Compact" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Health Care Compact Alliance</a>, chair.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-32" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[32]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Citizens_in_Charge" title="Citizens in Charge" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Citizens in Charge</a>, board member<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-past_experience-9" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[9]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Legislation_Education_Action_Drive" title="Legislation Education Action Drive" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Legislation Education Action Drive</a>, president</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_Congressional_Reform&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Citizens for Congressional Reform (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Citizens for Congressional Reform</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity_Wisconsin&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Americans for Prosperity Wisconsin (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Americans for Prosperity Wisconsin</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Majority" title="American Majority" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">American Majority</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Education_Action_Group&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Education Action Group (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Education Action Group</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Tea_Party_Patriots" title="Tea Party Patriots" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Tea Party Patriots</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bartley_Institute&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Bartley Institute (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Bartley Institute</a>, former board member</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Independent_Thought&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Center for Independent Thought (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Center for Independent Thought</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Parents_in_Charge_Foundation" title="Parents in Charge Foundation" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Parents in Charge Foundation</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Legislative_Education_Action_Drive&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Legislative Education Action Drive (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Legislative Education Action Drive</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Concerned_Citizens_of_Iowa_County&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Concerned Citizens of Iowa County (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Concerned Citizens of Iowa County</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Competitive_Governance_Institute&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Competitive Governance Institute (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Competitive Governance Institute</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Competitive_Governance_Action&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Competitive Governance Action (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Competitive Governance Action</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Competitive_Thought&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Center for Competitive Thought (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Center for Competitive Thought</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Health_Care_Compact_Alliance&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Health Care Compact Alliance (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Health Care Compact Alliance</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Hancock_Committee_for_the_States&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="John Hancock Committee for the States (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">John Hancock Committee for the States</a>, later <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Citizens_for_Self-Governance" title="Citizens for Self-Governance" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Citizens for Self-Governance</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=CSG_Action&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="CSG Action (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">CSG Action</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Has ties to the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Lucy_Burns_Institute" title="Lucy Burns Institute" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Lucy Burns Institute</a>, official sponsor of Ballotpedia and Judgepedia. His wife is the Institute's president<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-33" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[33]</a>and the organization has received funds from SAM<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-LBI-34" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[34]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Has ties to <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rachel%27s_Vineyard&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rachel's Vineyard (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Rachel's Vineyard</a>," an "abortion recovery" group, through his wife, who has been involved in managing the group's publicity <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-LBI-34" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[34]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Author of "Who Rules America: The People Versus the Political Class," which argues for term limits.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-35" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[35]</a></li></ul><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">Articles and resources</h2><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6;">Related PRWatch articles</h3><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" color="color" rgb="rgb" line-height="line-height" px="px" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Brendan Fischer, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/06/12509/walker-john-doe-dark-money" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Was John Doe Raid Led by Republicans?</a>, PrWatch, June 12, 2014.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/02/12383/wisconsin-club-growth-makes-false-claims-federal-court" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Wisconsin Club for Growth Makes False Claims to Federal Court</a>, PrWatch press release, February 11, 2014.</li></ul><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6;">Related SourceWatch articles</h3><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" color="color" rgb="rgb" line-height="line-height" px="px" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Sam_Adams_Alliance" title="Sam Adams Alliance" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Sam Adams Alliance</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Lucy_Burns_Institute" title="Lucy Burns Institute" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Lucy Burns Institute</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Leslie_Graves" title="Leslie Graves" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Leslie Graves</a></li></ul><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6;">References</h3><div class="references-small" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(37, 37, 37);"><ol class="references" style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li id="cite_note-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-1" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Mary Spicuzza, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/john-doe-targets-sue-wisconsin-election-officials-in-waukesha-county/article_62fad641-1daa-58ed-b5f9-1a8a76b58f1b.html" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">John Doe targets sue Wisconsin election officials in Waukesha County</a>," Wisconsin State Journal, May 30, 2014. Accessed June 16, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-2" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Wall Street Journal editorial board, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304799404579155953286552832" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Wisconsin Political Speech Raid</a>, Nov. 18, 2013, Wall Street Journal.</li><li id="cite_note-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-3" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Mary Bottari, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/11/12317/heart-darkness-criminal-investigation-dark-money-spending-underway-wisconsin" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Heart of Darkness: Criminal Investigation of WI Recall $</a>, prwatch.org, Nov. 25, 2013</li><li id="cite_note-defour-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-defour_4-0" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up to:4.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-defour_4-1" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.1</a> Matthew DeFour, "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/eric-o-keefe-compares-john-doe-subpoena-targets-to-rape/article_1184498c-5e46-5eae-b3c2-033d74d900ca.html" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Eric O'Keefe compares John Doe subpoena targets to rape victims</a>," Wisconsin State Journal, October 3, 2014. Accessed October 30, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-5" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Patrick Marley and Jason Stein, "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/wisconsin-club-for-growth-sues-to-shut-down-john-doe-investigation-b99202093z1-244738571.html" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Wisconsin Club for Growth sues to shut down John Doe investigation</a>," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 10, 2014. Accessed June 16, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-6" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Jason Stein and Bill Glauber, "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/club-for-growth-eric-okeefe-sue-to-halt-john-doe-probe-b99280973z1-261250591.html" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Club for Growth sues to force GAB out of Doe probe</a>," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 30, 2014. Accessed June 16, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-7" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Jason Stein, Daniel Bice, and Patrick Marley, "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/johndoe25-b99358722z1-276976981.html" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Federal court overturns Doe ruling, sends it back to state judges</a>," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 24, 2014. Accessed September 30, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-recall_sharpens-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-recall_sharpens_8-0" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Marc Fischer, "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/wisconsin-gov-scott-walkers-recall-sharpens-fight-over-money-in-politics/2012/03/22/gIQAbUHDaS_story.html" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s recall: Big money fuels small-government fight</a>," Washington Post, March 25, 2012. Accessed June 12, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-past_experience-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-past_experience_9-0" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up to:9.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-past_experience_9-1" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">9.1</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-past_experience_9-2" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">9.2</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-past_experience_9-3" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">9.3</a> Eric O'Keefe, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.eric-okeefe.com/past-experience/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Past Experience</a>, personal website, accessed June 12, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-Anatomy-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-Anatomy_10-0" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up to:10.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-Anatomy_10-1" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">10.1</a> Alex Brant-Zawadzki and Dawn Teo, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380662.html" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Anatomy of the Tea Party Movement: Sam Adams Alliance</a>, Huffington Post, Dec. 11, 2009</li><li id="cite_note-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-11" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Alex Brant-Zawadzki and Dawn Teo, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/anatomy-of-the-tea-party_b_380662.html" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Anatomy of the Tea Party Movement: Sam Adams Alliance</a>, Huffington Post, Dec. 11, 2009.</li><li id="cite_note-new_john_doe-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-new_john_doe_12-0" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up to:12.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-new_john_doe_12-1" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">12.1</a> Brendan Fischer, "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/11/12309/new-john-doe-investigation-probes-dark-money-wisconsin-recall-elections-club" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">WI Club for Growth, Target of Walker Recall Probe, at Center of Dark Money Web</a>," Center for Media and Democracy, November 18, 2013. Accessed June 12, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-about_eric-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-about_eric_13-0" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up to:13.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-about_eric_13-1" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">13.1</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-about_eric_13-2" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">13.2</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-about_eric_13-3" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">13.3</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-about_eric_13-4" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">13.4</a> Eric O'Keefe, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.eric-okeefe.com/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">About Eric</a>, personal website. Accessed June 12, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-million_dollar-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-million_dollar_14-0" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Lisa Kaiser, "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://expressmilwaukee.com/article-permalink-23028.html" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Who Was Wisconsin Club for Growth's $1 Million Donor?</a>," Express Milwaukee, April 2, 2014. Accessed June 16, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-WPRecall-15" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-WPRecall_15-0" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up to:15.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-WPRecall_15-1" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">15.1</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-WPRecall_15-2" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">15.2</a> Marc Fisher, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/wisconsin-gov-scott-walkers-recall-sharpens-fight-over-money-in-politics/2012/03/22/gIQAbUHDaS_story_1.html" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s recall: Big money fuels small-government fight</a>, Washington Post, Mar 25, 2012</li><li id="cite_note-16" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-16" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Health Care Compact, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.healthcarecompact.org/about-us" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">About</a>, organizational website, accessed June 16, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-17" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-17" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Guidestar, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/20-5792365/competitive-governance-action.aspx" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Competitive Governance Action</a>, People and Governance, accessed June 16, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-2012_990-18" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-2012_990_18-0" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Wisconsin Club for Growth, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2012/113/723/2012-113723921-09e05b38-9O.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 16px; background: url(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Icons-mini-file_acrobat.gif) 100% 50% no-repeat;">2012 Form 990</a>, organizational IRS filing, November 14, 2013. Accessed June 16, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-19" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-19" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Eric O'Keefe, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.eric-okeefe.com/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">About Eric</a>, personal website, accessed Nov. 25, 2013</li><li id="cite_note-20" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-20" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> State Policy Network, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.spn.org/directory/sam-adams-alliance" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Same Adams Alliance</a>, Official website, accessed December 11, 2013.</li><li id="cite_note-21" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-21" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Press release, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sam-adams-alliance-launches-new-website-85374402.html" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Sam Adams Alliance Launches New Website</a></li><li id="cite_note-22" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-22" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Eric O’Keefe, Chairman and CEO, Sam Adams Alliance, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.libertyguide.com/resources/9-how-understanding-politics-helps-in-policy/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">How Understanding Politics Helps in Policy</a>, Liberty Guide, October 18, 2012.</li><li id="cite_note-23" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-23" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Julie Kosterlitz, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=90b97918-666c-4208-bc3a-03764ac32a47%40sessionmgr113&vid=1&hid=118&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWNvb2tpZSxpcCxjcGlkJmN1c3RpZD1zNzMyNDk2NCZzaXRlPWVob3N0LWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=46796077" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Conservative Watchdogs Awake</a>, National Journal, Dec. 12, 2009.</li><li id="cite_note-24" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-24" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Pew Research Center’s Journalism Project, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://features.journalism.org/non-profit-news/watchdogs/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Non-Profit News</a>, accessed December 11, 2013.</li><li id="cite_note-25" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-25" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Daniel Bice, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/noquarter/127152603.html" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Conservative outlets write all the news that fits their tilt</a> JSonline.com, August 7, 2011.</li><li id="cite_note-26" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-26" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Patrick Marley and Daniel Bice, "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/secret-recording-gops-mike-ellis-talked-of-illegal-fundraising-b99244443z1-254597101.html" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">GOP's Mike Ellis caught on recording talking of illegal fundraising</a>," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 9, 2014. Accessed January 28, 2015.</li><li id="cite_note-27" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-27" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Wisconsin Eye, "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pErCF5W2UWY" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Newsmakers: Exit Interview with Sen. Mike Ellis</a>," YouTube, April 12, 2014. Accessed January 28, 2015.</li><li id="cite_note-money_trail-28" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-money_trail_28-0" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Mary Bottari, "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2015/01/12714/eric-okeefe-james-okeefe-mike-ellis" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Money Trail Revealed: Did Eric O’Keefe Pay James O’Keefe for Hatchet Job on GOP Senate President?</a>," Center for Media and Democracy, PR Watch, January 27, 2015. Accessed January 28, 2015.</li><li id="cite_note-speech_raid-29" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-speech_raid_29-0" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304799404579155953286552832" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Wisconsin Political Speech Raid</a>, Wall Street Journal, Nov. 18, 2013</li><li id="cite_note-30" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-30" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Center for Competitive Politics, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.campaignfreedom.org/about/board-of-directors/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Board of Directors</a>, organizational website, accessed June 12, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-31" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-31" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Paul Kane, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/one-super-pac-takes-aim-at-incumbents-of-any-party/2012/03/07/gIQAhOfwxR_story.html" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">One super PAC takes aim at incumbents of any party</a>, Washington Post, Mar. 7, 2012</li><li id="cite_note-32" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-32" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Health Care Compact Alliance website, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://healthcarecompact.com/about-us" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">"About Us"</a> page, accessed Apr. 12, 2011.</li><li id="cite_note-33" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-33" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Lucy Burns Institute, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.lucyburns.org/about/our-staff/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Our Staff</a>, organizational website, accessed June 12, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-LBI-34" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-LBI_34-0" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up to:34.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-LBI_34-1" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">34.1</a> Lucy Burns Institute, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.lucyburns.org/about/our-story/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Our Story</a>, organizational website, accessed June 12, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-35" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-35" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up↑</a> Eric O'Keefe, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.eric-okeefe.com/publications/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Publications</a>, personal website, accessed June 12, 2014</li></ol></div>------older srcwtch:

Eric O'Keefe is the founder, chairman and CEO of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Sam_Adams_Alliance" title="Sam Adams Alliance">Sam Adams Alliance</a> (SAM) and former chairman of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Americans_for_Limited_Government" title="Americans for Limited Government">Americans for Limited Government</a>.

