Maddow Exposes Oil Industry Backing Of Astroturf Lobbying Firm Americans For Prosperity

[RedEarth]

Last night on MSNBC, host Rachel Maddow interviewed Americans for Prosperity (AFP) head Tim Phillips. AFP, a group that employs dozens of field staff and public relations operatives, is a prolific creator of front groups to fight reform on clean energy, the environment, labor, and most recently, health care. AFP’s work against health care reform has included running a multimillion-dollar ad campaign, busing people from state to state to rally against pro-reform politicians, and collaborating with allied right-wing groups to organize disruptions of town hall events.

Trying to create a veneer of grassroots legitimacy, Phillips denied claims of running an astroturf operation and smirked to Maddow, “Hey I’m a community organizer.” Maddow pressed him to reveal his contributors, and Phillips eventually acknowledged being largely funded from Koch Industries, a $90 billion oil and gas conglomerate and one of the largest privately held companies in the world. Maddow then asked Phillips if his organization had ever been funded by ExxonMobil:

MADDOW: Are you, guys, funded in part by Exxon or have you been?

PHILLIPS: No, absolutely not.

MADDOW: No Exxon money.

PHILLIPS: Absolutely not. But I’ll tell you again, though, we would be happy to take funding from broader groups like that. <...>

MADDOW: Exxon does list the Americans for Prosperity Foundation as a recipient of, in some years, tens of thousands of dollars, in other years, hundreds of thousands of dollars, even for things just like general operations. But you’re saying Americans for Prosperity, no Exxon money?

PHILLIPS: This year