<h2>Contents</h2>

[<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#" class="internal" id="togglelink">hide</a>] </div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#Ties_to_Right-Wing_Groups">1 Ties to Right-Wing Groups</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#Other_Affiliations">2 Other Affiliations</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#Articles_and_resources">3 Articles and resources</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#References">3.1 References</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#Related_SourceWatch_articles">3.2 Related SourceWatch articles</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#External_articles">3.3 External articles</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

</ul>

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

<h2>Ties to Right-Wing Groups</h2>

O'Keefe is the CEO of SAM. O'Keefe has been featured at events funded by David Koch's Americans for Prosperity (AFP) group which is heavily involved in supporting right-wing politicians with independent expenditures and other assistance that stretches the limits of legality. O'Keefe is a right-wing political operative that has deep ties to the Koch brothers. He helped launch the American Majority Tea Party group which trains right-wing candidates to run for office. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Club for Growth Wisconsin, which ran divisive ads in support of Governor Scott Walker's radical overhaul of collective bargaining rights for Wisconsin workers. He has also served on the board of Koch's Institute for Humane Studies, the Center for Competitive Politics, and chairs the Health Care Compact Alliance.

"O'Keefe is a right-wing political operative that has deep ties to the Koch brothers."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-LBI-0">[1]</a> He sits on the board of the Koch's <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Institute_for_Humane_Studies" title="Institute for Humane Studies">Institute for Humane Studies</a>, and has been featured at several events funded by David Koch's <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Americans_for_Prosperity" title="Americans for Prosperity">Americans for Prosperity</a> (AFP) group. He also sits on the Board of Directors for <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin" title="Club for Growth Wisconsin">Club for Growth Wisconsin</a>, the group behind "divisive ads in support of Governor Scott Walker's radical overhaul of collective bargaining rights for Wisconsin workers" and for the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Center_for_Competitive_Politics" title="Center for Competitive Politics">Center for Competitive Politics</a>[coors].<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-LBI-0">[1]</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-1">[2]</a>

O'Keefe also chairs the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Health_Care_Compact" title="Health Care Compact">Health Care Compact Alliance</a>.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-2">[3]</a>

<h2>Other Affiliations</h2>

<ul>

<li>Board of Directors, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Citizens_in_Charge" title="Citizens in Charge">Citizens in Charge</a>, an Initiative and Referendum advocacy group.</li>

<li>President, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Legislation_Education_Action_Drive" title="Legislation Education Action Drive">Legislation Education Action Drive</a>, a pro-voucher PAC[<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/SourceWatch:Citation_needed" title="SourceWatch:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]</li>

<li>Longtime Libertarian Party activist, along with his wife, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Leslie_Graves" title="Leslie Graves">Leslie Graves</a> (formerly known as Leslie Keys), and reportedly aligned with <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Ed_Crane" title="Ed Crane" class="mw-redirect">Ed Crane</a> through her ties to Update newsletter<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-LBI-0">[1]</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-3">[4]</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Lucy_Burns_Institute" title="Lucy Burns Institute">Lucy Burns Institute</a>, official sponsor of Ballotpedia and Judgepedia. His wife is president and the organization receives funds from SAM<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-LBI-0">[1]</a></li>

<li>Also connected to "<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rachel%27s_Vineyard&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rachel's Vineyard (page does not exist)">Rachel's Vineyard</a>," an "abortion recovery" group, through his wife, who has been involved in managing the group's publicity <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_note-LBI-0">[1]</a></li>

<li>Author of book that argues for term limits (entitled Who Rules America: The People versus the Political Class)</li>

</ul>

<h2>Articles and resources</h2>

<h3>References</h3>

<li id="cite_note-LBI-0">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-LBI_0-0">1.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-LBI_0-1">1.1</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-LBI_0-2">1.2</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-LBI_0-3">1.3</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-LBI_0-4">1.4</a> [Sara Jerving, <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/11/11791/lucy-burns-institute-publishers-ballotpedia-judgepedia-and-wikifoia-and-her-right">http://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/11/11791/lucy-burns-institute-publishers-ballotpedia-judgepedia-and-wikifoia-and-her-right</a> "Lucy Burns Institute (Publishers of Ballotpedia and Judgepedia) and Her Right-Wing Bedfellows"]</li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-1">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://samadamsalliance.org/about">"About"</a>, organizational website, accessed November 2012</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-2">↑</a> Health Care Compact Alliance website, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://healthcarecompact.com/about-us">"About Us"</a> page, accessed Apr. 12, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe#cite_ref-3">↑</a> The Libertarian Forum. Volume XVI, Number 6, July 1982. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://mises.org/journals/lf/1982/1982_07.pdf">"Double Victory for Agression"</a>, from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.mises.org/">"Ludwig von Mise Institute"</a>, organizational website, accessed November 2012</li>

</ol>

</div>

<h3>Related SourceWatch articles</h3>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Sam_Adams_Alliance" title="Sam Adams Alliance">Sam Adams Alliance</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Lucy_Burns_Institute" title="Lucy Burns Institute">Lucy Burns Institute</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Leslie_Graves" title="Leslie Graves">Leslie Graves</a></li>

</ul>

<h3>External articles</h3>

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===

bs

Eric was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, in the 1950s. He was politically interested from an early age, and in the late 1960s, he began to follow political developments through magazines and the Wall Street Journal. In 1976, he attended a speech in Detroit by economist Milton Friedman. It happened to be the day that Friedman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics.

From late 1973 to early 1976, Eric worked running drill presses at Detroit Broach and Machine where he was a member of the United Steelworkers of America, Local 7489.

Eric’s direct political activities began in 1976 with a contribution to the Libertarian Party presidential campaign of Roger MacBride. Eric read about the sweeping regulations of campaign activities based on the 1974 Federal Election Campaign Act amendments, which were sold as a response to Watergate.  Their actual intent, and the result, was to handicap challengers and therefore entrench incumbents.  Many aspects of the law were ruled unconstitutional in the 1976 Buckley v. Valeo decision, but unfortunately the Supreme Court decided to rewrite the law rather than reject it.  The plaintiffs in that case were Conservative Senator James Buckley of New York State, former Senator and presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, and the Libertarian Party, with Edward H. Crane III as chairman.  Crane was active in the presentation of the case, and keen to the new law’s ability to cripple dissenting political views.

In 1979, Eric was elected to the Libertarian National Committee, where Ed Crane served.  Crane recruited David Koch as the vice-presidential candidate to minimize the damage from the contribution limits imposed in the F.E.C.A. amendments. In 1980, Eric worked full-time in the Libertarian presidential campaign, first as a volunteer finishing the petition drives in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia, then as National Field Coordinator from the Washington, D.C. headquarters. In late 1980, Eric was elected National Director of the Libertarian Party.

In 1981, the Libertarian Party endured an audit from the Federal Election Commission, which involved two full-time auditors spending several days looking over the Libertarian Party’s records. They did not find any problems.  In this time period Senator McCarthy invited Ed Crane and Eric to dine with him in the Senate dining room, where the trio discussed the situation with political speech and regulation, among other things.

Eric left Libertarian Party politics for good in 1983 after a year studying the history of politics and parties from the 1770s to the 1920s.  Regulations in the Progressive Era crippled third parties and gutted the power of political party organizations.  As G. William Domhoff told his left-wing audience in a 1974 Ramparts article, the Democratic Party label was up for grabs.  He recommended that communists and socialists run as Democrats.  State governments, not party organizations, controlled the labels.  The same logic applied to libertarians, or people of any beliefs.  So subsequently Eric’s strategic advice to donors and others has always recommended focusing on issues, issue organizations, or support or opposition for particular candidates.  The party organizations could no longer hold their own candidates accountable, so the role must be undertaken by others.

While Eric spent most of the 1980s alternately studying political history or trading options, various political projects attracted his engagement, including promoting a balanced budget amendment with the National Taxpayers Union.   In 1988, O’Keefe joined the board of directors of the Cato Institute.  He joined strategy discussions and sent memos to influential people arguing both against third party efforts, and in favor of participating through issue groups rather than through Republican or Democratic party organizations.

Political party operations are generally controlled by incumbents, but who holds incumbents accountable?  Without independent platforms, no one has the infrastructure to challenge or criticize incumbents.  And most districts for Congress as well as state legislatures are effectively one-party districts.  That means that voters have no choice in most elections – unless there are independent groups willing to back challengers in primary elections.

Meanwhile, Cato President Ed Crane suggested that Eric get involved in promoting congressional term limits.  His suggestion led Howie Rich and Eric to form U.S. Term Limits, with Crane on the board, at the end of 1991.  U.S. Terms Limits then executed a plan based on an ambitious strategy memo Eric authored, calling for a blitz of initiatives in a number of states so we could allow voters to circumvent the opposition of incumbent politicians.  U.S. Terms Limits helped organizations in 23 states put congressional term limit initiatives in front of voters, and they embraced the approach, passing them by sweeping margins.  The New Hampshire legislature joined them.

But the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5 to 4 decision in May 1995 ruled that voters could not impose limits on the terms of their own congressional delegations; congressional limits in 23 states were thereby nullified.  Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a searing but scholarly dissent which captured the spirit of America’s founders.

Term limits did remain in effect on fifteen state legislatures and additional governors and other officeholders. U.S. Term Limits also implemented a major innovation in political communication by creating Americans for Limited Terms to run aggressive pre-election issue advertising.  The complex new laws of 1974 and the rewrite by the Supreme Court deterred participation in politics, as it was intended to do.

However nothing in the law, the Buckley decision, or subsequent decisions precluded advertising to promote issue positions, even if that advertising might well influence voters, and therefore elections. So Eric recommended that friends of U.S. Term Limits set up a new entity, to limit exposure in the event of the F.E.C. complaints and possible other litigation we expected to meet for promoting our political views.   Eric helped raise and spend about $1.4 million on ads critical of various Democratic incumbents.  Most notably, $300,000 was spent criticizing House Speaker Tom Foley of Spokane, Washington for suing to overturn the term limits law voters in his state had approved in 1992.

Americans for Limited Terms’ television ads showed a tear rolling down the cheek of the George Washington face on an image of Mount Rushmore.  Foley lost by less than two percentage points, becoming the first Speaker to lose reelection since the Civil War. Eric subscribed to the Spokane Spokesman Review that year, and had many articles taped up to the wall of his office. While some left-wing advocates for speech regulation claimed ALT’s ads were illegal, Eric  was surprised when not one single complaint was filed with the F.E.C.  Tom Foley was a constitutional attorney and recognized that those involved with ALT were acting within their rights.

ALT proved that there was much more room for political debate than others had thought, and 1996 saw a wave of issue ads from groups of all kinds, invigorating political discourse in America.  It also greatly upset incumbent politicians, who began working toward the crackdown which became the McCain-Feingold bill.

But meanwhile, after the term limits defeat before the Supreme Court, Eric tried other efforts to promote term limits in 1996 and 1998.  One of those efforts was a modest campaign in Wisconsin which drew an attack from a politician, and a judge who actually ordered stations not to air perfectly legal issue ads.   At the time, Eric was president of Americans for Limited Terms, and he was subpoenaed to appear before an attorney in Attorney General Jim Doyle’s office.  The state was pursuing a similar complaint against Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, which led to a state Supreme Court defeat for the state.

So the case against ALT was ended, though we ALT not recover $35,000 in legal expenses — which exceeded the cost of our modest campaign.  And of course ALT did not recover the opportunity to engage in pre-election speech which had been denied by a judge overeager to please a politician, and under-familiar with the laws of the land.

That situation is discussed in the article Morning at the Ministry of Speech, by Jonathan Rauch, which is available on-line. In 1999, Eric’s book Who Rules America was published, with praise from Eric’s ally Milton Friedman, the great economist and freedom advocate.  It has a chapter addressing the use of campaign finance regulations to stifle political dissent and entrench incumbent politicians.

After leftists operating from a base in large foundations succeeded in their multi-year, $300 million dollar campaign to impose McCain-Feingold speech regulations on America,  Eric joined an effort to create a new entity to focus on the protection of political speech, which became the Center for Competitive Politics, with former FEC chairman Brad Smith as chairman.  Eric was a founding board member and remains on the board of directors.  The Center has been involved in key cases involving political speech, in addition to providing testimony and commentary in states and Congress.  The Center filed influential briefs in the Citizens United case as well as the SpeechNow case, both of which were key in reopening the political process after several years under the McCain-Feingold constraints. After those two decisions, our system is more open for vigorous political debate than at any time since the imposition of the 1974 FECA amendments.

However there are many state regulators who oppose the freedom to debate, and who do not intend to respect or follow the law, and some of them work for the Government Accountability Board in Wisconsin.  After the Citizens United and SpeechNow decisions, the Government Accountability Board wrote new regulations in clear defiance of the court decisions.   The Wisconsin Club for Growth joined the liberal group One Wisconsin in suing against the regulations; the Government Accountability Board recognized its weak position, and negotiated more limited regulations with the parties, so we settled before trial.

Those regulations are still overly broad and likely unconstitutional, however Eric’s operations are compliant with even the questionable provisions of the regulations. In 2005, Americans for Limited Government started an effort to bring spending limit initiatives and eminent domain initiatives in front of millions of voters. This effort was organized by those who had run n the term limits operations in the 1990s.

The tax limitation and eminent domain initiatives did not meet with the same level of success, as union organizers had spread their method of “blocking,” where thuggish behavior on the street is used to impair the efforts of petitioners.  They also organized attacks in the media and in courtrooms.  They sued against nearly every effort, and kept initiates off the ballot in several states, while sinking support in others.  Not content with preventing votes, the Attorney General of Oklahoma even indicted three of the organizers of the effort.

By then Eric had launched the Sam Adams Alliance, which employed one of the targets, Paul Jacob.  Paul had a potential ten-year prison sentence hanging over his head, but was patiently defiant during the 17 months of purgatory, before the state dropped the case and mailed a check for $143,000 to our attorneys in Kansas City.

[BS

<div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); direction: ltr; line-height: 19.2px;">Susan Johnson is the president of <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/National_Voter_Outreach" title="National Voter Outreach" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">National Voter Outreach</a>.

Johnson is one of the <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Oklahoma_3" title="Oklahoma 3" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Oklahoma 3</a>. Johnson, <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Paul_Jacob" title="Paul Jacob" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Paul Jacob</a> and <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Rick_Carpenter" title="Rick Carpenter" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Rick Carpenter</a> were criminally charged by <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Drew_Edmondson" title="Drew Edmondson" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Drew Edmondson</a>, the Democratic attorney general of<a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Oklahoma" title="Oklahoma" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Oklahoma</a> in 2007 for allegedly violating the state's <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Residency_requirement" title="Residency requirement" class="mw-redirect" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">residency requirement</a>. The charges were denied and, as the result of a federal lawsuit, <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Yes_on_Term_Limits_v._Savage" title="Yes on Term Limits v. Savage" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Yes on Term Limits v. Savage</a>, the <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Tenth_Circuit" title="United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit" class="mw-redirect" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Tenth Circuit</a> ruled unanimously on December 18, 2008 that the law under which Edmondson was criminally prosecuting the trio was unconstitutional. Edmondson asked the court to re-consider; on January 21, the court said it would not do so. Edmondson then on January 22 dropped his prosecution, saying that the 1969 law under which he was prosecuting them was "no longer enforceable."<a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_note-1" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[1]</a>

In the eighteen months that elapsed between the time that Edmondson filed and then dropped the charges, his attempt to jail the Oklahoma 3 for ten years led the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Journal" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Wall Street Journal" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); background: none;">Wall Street Journal</a> to compare the government in Oklahoma to that of Pakistan, and led Steve Forbes of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbes" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Forbes" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); background: none;">Forbes</a> to compare the government of Oklahoma to the government of North Korea.<a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_note-2" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[2]</a><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_note-3" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[3]</a>

<h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Background of Oklahoma 3</h2>

On October 2, 2007, Johnson, <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Paul_Jacob" title="Paul Jacob" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Paul Jacob</a> and <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Rick_Carpenter" title="Rick Carpenter" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Rick Carpenter</a> were indicted in <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Oklahoma" title="Oklahoma" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Oklahoma</a> based on allegations about their role in the 2005 <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Petition_drive" title="Petition drive" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">petition drive</a> for an <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Oklahoma_Stop_Overspending_(2006)" title="Oklahoma Stop Overspending (2006)" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Oklahoma TABOR initiative</a> that, had the drive succeeded, would have placed a <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Taxpayer_Bill_of_Rights" title="Taxpayer Bill of Rights" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Taxpayer Bill of Rights</a> initiative on the November 2006 general election ballot in that state.

Jacob, Johnson, and Carpenter were indicted on felony charges of "conspiracy to defraud the state." Carpenter was charged with a second felony, that of violating the state's petition act. According to an AP report, "The indictment accuses the three of 'willfully, corruptly, deceitfully, fraudulently and feloniously' conspiring with each other to defraud the state through the collection of signatures on the TABOR petition."<a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_note-4" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[4]</a>

In a prepared statement released upon indictment, Paul Jacob wrote that the prosecution was "not about the law, but rather 100 percent politically motivated. This is politics – very ugly politics." As well as challenging the motives of the prosecution, Jacob noted the many troubles of the constitutionality of the laws upon which the prosecution is based, adding that "constitutional or not, we obeyed the statute."<a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_note-5" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[5]</a>

The multicounty grand jury indictment<a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_note-6" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[6]</a> was unsealed on Tuesday, October 2, 2007. The defendants were taken out of court shackled to each other with handcuffs and leg-irons, and released later in the day. Paul Jacob was widely quoted as saying that the charges "will not stand."<a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_note-7" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[7]</a>

<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-style: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Grand jury indictment dismissed</h3>

In mid-November 2007, the multi-county grand jury indictment was dismissed, apparently because of flaws in its composition. It is expected that the charges will be refiled directly by <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Oklahoma_Attorney_General-Drew_Edmondson" title="Oklahoma Attorney General - Drew Edmondson" class="mw-redirect" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson</a>.<a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_note-8" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[8]</a>

<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-style: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Support of Susan Johnson</h3>

R-<a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Randy_Brogdon,Oklahoma_Senator&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Randy Brogdon, Oklahoma Senator (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Sen. Randy Brogdon</a> released a public statement on October 5, 2007 supporting Johnson and <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Paul_Jacob" title="Paul Jacob" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Paul Jacob</a>, saying "It appears <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Oklahoma_Attorney_General-_Drew_Edmondson" title="Oklahoma Attorney General - Drew Edmondson" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Drew Edmondson</a> is more concerned with protecting his own political power than he is with preserving, protecting, and defending the right of Oklahomans to free speech,” Brogdon said. “This is nothing less than an attack on our Republican form of government.”<a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_note-9" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[9]</a><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_note-10" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[10]</a><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_note-11" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[11]</a><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_note-12" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[12]</a><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_note-13" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[13]</a>

<h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">External links</h2>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a target="_blank" class="external text" href="http://www.directdemocracy.com/" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) 100% 50% no-repeat;">National Voter Outreach</a> website</li>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a target="_blank" class="external text" href="http://www.directdemocracy.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=4&Itemid=26" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) 100% 50% no-repeat;">Selection of NVO articles</a> about the 2005 <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Taxpayer_Bill_of_Rights" title="Taxpayer Bill of Rights" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Taxpayer Bill of Rights</a> petition in <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Oklahoma" title="Oklahoma" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Oklahoma</a>.</li>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a target="_blank" class="external text" href="http://prowlingowl.com/Comments/submitted/OKPoliticalPrisoner.cfm" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) 100% 50% no-repeat;">Has Oklahoma's Attorney General gone overboard?</a></li>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a target="_blank" class="external text" href="http://www.politicalresources.com/Library/Ballot.htm" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) 100% 50% no-repeat;">Validating Signatures</a> Article by Rick Arnold and Susan Johnson in 1997 "Campaigns and Elections" magazine</li>

</ul>

<h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">References:</h2>

<li id="cite_note-1" style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_ref-1" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style=" top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> <a target="_blank" class="external text" href="http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=298&articleid=20090122_298_0_OKLAHO827281" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) 100% 50% no-repeat;">Associated Press, "State won't appeal initiative petition ruling," January 22, 2009</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-2" style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_ref-2" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style=" top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> <a target="_blank" class="external text" href="http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010882" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) 100% 50% no-repeat;">Wall St. Journal, "Oklahoma's Most Wanted; The latest thing in political felonies: a petition drive"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-3" style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_ref-3" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style=" top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> <a target="_blank" class="external text" href="http://members.forbes.com/forbes/2007/1126/023.html" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) 100% 50% no-repeat;">Forbes magazine, "Has North Korea Annexed Oklahoma?"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-4" style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_ref-4" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style=" top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> <a target="_blank" class="external text" href="http://www.kotv.com/news/local/story/?id=137199" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) 100% 50% no-repeat;">"Petition Backers Indicted On Felony Charges"</a> Associated Press, 10/2/2007</li>

<li id="cite_note-5" style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_ref-5" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style=" top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> <a target="_blank" class="external text" href="http://www.pauljacob.com/?p=6" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) 100% 50% no-repeat;">"Statement of Paul Jacob"</a>, PaulJacob.com, 10/2/2007</li>

<li id="cite_note-6" style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_ref-6" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style=" top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> <a target="_blank" class="external text" href="http://www.ballotpedia.org/wiki/files/Jacob-Indictment.pdf" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAAAnOwc2AAAATklEQVR4XmXKQQqAMAwF0X/7XsSz9CSKiyIIFRFcjMmihmiGbB5fqDCaQJ4j46pzYLUWe+cXZ6OVBhTS0srY2Njp/+XxXXZOLu6EUWAOPX1vnwTBe6qQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) 100% 50% no-repeat;">Case#CF-2007-4713, Indictment</a> PDF</li>

<li id="cite_note-7" style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_ref-7" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style=" top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> <a target="_blank" class="external text" href="http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=071002_1__OKLAH61362" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) 100% 50% no-repeat;">"TABOR petition backers indicted"</a>, Tulsa World, October 2, 2007</li>

<li id="cite_note-8" style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_ref-8" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style=" top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> <a target="_blank" class="external text" href="http://www.ballot-access.org/2007/11/22/oklahoma-indictment-dismissed-but-re-indictment-likely/" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) 100% 50% no-repeat;">Oklahoma indictment dismissed but re-indictment likely</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-9" style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_ref-9" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style=" top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> <a target="_blank" class="external text" href="http://www.oksenate.gov/news/press_releases/press_releases_2007/pr20071004a.html" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) 100% 50% no-repeat;">Sen. Brogdon says Oklahomans Should be Dismayed by Politically Motivated Indictment of Citizen Activists, Oklahoma State Senate, Oct 5th, 2007</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-10" style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_ref-10" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style=" top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> <a target="_blank" class="external text" href="http://www.tuccille.com/blog/2007/10/payback-for-activism.html" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) 100% 50% no-repeat;">Payback for Activism</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-11" style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_ref-11" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style=" top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> <a target="_blank" class="external text" href="http://www.badcopnews.com/2007/10/03/petition-backers-busted-on-unconstitutional-oklahoma-in-effort-spearheaded-by-state-attorney-general-drew-edmondson/" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) 100% 50% no-repeat;">Unconstitutional Oklahoma law</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-12" style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_ref-12" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style=" top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> <a target="_blank" class="external text" href="http://www.bobwaldrop.net/wordpress/?p=49" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) 100% 50% no-repeat;">Who is next on the state's hit list?</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-13" style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Susan_Johnson#cite_ref-13" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style=" top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> <a target="_blank" class="external text" href="http://samadamsalliance.org/publication/id.2871/pub_detail.asp" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVElEQVR42n3PgQkAIAhEUXdqJ3dqJ3e6IoTPUSQcgj4EQ5IlUiLE0Jil3PECXhcHGBhZ8kg4hwxAu3MZeCGeyFnAXp4hqNQPnt7QL0nADpD6wHccLvnAKksq8iiaAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) 100% 50% no-repeat;">Outrageous political ploy to quell citizen rights</a></li>

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wiki

In October 2007, Edmondson indicted term limits and initiative rights activist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Jacob" title="Paul Jacob" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); text-decoration: none; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Paul Jacob</a> and two others on the grounds that they had illegally used out-of-state petitioners to collect signatures on a ballot initiative.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Edmondson#cite_note-5" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a> On December 18, 2008 the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenth_Circuit_Court_of_Appeals" title="Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals" class="mw-redirect" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); text-decoration: none; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals</a> struck down the underlying Oklahoma law that barred out of state petition circulators, noting that it was in violation of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution" title="First Amendment to the United States Constitution" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); text-decoration: none; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">First Amendment</a>. Edmondson appealed the decision on behalf of Secretary of State <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Savage" title="Susan Savage" class="mw-redirect" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); text-decoration: none; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Susan Savage</a>. On January 21, 2009 the Tenth Circuit court denied the state's appeal, effectively ending the case.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Edmondson#cite_note-6" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[6]</a> The Attorney General's office dismissed the charges against Jacob and the other defendants, with Edmondson saying "The statute under which these defendants were charged has been declared unconstitutional, and the appellate process is complete...The statute is no longer enforceable."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Edmondson#cite_note-7" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[7]</a> on January 22, 2009. The indictment of Jacob drew criticism for being politically motivated. 2008 independent presidential candidate <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Nader" title="Ralph Nader" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); text-decoration: none; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Ralph Nader</a> referred to the laws such as the one Jacob was charged with breaking as “Jim Crow laws,” adding, “We’ve seen this before against African Americans.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Edmondson#cite_note-8" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[8]</a> 404 hmmn] The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Journal" title="Wall Street Journal" class="mw-redirect" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Wall Street Journal</a> editorialized against the prosecution twice, calling it "bizarre",<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Edmondson#cite_note-9" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[9]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Edmondson#cite_note-10" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[10]</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Forbes" title="Steve Forbes" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); text-decoration: none; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Steve Forbes</a> asked the question "Has North Korea Annexed Oklahoma?".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Edmondson#cite_note-11" style=" text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[11]</a>

The Sam Adams Alliance was active from 2007 through 2011, encouraging citizen engagement in politics, with specialties in studying and training citizen activists and bloggers. In 2010, the Health Care Compact Alliance was launched with Eric’s support to promote a key governance reform that is nearly opposite of the PPACA, popularly known as Obamacare.

Obamacare centralizes decision making with bureaucrats working for the federal government; the Health Care Compact disperses decision making and dollars to the member states.  While eight states have passed the Compact, it requires congressional approval so remains only a possible solution to the governance crisis in healthcare.

In 2011, Eric joined as co-chair of the Campaign for Primary Accountability, a nonpartisan SuperPAC created to highlight the essential role of primary elections in our political process.  The PAC participated heavily in nine congressional primaries, in all cases supporting the challenger to a veteran incumbent.  The challengers prevailed in four of those races.   More importantly, CPA elevated the insight that primary elections are the only way to hold an incumbent accountable in most districts.

The use of “primary” as an active verb became much more common because of CPA’s efforts, and the word is that concern about primary elections is now a fact of life on Capitol Hill. Meanwhile in 2004 Eric encouraged people involved with the Club for Growth to support similar efforts at the state level, as part of an accountability infrastructure. Later Eric served on the national Club board for two years.  The national Club charted state chapters in seven or eight states before losing enthusiasm for the project.  The chapter in Pennsylvania achieved early success, but later idled.  Kansas has a Club which had a notably influential year in 2012.

The Wisconsin Club focused on select state legislative elections over the years, and also highlighted issues in periods with Supreme Court elections.  Then the Club found itself in the middle of the intense political conflict in Wisconsin, and stepped up to play a leading role in communicating with Wisconsin voters in 2011.  That action began when 70,000 protesters were marching around the Capitol; it continued through a close Supreme Court election battle, and culminated by putting information in front of voters to counter a massive effort run by national union bosses to undermine Republican senators facing recall elections. Defending the legislators who backed Gov. Walker’s reforms became Eric’s main objective early in 2011, and he turned away from much of his national political work.

The Wisconsin Club for Growth was the major platform for Eric’s efforts to raise money and fund communications with voters in the most focused and effective fashion.  These activities were conducted by meticulous operatives with many years of experience, with the review of the Club’s approach by skilled counsel familiar with the state of the law, and with Eric’s oversight and overall responsibility for the operation.  The Wisconsin Club for Growth did not advertise in connection with the recall effort against Gov. Walker in 2012.

After the Wisconsin successes, Eric turned to national political organizing through Citizens for Self-Governance, which has been encouraging the development of Wisconsin-style infrastructure in other states, and is also encouraging legislators across the country to call for a Convention of the States to address the major problems Congress will not address. In 2013, Citizens for Self-Governance assisted a number of groups in filing a class action lawsuit against the IRS for illegal and harassing behavior in the handling and processing of applications for non-profit status.

bs

Eric was the founding board member of the term limits advocacy group, U.S. Term Limits. He drafted the plan for a term limits sweep across the country in 1992 and 1994. By 1995, voters in twenty-three states had limited the terms of their U.S. congressional delegations through the ballot initiative process.

In the case of U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, five Supreme Court Justices stopped this movement. The Justices asserted that states did not have the right to determine the conditions under which their representatives in Congress should serve. Term limits governing state legislatures remain in force. As a result, fifteen states currently have term limits on their legislative representatives.

<h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; line-height: 1.3; margin: 22px 0px; color: rgb(20, 20, 18);">Americans for Limited Terms Lawsuit</h3>

O’Keefe served as president of Americans for Limited Terms (ALT) from 1996 to 2000. In congressional election cycles in 1996 and 1998, Americans for Limited Terms ran issue ads in a number of congressional districts, advising voters about the positions on term limits held by their congressional candidates.

Over the course of this campaign O’Keefe and the group came under fire and were eventually taken to court. O’Keefe and ALT prevailed in the case. Regarding why he and ALT had been sued and the reason issue ads were so effective, O’Keefe said, “There’s an effort by incumbents to clamp down on issue ads because it’s the only area of campaign spending that’s tilted against incumbents. In my view it’s among the most important campaign spending because it’s an outlet for dissenting voices. It’s extremely vital in democracy.”

<li style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Board of Directors of <a title="WI Club" href="http://wicfg.com/" style=" box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(188, 54, 10); text-decoration: none;">Wisconsin Club for Growth</a>, a state-wide network of thousands of pro-growth Wisconsinites, from all walks of life, who believe that prosperity and opportunity come through economic freedom.</li>

<li style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Board of Directors of <a title="Citizens for Self-Governance" href="http://selfgovern.com/about/" style=" box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(188, 54, 10); text-decoration: none;">Citizens for Self-Governance</a>, an organization dedicated to advancing self-governance.</li>

<li style=" box-sizing: border-box;">Board of Directors of <a title="Citizens in Charge" href="http://www.citizensincharge.org/" style=" box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(188, 54, 10); text-decoration: none;">Citizens in Charge</a>, an organization working to protect and expand ballot initiative rights.</li>

<li style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Board of Directors of the <a title="Center for Competitive Politics" href="http://www.campaignfreedom.org/about/" style=" box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(188, 54, 10); text-decoration: none;">Center for Competitive Politics</a>, a group that works to promote and defend First Amendment rights to free political speech, assembly, and petition.</li>

<li style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Former member of the Board of Directors of the <a title="Institute for Humane Studies" href="http://www.theihs.org/" style=" box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(188, 54, 10); text-decoration: none;">Institute for Humane Studies.</a>Associated with George Mason University, IHS supports the achievement of a freer society by discovering and facilitating the development of talented students, scholars, and other intellectuals.</li>

<li style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Co-founder of the <a title="CPA" href="http://www.campaign4primaryaccountability.org/" style=" box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(188, 54, 10); text-decoration: none;">Campaign for Primary Accountability</a>, a nonpartisan Super PAC dedicated to breaking the cycle of incumbency by targeting Democrats and Republicans in congressional primary races.</li>

<li style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Past chairman of the Sam Adams Alliance, a former organization that cultivated citizen activism.</li>

<li style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Former member of the board of directors of the national Club for Growth</li>

<li style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Former member of the board of directors of the Cato Institute</li>

</ul>

In early 2008, O’Keefe argued that a commission recently created in Wisconsin to monitor judicial elections was itself partisan, and therefore unreliable as a judicial watchdog group: <a href="http://gazettextra.com/news/2008/jan/09/new-committee-will-shield-judges-their-records/" style=" box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(188, 54, 10); text-decoration: none;">“New committee will shield judges from their records”</a>

==

ERIC O'KEEFE SAM ADAMS

also <a href="http://www.campaignfreedom.org/about/board-of-directors/">http://www.campaignfreedom.org/about/board-of-directors/</a> that tried to debunk monsanto Fox jane akre story

<a href="http://www.cato.org/people/edward-crane" target="_blank">Edward H. Crane</a>

President, Cato Institute

Allison R. Hayward

Vice President of Policy, Center for Competitive Politics

Eric O’Keefe

Chairman and CEO, Sam Adams Alliance

Terry Michael

Director, Washington Center for Politics and Journalism

Bradley A. Smith

Chairman and Co-Founder, Center for Competitive Politics Blackmore-Naught Professor of Law, Capital University Law School

John Snider

Shareholder, Financial Controllers, Inc.

</div>

----

koch nexus: <a href="http://thedemocraticdaily.com/2011/02/24/kozy-in-the-koch-kaffeeklatsch/">http://thedemocraticdaily.com/2011/02/24/kozy-in-the-koch-kaffeeklatsch/</a>

---

The Club for Growth Wisconsin (CFGW) is a state arm of the far <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Right-wing" title="Right-wing">right-wing</a> national issue ad group, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth" title="Club for Growth">Club for Growth</a>, which is funded by the wealthiest Americans <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-0" title="">[1]</a> and supports Republican candidates for office. The Green Bay Press-Gazette, in a March 9, 2011 article, noted that CFGW has ties to New York real estate developer <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Howard_S._Rich" title="Howard S. Rich">Howard S. "Howie" Rich</a>, who has put millions into Republican and libertarian causes.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-1" title="">[2]</a>

<h2>Contents</h2>

[<a href="javascript:toggleToc()" class="internal" id="togglelink">hide</a>]</div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#Gov._Scott_Walker.27s_Budget_Bill">1 Gov. Scott Walker's Budget Bill</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#Endorsements">1.1 Endorsements</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#Associations">1.2 Associations</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#Other_Resources">1.3 Other Resources</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#Staff.2C_board.2C_personnel_and_advisers">2 Staff, board, personnel and advisers</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#Wisconsin_Supreme_Court_electioneering">3 Wisconsin Supreme Court electioneering</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#Budget_Issue_ads">4 Budget Issue ads</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#Previous_negative_ads_.26_electioneering">5 Previous negative ads & electioneering</a></li>

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

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#Pro-corporate.2C_anti-worker">6.1 Pro-corporate, anti-worker</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#Climate_change_denial">7 Climate change denial</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#Backing_.22tort_reform.22">8 Backing "tort reform"</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#Sourcewatch_resources">9 Sourcewatch resources</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#External_resources">10 External resources</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#Contact">11 Contact</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#References">12 References</a></li>

</ul>

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

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Gov. Scott Walker's Budget Bill</h2>

On Feb. 14, three days after Gov. Scott Walker introduced his budget bill, the Wisconsin Club for Growth (WCFG) aired <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-2" title="">[3]</a> a commercial that accused state workers of not having to sacrifice like private sector workers. In an effort to divide the house of labor, the commercial urged private sector workers to support Walker’s budget repair bill and make state workers “pay their fair share.” When the commercial failed to dissuade protesters from going to the capitol, WCFG along with Americans for Prosperity, a group funded by the Koch brothers, organized a pro-Walker rally on Feb. 19. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-3" title="">[4]</a>

WCFG criticized protesters for taking off of work because private sector workers “would like [public workers] to contribute more towards their healthcare and pensions,” <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-4" title="">[5]</a> even though state workers said they were willing to do so if they could keep their collect bargaining rights. According to the Nation’s John Nichols, WCFG is “an organization funded by extremely wealthy conservatives to carry out their budget-stripping goals [and] has been a key player in Republican Governor Scott Walker's move to take out the state's organized workers.” <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-5" title="">[6]</a> In addition to this, WCFG, in a press release, targeted eight Republican State Senators that did not initially commit to Walker’s budget repair bill.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-6" title="">[7]</a> Club For Growth, according to Think Progress, funded several “hard-hitting attack ads” against candidates who supported raising taxes on the rich or “have done anything to hold powerful corporations accountable.” <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-Lee_Fang-7" title="">[8]</a>

<h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="Endorsements" id="Endorsements">Endorsements</a></h3>

<a name="Endorsements" id="Endorsements">WCFG also released four other videos promoting Walker’s budget reforms and endorsing Supreme Court Justice David Prosser and Senator Alberta Darling. During the April 5 Wisconsin elections, WCFG provided over $400,000 for Prosser’s campaign.</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-8" title="">[9]</a> Prosser’s conservative law history ensured that Walker’s budget bill would clear the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In March, when recall efforts achieved over 30,000 signatures for recall, WCFG released another commercial praising Darling for “keeping Wisconsin open for business without raising taxes.” <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-9" title="">[10]</a>

<h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Associations</h3>

Almost all of the board members of Club for Growth have extensive ties to Wall Street and Energy companies. Media Matters lists several donations and connections CFG board members have with the Koch Brothers’ charities, Exxon Mobile and other right leaning organizations. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-10" title="">[11]</a> According to ThinkProgress, CFG collected funds from “employees of J.P. Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, while being buoyed by large donations like a $1.4 million contribution from investor Stephen Jacksons of Stephens Groups Inc.” Furthermore R.J. Johnson, one of WCFG’s main organizers, was a strategist for Walker’s campaign. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-Lee_Fang-7" title="">[8]</a>

RINO: Club for Growth does not just back just any GOP candidate, Rep. Steve Latourette (R-OH) referred to the group as the “Spanish Inquisition” after their campaigns ousted moderates from the GOP. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-Lee_Fang-7" title="">[8]</a> In May 2010, the group “organize the GOP uprising in Utah … that toppled three-term Sen. Robert F. Bennett (R), and …Florida Gov. Charlie Crist out of the GOP as well.” <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-Lee_Fang-7" title="">[8]</a> With strong ties to Wall Street and the Tea Party, Club for Growth has already endorsed over 20 candidates and provided funds and organizers for their campaigns. Their goal, according to the Washington Post, is “to capitalize on the Republican-dominated "tea party" movement that has coalesced in opposition to President Obama's health-care overhaul, the Wall Street bailouts and other fiscal concerns.” <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-11" title="">[12]</a> “They just like to take money from anonymous donors, fire shots at folks without any accountability,” said Mike Huckabee to Fox News. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-12" title="">[13]</a>

Some Republicans have accused Club for Growth of backing right leaning candidates that lose to democrats; however, the indorsed candidates have already begun the work they were hired to do. Candidates such as State Rep. Tim Scott (R-SC),Mike Lee (R-UT), Trey Gowdy (R-SC), Sharron Angle (R-NV), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Mike Pompeo (R-KS) are supporting big businesses such as BP and “rushing to defend the rights of corporation over the American victims of the [BP oil disaster].” <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-Lee_Fang-7" title="">[8]</a>

<h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Other Resources</h3>

Club For Growth Commercials: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/clubforgrowthwi?feature=mhum#p/u/0/im9DfnOW8XM" class="external free" title="http://www.youtube.com/user/clubforgrowthwi?feature=mhum#p/u/0/im9DfnOW8XM" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/user/clubforgrowthwi?feature=mhum#p/u/0/im9DfnOW8XM</a>

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="Staff.2C_board.2C_personnel_and_advisers" id="Staff.2C_board.2C_personnel_and_advisers">Staff, board, personnel and advisers</a></h2>

<a name="Staff.2C_board.2C_personnel_and_advisers" id="Staff.2C_board.2C_personnel_and_advisers"> </a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=R.J._Johnson" title="R.J. Johnson">R.J. Johnson</a>, a former political strategist for Wisconsin's embattled Governor <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Scott_Walker" title="Scott Walker">Scott Walker</a>, is a key adviser to the Club for Growth Wisconsin.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-13" title="">[14]</a> In the 2008 tax year, R.J. Johnson's eponymous consulting business made $33,791 on activities performed for the Club for Growth Wisconsin.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-14" title="">[15]</a> In 2010, Walker paid RJ Johnson & Associates, Inc. $30,000 for "Consulting Fees- General."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-15" title="">[16]</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-16" title="">[17]</a>

<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe" title="Eric O'Keefe">Eric O'Keefe</a> is also a board member of the CFGW. O'Keefe is part of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Brothers" title="Koch Brothers">Koch Brothers</a>' political network, having attended the Kochs' 2010 Aspen strategy soiree.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-17" title="">[18]</a> He is also the chair and CEO of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sam_Adams_Alliance" title="Sam Adams Alliance">Sam Adams Alliance</a>, and a board member of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Institute_for_Humane_Studies" title="Institute for Humane Studies">Institute for Humane Studies</a>, which has taken millions from the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Brothers" title="Koch Brothers">Kochs</a> and for which billionaire <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Charles_Koch" title="Charles Koch" class="mw-redirect">Charles Koch</a> serves as chairman. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-18" title="">[19]</a>

The Club for Growth Wisconsin webpage has a "Congressional Corner with Congressman <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Paul_Ryan" title="Paul Ryan">Paul Ryan</a>" featuring links to various statements made by him 2007-2010.

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Wisconsin Supreme Court electioneering</h2>

Club for Growth Wisconsin spent more than $1 million on outside electioneering activities in the 2007 and 2008 state Supreme Court races and the 2008 and 2010 fall elections.

The Club for Growth Wisconsin was the first outside special interest group to promote a candidate in the 2011 Wisconsin Supreme Court race, spending at least $321,000 on the race, and out-spending all candidates combined, and accounting for 70% of all spending in the race. The group has hired the Republican polling firm, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Public_Opinion_Strategies" title="Public Opinion Strategies">Public Opinion Strategies</a>, to health defeat efforts to obtain universal health insurance in Wisconsin.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-19" title="">[20]</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-20" title="">[21]</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-21" title="">[22]</a>

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Budget Issue ads</h2>

During the February, 2011 battle in Wisconsin over Republican Governor <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Scott_Walker" title="Scott Walker">Scott Walker</a>'s "budget repair bill, the Club for Growth Wisconsin sponsored a black-and-white television ad that featured working-class faces and superimposed newspaper headlines about the economic downturn which asserted that public employees have made no sacrifices while ordinary people have suffered substantially. The ad cited concessions by workers at Harley-Davidson, Mercury Marine and Sub-Zero while somber music played in the background. The narrator intoned: "But state workers haven't had to sacrifice. They pay next to nothing for their pensions, and a fraction of their health care. It's not fair. Call your state legislator and tell them to vote for Gov. Walker's budget repair bill. It's time state employees paid their fair share, just like the rest of us."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-22" title="">[23]</a>

PolitiFact Wisconsin reported that "officials with the Club for Growth -- Deb Jordahl and R.J. Johnson -- told us the ad meant to highlight just two issues regarding state employee compensation: pension and health care payments.... The portion of health premiums paid by employees more than doubled under then-Gov. Jim Doyle, from 2.5 percent to 5.6 percent in 2011.... But the most notable change for state workers has come on pay.

"The Club for Growth ad dramatically highlights 'frozen wages' and 'pay cuts' accepted by unions at the private companies -- and then says 'state workers haven’t had to sacrifice.' In fact, state workers have taken a hit on wages -- in the form of furlough days.... Doyle also rescinded 2 percent raises for non-union employees in the 2007-2009 state budget.... Doyle also suspended merit awards in November 2008.... So state workers have in fact given up some pay, which is the definition of sacrifice."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-23" title="">[24]</a>

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that as of March 13, 2011, CFGW had spent $805,610 on broadcast TV ads over Wisconsin's budget fight.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-24" title="">[25]</a>

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Previous negative ads & electioneering</h2>

"Club for Growth Wisconsin spent an estimated $950,000 on negative broadcast advertising and other electioneering activities in the 2007 and 2008 Wisconsin Supreme Court races and the 2008 fall elections," according to Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. "The group sponsored a radio ad about three weeks before the November 2010 elections against Democrat Elmer Monk of Kimberly, who is running for the 1st Senate District open seat against Republican Frank Lasee. The ad criticized Monk for voting to raise property taxes as Kimberly school board member."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-25" title="">[26]</a>

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Issues</h2>

<h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Pro-corporate, anti-worker</h3>

The Club for Growth Wisconsin "seek[s] to extinguish the voice of public labor unions... because those unions... provide the most important bulwark of campaign-season defense via volunteers and dollars against the corporate interests' unimpeded domination over elections."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-26" title="">[27]</a> The Club for Growth Wisconsin's other efforts are aimed at helping corporations "avoid... their fair share of taxes, blocking minimum wage efforts and preventing any 'mandate' in environmental or workplace regulation they find inconvenient."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-27" title="">[28]</a>

The Club's overall strategies are aimed at splitting the middle and working classes by "pitting unionized workers against non-unionized workers, public-sector workers against nonpublic, older workers within sight of Medicare and Social Security against younger workers who don't believe these programs will be there for them, and the poor against the working middle class," according to former labor secretary Robert Reich. Reich said, "By splitting working America along these lines, Republicans want Americans to believe that we can no longer afford to do what we need to do as a nation. They hope to deflect attention from the increasing share of total income and wealth going to the richest 1 percent while the jobs and wages of everyone else languish." <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-28" title="">[29]</a>

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Climate change denial</h2>

The Club for Growth Wisconsin calls global warming/climate change a "fraud." <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-29" title="">[30]</a>

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Backing "tort reform"</h2>

The Club for Growth Wisconsin supports and works to advance <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tort_reform" title="Tort reform">tort reform</a>,<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_note-30" title="">[31]</a> a "movement" propagated by companies and entire industries -- such as the tobacco and asbestos industries -- that are vulnerable to legal actions seeking damages for the impacts of their products. Proponents use the term "tort reform" to refer to legislative measures designed to limit the ability of individuals to sue companies and to restrict the amount of potential damages available to individuals who take legal actions against companies.

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Sourcewatch resources</h2>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth" title="Club for Growth">Club for Growth</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=R.J._Johnson" title="R.J. Johnson">R.J. Johnson</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O%27Keefe" title="Eric O'Keefe">Eric O'Keefe</a></li>

</ul>

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">External resources</h2>

<li>Organizational web site: <a href="http://wicfg.com/index.cfm" class="external free" title="http://wicfg.com/index.cfm" rel="nofollow">http://wicfg.com/index.cfm</a></li>

<li>Mary Bottari <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/03/10247/national-right-wing-spin-machine-gears-wisconsin" class="external text" title="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/03/10247/national-right-wing-spin-machine-gears-wisconsin" rel="nofollow">National Right-Wing Spin Machine Gears Up In Wisconsin</a>, PRWatch.org, March 3, 2011</li>

</ul>

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Contact</h2>

Wisconsin Club for Growth Inc.

1223 West Main Street, #304

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin 53590

Phone: (877) 707-0571

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">References</h2>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-0" title="">↑</a> Abe Sauer <a href="http://www.theawl.com/2011/03/a-blueprint-for-a-takeover-wisconsin-republicans-lied-while-the-kochs-schemed" class="external text" title="http://www.theawl.com/2011/03/a-blueprint-for-a-takeover-wisconsin-republicans-lied-while-the-kochs-schemed" rel="nofollow">A Blueprint for a Takeover: Wisconsin Republicans Lied While the Kochs Schemed</a>, The Awl, March 8, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-1" title="">↑</a> Steve Contorno <a href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20110309/GPG0101/103090600/Budget-battle-hits-airwaves-groups-spend-620-000-ads?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CGPG-News" class="external text" title="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20110309/GPG0101/103090600/Budget-battle-hits-airwaves-groups-spend-620-000-ads?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|GPG-News" rel="nofollow">Budget battle hits airwaves, groups spend $620,000 on ads</a>, Green Bay Press Gazette, March 9, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-2" title="">↑</a> Wisconsin Club for Growth <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/clubforgrowthwi?feature=mhum#p/u/4/yYEgoxdxzA0" class="external text" title="http://www.youtube.com/user/clubforgrowthwi?feature=mhum#p/u/4/yYEgoxdxzA0" rel="nofollow">Benefits</a> YouTube, Feb. 14, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-3" title="">↑</a> Ed Shultz <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXdBEXls1GU&feature=player_embedded#at=65" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXdBEXls1GU&feature=player_embedded#at=65" rel="nofollow">[1]</a> YouTube, Feb. 17, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-4"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-4" title="">↑</a> Club For Growth <a href="http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=9ff1c5493a88c6f1348cbf413&id=b3a0c866b6&e=d2cbc811e5" class="external text" title="http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=9ff1c5493a88c6f1348cbf413&id=b3a0c866b6&e=d2cbc811e5" rel="nofollow">Update</a> Facebook, Feb. 16, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-5"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-5" title="">↑</a> Ed Shultz <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXdBEXls1GU&feature=player_embedded#at=65" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXdBEXls1GU&feature=player_embedded#at=65" rel="nofollow">[2]</a> YouTube, Feb. 17, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-6"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-6" title="">↑</a> Club For Growth <a href="http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=9ff1c5493a88c6f1348cbf413&id=95934c3864&e=d2cbc811e5" class="external text" title="http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=9ff1c5493a88c6f1348cbf413&id=95934c3864&e=d2cbc811e5" rel="nofollow">Update</a> Facebook, Feb. 14, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-Lee_Fang-7">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-Lee_Fang_7-0" title="">8.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-Lee_Fang_7-1" title="">8.1</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-Lee_Fang_7-2" title="">8.2</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-Lee_Fang_7-3" title="">8.3</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-Lee_Fang_7-4" title="">8.4</a> .” Lee Fang <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2010/06/26/clubforgrowth-radical-sucess/" class="external text" title="http://thinkprogress.org/2010/06/26/clubforgrowth-radical-sucess/" rel="nofollow">Club for Growth Radical Success</a> Think Progress Editorials, Jun. 26, 2010</li>

<li id="cite_note-8"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-8" title="">↑</a> Ian Millhiser <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2011/04/04/koch-and-prosser/" class="external text" title="http://thinkprogress.org/2011/04/04/koch-and-prosser/" rel="nofollow">Leader of Koch Front Group is Behind Ads Supporting Wisconsin Justice David Prosser</a> Think Progress, Apr 4, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-9"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-9" title="">↑</a> Tom Tolan <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/121341633.html?page=16" class="external text" title="http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/121341633.html?page=16" rel="nofollow">Democrats confirm it: Pasch will run against Darling in recall</a> Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 5, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-10"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-10" title="">↑</a> Media Matters <a href="http://mediamattersaction.org/transparency/" class="external autonumber" title="http://mediamattersaction.org/transparency/" rel="nofollow">[3]</a> Conservative Transparency</li>

<li id="cite_note-11"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-11" title="">↑</a> Dan Eggen <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/19/AR2010051902754.html" class="external text" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/19/AR2010051902754.html" rel="nofollow">Club for Growth’s Electoral Tactics Causing Headaches for GOP</a> Washington Post, May 19, 2010.</li>

<li id="cite_note-12"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-12" title="">↑</a> Fox News <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312181,00.html" class="external text" title="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312181,00.html" rel="nofollow">Transcript: Mike Huckabee on ‘Fox News Sunday’</a> ‘Fox News Sunday’ Interview, Nov. 19, 2007</li>

<li id="cite_note-13"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-13" title="">↑</a> Don Walker <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/116671204.html" class="external text" title="http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/116671204.html" rel="nofollow">Wisconsin Club for Growth plans to stay active</a>, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 22, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-14"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-14" title="">↑</a> Club for Growth Wisconsin, United States Internal Revenue Service <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=File:Club_for_Growth_WI_2008_Tax_form_990.pdf" class="external text" title="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=File:Club_for_Growth_WI_2008_Tax_form_990.pdf" rel="nofollow">Club for Growth Wisconsin's 2008 Tax form 990</a> (pdf), accessed/uploaded to SourceWatch on March 17, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-15"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-15" title="">↑</a> Government Accountability Board <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/images/0/0a/Friends_of_Scott_Walker_Fall_Pre-Primary_2010.pdf" class="external text" title="http://www.sourcewatch.org/images/0/0a/Friends_of_Scott_Walker_Fall_Pre-Primary_2010.pdf" rel="nofollow">Friends of Scott Walker Fall Pre-Primary 2010 Report</a>, Campaign Finance Report, accessed/uploaded to Sourcewatch May 9, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-16"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-16" title="">↑</a> Government Accountability Board <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/images/9/9d/Friends_of_Scott_Walker_July_Continuing_2010.pdf" class="external text" title="http://www.sourcewatch.org/images/9/9d/Friends_of_Scott_Walker_July_Continuing_2010.pdf" rel="nofollow">Friends of Scott Walker July Continuing 2010 Report</a>, Campaign Finance Report, accessed/uploaded to Sourcewatch May 9, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-17"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-17" title="">↑</a> Little Sis <a href="http://littlesis.org/list/111/Koch_Network_Participants,Aspen_2010/pictures" class="external text" title="http://littlesis.org/list/111/Koch_Network_Participants,Aspen_2010/pictures" rel="nofollow">Koch Network Participants, Aspen 2010 photos</a>, accessed March 17, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-18"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-18" title="">↑</a> Abe Sauer <a href="http://www.theawl.com/2011/03/a-blueprint-for-a-takeover-wisconsin-republicans-lied-while-the-kochs-schemed" class="external text" title="http://www.theawl.com/2011/03/a-blueprint-for-a-takeover-wisconsin-republicans-lied-while-the-kochs-schemed" rel="nofollow">A Blueprint for a Takeover: Wisconsin Republicans Lied While the Kochs Schemed</a>, The Awl, March 8, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-19"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-19" title="">↑</a> Wisconsin Democracy Campaign <a href="http://www.wisdc.org/index.php?rw=cfg2011.php&CTGTZO=-480&CTGTZL=-480" class="external text" title="http://www.wisdc.org/index.php?rw=cfg2011.php&CTGTZO=-480&CTGTZL=-480" rel="nofollow">Hijacking Justice 2011 Club for Growth Wisconsin</a>, February 17, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-20"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-20" title="">↑</a> Brennan Center for Justice, New York University School of Law <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/special_interest_group_outspends_candidates_on_tv_in_wisconsin_judicial_ele/" class="external text" title="http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/special_interest_group_outspends_candidates_on_tv_in_wisconsin_judicial_ele/" rel="nofollow">Special Interest Group Outspends Candidates on TV in Wisconsin Judicial Election</a>, Press release, February 15, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-21"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-21" title="">↑</a> Gene Ulm <a href="http://www.wmc.org/PDFfiles/WIstatewideMemo_WMC-CFG_Aug17-07-FINAL.pdf" class="external text" title="http://www.wmc.org/PDFfiles/WIstatewideMemo_WMC-CFG_Aug17-07-FINAL.pdf" rel="nofollow">Confidential memorandum to Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Club for Growth - Wisconsin</a>, Public Opinion Strategies (polling firm), August 21, 2007</li>

<li id="cite_note-22"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-22" title="">↑</a> Paul Fanlund <a href="http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/madison_360/article_1e4e7a30-3dec-11e0-905e-001cc4c03286.html" class="external text" title="http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/madison_360/article_1e4e7a30-3dec-11e0-905e-001cc4c03286.html" rel="nofollow">Madison360: Why the revolt downtown is even bigger than it appears</a>, The (Madison, WI) Capitol Times, February 21, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-23"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-23" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/feb/18/club-growth/group-says-wisconsin-state-workers-havent-had-sacr/" class="external text" title="http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/feb/18/club-growth/group-says-wisconsin-state-workers-havent-had-sacr/" rel="nofollow">Group says Wisconsin state workers 'haven’t had to sacrifice'</a>, Journal Sentinel PolitiFact Wisconsin, February 18, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-24"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-24" title="">↑</a> Craig Gilbert <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/118019994.html?page=1" class="external text" title="http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/118019994.html?page=1" rel="nofollow">Budget fight TV ads top $3 million</a>, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, March 15, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-25"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-25" title="">↑</a> Wisconsin Democracy Campaign <a href="http://www.wisdc.org/index.php?rw=cfg2010.php&CTGTZO=-480&CTGTZL=-480" class="external text" title="http://www.wisdc.org/index.php?rw=cfg2010.php&CTGTZO=-480&CTGTZL=-480" rel="nofollow">Hijacking Campaign 2010 Club for Growth Wisconsin</a>, organization website, accessed May 9, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-26"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-26" title="">↑</a> Paul Fanlund <a href="http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/madison_360/article_1e4e7a30-3dec-11e0-905e-001cc4c03286.html" class="external text" title="http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/madison_360/article_1e4e7a30-3dec-11e0-905e-001cc4c03286.html" rel="nofollow">Madison360: Why the revolt downtown is even bigger than it appears</a>, The Capital Times Political Blog, February 21, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-28"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-28" title="">↑</a> Robert Reich <a href="http://robertreich.org/post/3353591266" class="external text" title="http://robertreich.org/post/3353591266" rel="nofollow">The Republican Strategy</a>, Robert Reich Blog, February 17, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-29"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-29" title="">↑</a> Club for Growth Wisconsin <a href="http://wicfg.com/index.cfm/m/6/s/39.cfm/story/179.cfm" class="external text" title="http://wicfg.com/index.cfm/m/6/s/39.cfm/story/179.cfm" rel="nofollow">Breaking News/Global Warming: a Fraud Running on Fumes</a>, article, October 28, 2009</li>

<li id="cite_note-30"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin#cite_ref-30" title="">↑</a> Club for Growth Wisconsin <a href="http://wicfg.com/index.cfm/m/4/s/9.cfm" class="external text" title="http://wicfg.com/index.cfm/m/4/s/9.cfm" rel="nofollow">Tort Reform</a>, organizational web site/position statement, undated, accessed March 17, 2011</li>

</ol>

<div id="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Stubs" title="Category:Stubs">Stubs</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Front_groups_portal" title="Category:Front groups portal">Front groups portal</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Front_groups" title="Category:Front groups">Front groups</a></div>

</div>

crooks and liars

Eric O'Keefe

Eric O'Keefe is <a href="http://www.eric-okeefe.com/">Chairman and CEO of the Sam Adams Alliance</a> and sits on the board of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth_Wisconsin">Wisconsin Club for Growth</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Institute_for_Humane_Studies">Institute for Humane Studies</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Competitive_Politics">Center for Competitive Politics</a>, and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Health_Care_Compact">Health Care Compact</a>. All of these are Koch-related and/or funded entities. O'Keefe also is connected to <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/texas-politics/leo-linbeck-jr/about/">Joe Ricketts and Houston building billionaire Leo Linbeck III</a>.

This is how pissant liars like O'Keefe get any traction at all. They get some funding from billionaires whose single focus is on taking over the whole damn country, work with a compliant corporate media to amplify without any actual verification what O'Keefe does, and so he gets to keep doing it over and over and over.

===<a href="http://www.muckety.com/Eric-OKeefe/209936.muckety">http://www.muckety.com/Eric-OKeefe/209936.muckety</a>http://www.muckety.com/Eric-OKeefe/209936.muckety?big=true
sean parnell, devos...

===

...Note particularly — in between the description of the fundamental betrayal of democratic process State Rep. Gordon Hintz outlines in entirely justifiable outrage — his references to Club For Growth, which he has “never heard of before.”

Which is as they want it to be. Let me give you some objective evidence:

Here’s the <a title="Eric O'Keefe listing in SourceWatch" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eric_O'Keefe" target="_blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: underline;">SourceWatch page on O’Keefe</a> (out of date):

Eric O’Keefe is the chairman of the Americans for Limited Government.

Board of Directors, Citizens in Charge, an Initiative and Referendum advocacy group.

President, Legislation Education Action Drive, voucher PAC.

Relationship to Kurt O’Keefe, petitioner of Michigan TABOR is unknown.

His address is same as that of “Rachel’s Vineyard,” an “abortion recovery” group.*

Author of book on term limits

Longtime Libertarian Party activist, reportedly aligned with Ed Crane. [1]

Howard Rich “and a rogue’s gallery of wealthy pals got buddy Eric O’Keefe ensconced as national director of the Libertarian Party until O’Keefe’s really ugly ouster at the national convention in 1981 or so, and they were set to get another of their cohorts elected party president until that plot unraveled on the convention floor in 1983. (If you’re willing to kill an hour, you’ll find the online archives of the Mises Institute fascinating at <a href="http://www.mises.org/" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" style=" font-weight: inherit; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: underline; background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245);">http://www.mises.org</a>. Under “Journals,” click “Libertarian Forum” and you’ll find pdfs of Libertarian Party newsletters dating from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, when the party partly collapsed, partly converged with the Republican Party. They read like today’s blogs, full of color and gossip and intrigue, and they chart the rising influence of Rich and his gaggle of trust-fund baby-boomers, sailing under the tutelage of Ed Crane.)”

</blockquote>

<p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">[* Considering that I was the only blogger who covered the "Rachel's Vineyard" story, I'm flattered they used my stuff, but t'would be nice to be sourced. Oh wait, I'm a BLOGGER, and, thus, unworthy of commentary or inclusion. S'okay: I'm used to being treated as a second class citizen, even though it's my 38th year as a writer and 35th as a professional. I guess writing for the Washington Post or the Kansas City Star or the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Herald-Examiner (back when Joe Farah was news editor) doesn't count. Fine. Onward.]

Eric O’Keefe’s ‘official’ photo

You could go to <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Eric_O'Keefe" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: underline;">Ballotpedia</a> to check him out, except, if you didn’t KNOW that Leslie Graves was Eric’s wife, you’d never know that he is being given deferential treatment … since Leslie Graves has run Ballotpedia from the beginning underthree different Fictitious Business Names: Citizens in Charge (<a href="http://hisvorpal.wordpress.com/2011/02/20/water-tea-or-koch/" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: underline;">Eric sits on the board, as noted in the last post</a>), Sam Adams Alliance (“<a href="http://www.samadamsalliance.org/about/our-board.aspx?member=eric-okeefe" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: underline;">Eric O’Keefe is chairman and CEO of the Sam Adams Alliance</a>“) and <a href="http://lburnsinstitute.org/events/lucy-burns-institute-is-the-new-sponsor-of-ballotpedia-and-judgepedia.html" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: underline;">now the “Lucy Burns Institute”</a>:

Leslie Graves, the president of the Lucy Burns Institute, worked as a part-time consultant to the Sam Adams Alliance from June 2008-May 2009 and assisted in a variety of ways with developing Ballotpedia, Judgepedia and Sunshine Review.

</blockquote>

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

</blockquote>

The Center for Competitive Politics? <a href="http://www.campaignfreedom.org/about_us/page/board-of-directors" target="_blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Here’s their Board of Directors</a>:

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Board of Directors

President, Cato Institute

Allison R. Hayward

Vice President of Policy, Center for Competitive Politics

Stephen M. Hoersting

Vice President and co-founder, Center for Competitive Politics

Sean Parnell

President, Center for Competitive Politics

Bradley A. Smith

Chairman and Co-Founder, Center for Competitive Politics Blackmore-Naught Professor of Law, Capital University Law School

John Snider

Shareholder, Financial Controllers, Inc.

</blockquote>

<a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/institute-for-humane-studies/" target="_blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) – Koch Industries Climate Denial Front Group</a>

<li style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/institute-for-humane-studies/#a0" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Read more about the Institute for Humane Studies</a></li>

<li style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/institute-for-humane-studies/#a1" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Find more recipients of Koch foundation money</a></li>

</ul>

</div>

The Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason Universityoffers scholarships and career training to libertarianstudents. Charles Koch is the <a title="IHS Chairman" href="http://theihs.org/ContentDetails.aspx?id=648#159" target="_blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Chairman of the IHS board of directors</a>.

In a recent article, Mother Jones called the Institute for Human Studies a “<a title="IHS haven for deniers" href="http://motherjones.com/environment/2009/12/climate-deniers-atlas-foundation?page=2" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline; background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245);">haven for climate change deniers.</a>” Several climate deniers have prominent positions at IHS, including:  <a title="IHS Robert Bradley" href="http://www.globalwarmingheartland.com/expert.cfm?expertId=178" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Robert Bradley,</a> member of the Academic Review Committee and <a title="IHS author of Climate Alarmism Reconsidered" href="http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/personfactsheet.php?id=337" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">author of Climate Alarmism Reconsidered (2003)</a>; and <a title="IHS Fred Singer" href="http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/personfactsheet.php?id=1" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Fred Singer</a>,  Research Professor at IHS.

A number of climate deniers are guest lecturers for IHS, such as <a title="IHS Bruce Yandle" href="http://www.theihs.org/PeopleDetails.aspx?id=860" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Bruce Yandle</a>, <a title="IHS Senior Associate" href="http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/personfactsheet.php?id=847" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Senior Associate</a> with Political Economy Research Center; and <a title="IHS Kenneth Green" href="http://www.theihs.org/PeopleDetails.aspx?id=916" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Kenneth Green</a>, <a title="IHS Resident Scholar" href="http://exxonsecrets.org/html/personfactsheet.php?id=511" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Resident Scholar</a> with American Enterprise Institute.

</div>

</blockquote>

They don’t call it the “Kochtopus” for nothing, kiddies. It’s MEANT to confuse you. But, like Theseus in the labyrinth, you can find the Minotaur and find your way out if you have a thread to lead you. In Wisconsin, the thread is named “Eric O’Keefe.”

It’s all so cozy. Eric is the “strategist” of <a href="http://mises.org/journals/lf/1983/1983_02.pdf" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">the old “Crane Machine”</a> that <a href="http://mises.org/journals/lf/1983/1983_09-10.pdf" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">walked out of the Libertarian Party en masse in 1983</a>. He was also <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.Term_Limits" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">a founding board member of US Term Limits</a>, and is acknowledged as the architect of their “term limits” ballot drives of the 1990s. Here, in his own words, from <a href="http://www.eric-okeefe.com/" target="_blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Eric O’Keefe dot com</a>:

Eric O’Keefe is chairman and CEO of Sam Adams Alliance (SAM), a Chicago‐based organization that promotes citizen activism and government accountability. Eric was a founding board member of U.S. Term Limits, host of the podcast series, Engaging Democracy; and author of the book Who Rules America about the Founders’ view of representative government and the case for term limits. When not promoting political reform, Eric is a private investor residing in rural Wisconsin with his wife Leslie Graves.

In the early 1990s Eric began U.S. Term Limits. Over the course of several years the group helped usher 23 states through the initiative process to limit the terms of their congressional delegation. These states were eventually thwarted by 5 Justices on the Supreme Court who ruled that Congress was exempt from term limits under the Constitution. O’Keefe often notes that politicians became less accountable and less responsible when state governments took over printing and distribution of ballots from private political parties. This resulted in lower turnover rates.

In 2008, Eric, working to advance limitations on the size and power of government, began advocating that Americans should adopt approaches to achieving accountability and limits on government by being involved in the primary process.

</blockquote>

The “tea parties” started at Eric’s doorstep as has been <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/searchS/?q=Alex+Brant-Zawadzki" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">reported on Huffington Post by Alex Brandt-Zawadsky and Dawn Te0 (among others)</a>; and the <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/2010/0915/What-is-the-tea-party-and-how-is-it-shaking-up-American-politics/(page)/2" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Sam Adams Alliance produced a widely-distributed “report” on the “tea party” that was widely quoted by the clueless media</a>:

More recently, the Sam Adams Alliance reports that significant numbers of newcomers to the tea party movement are <a href="http://www.samadamsalliance.org/research/next-wave.aspx" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">dropping their affiliation</a> with the GOP: Forty-seven percent changed their political affiliation to “Independent/unaffiliated,” 20 percent changed to “other,” 20 percent to “Tea Party,” and 13 percent to “Libertarian.” [<a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/2010/0915/What-is-the-tea-party-and-how-is-it-shaking-up-American-politics/(page)/2" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Christian Science Monitor, Sept. 15, 2010</a>]

</blockquote>

<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: inherit; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a title="One article amidst a plethora of reportage" href="http://thedemocraticdaily.com/2010/09/17/the-christian-science-merrimack-and-the-christian-science-monitor/" target="_blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">I have covered this at length as well</a>.

Let’s focus on Wisconsin, then, shall we? I mean, <a href="http://littlesis.org/person/74242/Eric_O'Keefe" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" font-weight: inherit; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Eric O’Keefe</a> is on the board of and a Director of the Wisconsin Club for Growth (<a href="http://littlesis.org/list/111/Koch_Network_Participants,Aspen_2010/pictures" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" font-weight: inherit; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">and was an attendee at the infamous </a><a href="http://littlesis.org/list/111/Koch_Network_Participants,Aspen_2010/pictures" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Koch brothers soirée in Aspen</a>, Colorado, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/us/politics/20koch.html?r=1&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1298379694-qn29P3MCFoRVkmwS/vBybw" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" font-weight: inherit; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">as reported in the </a><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/us/politics/20koch.html?r=1&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1298379694-qn29P3MCFoRVkmwS/vBybw" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</a>). <a href="http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/cnn-all-tea-party-all-time" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" font-weight: inherit; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">And he’s a featured speaker at Tea Party Events</a>.

<li style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.stopballotfraud.org/merchant/howie_rich/" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Chairman, Club for Growth, State Action: Howard Rich</a> (<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Howard_S.Rich" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">and see HERE</a>, and <a href="http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2006/900/135/2006-900135424-044d4bfc-9O.pdf" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">HERE</a>.)</li>

<li style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2008/113/723/2008-113723921-059f9a6a-9O.pdf" target="_blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Director, Club for Growth, Wisconsin: Eric O’Keefe</a> (one of only threeboard members in 2008, corrected 2-26)</li>

</ul>

<div style="font-weight: inherit; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">He still serves on the CFG Board of Directors, <a href="http://www.wicfg.com/index.cfm/m/10.cfm/story/220.cfm" target="_blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: underline;">as noted on Wisconsin  CFG’s  web site in September 2010</a>:</div>

<p style="border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 7px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Yesterday the Wisconsin Club for Growth won a huge victory for free and open political speech. A panel of retired judges agreed not to enforce their new rule prohibiting groups like ours from conducting issue advocacy which mentions the name of a candidate on the September or November ballot within 30 or 60 days of the election.

On August 2, 2010, the Wisconsin Club for Growth and the liberal One Wisconsin filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court Western District of Wisconsin, seeking a declaratory judgment and preliminary injunctive relief from Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (GAB) rule 1.28.

The stipulation means that the Government Accountability Board does not have the ability to regulate issue advocacy communications under Wisconsin’s campaign finance laws.

Club for Growth Board member Eric O’Keefe said, “Individuals and organizations need to be free to comment on public policy and the records of public officials, regardless of the time of year. That is not just our long-held position; it is the U.S. Supreme Court’s long-held position, applying the First Amendment.”

</blockquote>

<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: inherit; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: center; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[image]

<a href="http://www.stopballotfraud.org/merchant/howie_rich/" target="_blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Chairman of Club for Growth State Action</a>

This isn’t O’Keefe’s first dustup with the state for playing fast and loose with election law. From <a href="http://reason.com/archives/1999/05/29/a-morning-at-the-ministry-of-s" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">the incredibly ‘friendly’ piece in Reason Magazine</a> (<a href="http://24ahead.com/s/reason-magazine" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Koch money founded and supported Reason Foundation</a>, which publishes Reason.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Reason_Foundation" target="_blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">David Koch sits on the Foundation’s board of Trustees</a>):

<a href="http://reason.com/archives/1999/05/29/a-morning-at-the-ministry-of-s" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">A Morning at the Ministry of Speech</a>

<a href="http://reason.com/people/jonathan-rauch" rel="author" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Jonathan Rauch</a> | May 29, 1999

Early in the morning of Dec. 11, a few days before his 44th birthday, a political activist named Eric O’Keefe put on business trousers and a sports jacket, but decided not to wear a necktie. This was his small gesture of protest against the proceedings he was about to attend. He and his attorney breakfasted together, went over his testimony, and then drove to a state building in downtown Madison, Wis. In an undecorated and viewless conference room, O’Keefe swore an oath to tell the truth, and then submitted himself to 80 minutes of questioning by an assistant state attorney general who was seeking to determine whether O’Keefe was a lawbreaker. …

</div>

</blockquote>

<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: inherit; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">I’m only including the “pro” O’Keefe articles and citations written BY O’Keefe and his minions to let you know that I’m not making this stuff up. If you want to hear the alternate point of view, you’ll have to look it up on your own. The point being, if what they’re saying is this damning, consider what the actual state of things, unfiltered by the Kochtopus propaganda machine, actually looks like.

They DEPEND on running under the radar, and Eric O’Keefe is a case in point. How many political reporters in Wisconsin know who he is?

Last year, using the Citizens United decision, only the Wisconsin Club for Growth flouted the spirit of a public financing law in Wisconsin (<a href="http://www.piercecountyherald.com/event/article/id/33188/" target="_blank" sl-processed="1" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: inherit; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: underline;">from the Pierce County [Wisc.] Herald, Feb 16, 2011</a>):

All the primary candidates but Stephens received $100,000 tax dollars for their campaigns, under a new law designed to keep special interests out of judicial races. Stephens only raised about $40,000 on her own. Prosser and Kloppenburg will each get $300,000 in tax money for the general election. But outside groups can still advertise on their own. The conservative Wisconsin Club for Growth had the only statewide TV ad in the primary, supporting Prosser.

</blockquote>

<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: inherit; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">I’m keeping this short, so that media might actually have the wherewithal to read it, and do their jobs by reporting on it. I’ve provided the links and the linkages, but in the Battle of Wisconsin, “We the People” need to know this stuff.

The governor of Wisconsin, Ste received TK in Club for Growth money. (TK = I leave it to Wisconsin journalists and bloggers to supply that number.)

Paul Ryan (congressman from Wisconsin, in charge of the House budget, as noted a few days ago) received TK bucks from Club for Growth. In the last election cycle, according to the Rachel Maddow Show graphic, Club for Growth was the Number 10 top money spender in the 2010 election. (TK = Ditto.)

They are getting what they paid for, evidently.

And <a href="http://www.liquida.com/the-club-for-growth-candidates/" target="_blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">here’s a list of all kinds of candidates Club for Growth supported all over the place, including Wisconsin</a>.

And Eric’s gang is <a href="http://www.gavelgrab.org/?p=18055" target="_blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">particularly interested in taking over the Wisconsin Supreme Court</a>. But they game the law:

That public support could increase if third-party groups run certain kinds of political advertising. Advertising earlier by the  Club for Growth, however, was not found by state election officials to trigger distribution of extra public funds to Justice Prosser’s opponent, a <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/116017414.html" target="_blank" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Journal Sentinel article reported</a>. The ad did not trigger additional funding because it stopped short of using such words as “vote for,” “support,” or “elect,” a state official told the newspaper.

“There’s a danger that outside interest groups could weigh in heavily in this race and leave the candidates not in a position to really respond to it,”  Mike McCabe of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign told Gavel Grab. “I think the likelihood is that groups will weigh in. Which groups and to what extent, that is difficult to predict.”

</blockquote>

<li style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://hisvorpal.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/because-cudgel-for-growth-wouldnt-sound-as-warm-and-fuzzy/" rel="next" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Because “Cudgel For Growth” Wouldn’t Sound as Warm and Fuzzy</a> 14 Dec 2010</li>

<li style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://hisvorpal.wordpress.com/2007/09/29/breaking-news-or-wind-or-something/" rel="next" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Breaking News Or Wind Or Something</a> 29 Sept. 2007</li>

<li style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://hisvorpal.wordpress.com/2011/02/19/cheese-whizz-or-the-empire-strikes-back/" rel="prev" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Cheese Whizz, or The Empire Strikes Back</a> 19 Feb. 2011</li>

<li style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and, for fun <a href="http://hisvorpal.wordpress.com/2007/11/03/love-and-kisses-from-the-land-of-the-freed-balloons/" rel="next" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Love and Kisses from the Land of the Freed Balloons</a> 3 November, 2007

(urging members to stuff the ballot box for the Weblog Awards)</li>

</ul>

And, while you’re at it, take a look at the NNDB database page on Club for Growth and see Eric’s name with Howard Rich, Betsy DeVos, Paul Singer (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/28/us/politics/28singer.html?pagewanted=all" target="_blank" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: underline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">who financed a 2008 California ballot measure a couple years ago from his Manhattan home</a>), Lawrence Kudlow, Richard Gilder, Pete duPont, Richard Scaife (founder and funder of “The Arkansas Project” to dog President Clinton), Pat Toomey, Brent Bozell, David Boies, Arthur Laffer (whose cockamamie theories were used to justify “trickle down” economics) and other gold-plated members of what even Mike Huckabee calls the “Club for Greed.”

<a href="http://www.clubforgrowth.org/aboutus/?subsec=0&id=122" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Here’s their current leadership lineup, according to their website</a>.

Hey, wasn’t AFP the sponsor of the “counter-demonstration” in Madison Sunday?

I’ve been playing Paul Revere to a nation on Lunesta® for six years now, and it’s getting old. We really either need to wake up NOW, or kiss our non-plutocratic form of governance goodbye once and for all. But please don’t say that you weren’t clearly and explicitly warned.

The ball’s in your hands, readers.

Courage.

Click right on to the sequel, <a href="http://hisvorpal.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/things-go-badder-with-koch/" rel="next" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">Things Go Badder With Koch™</a>with photos and videos of  persons named herein.

NOTE: 2-26-11. O’Keefe’s position with CFG, Wisconsin corrected and links to documentation added.

<h3 style=" color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-weight: inherit; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 4px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">››› AUGUST 3, 2011: A special late-breaking addition for Wisconsin: ‘<a href="http://hisvorpal.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/the-astroturf-on-lambeau-field/" sl-processed="1" style=" border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline;">The Astroturf on Lambeau Field</a>‘.›››</h3>

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<a href="http://hisvorpal.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/who-is-behind-wisconsin-club-for-growth/">http://hisvorpal.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/who-is-behind-wisconsin-club-for-growth/</a>

<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> published author, <a href="http://hisvorpal.wordpress.com/2007/10/30/christinas-outing/" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">novelist</a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, <a href="http://www.hartwilliams.com/kc03.htm" target="blank" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">literary critic</a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> and screenwriter for a quarter of a quarter-century more than a quarter-century, Hart Williams has lived in the American West for his entire life.

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O'Keefe, Eric

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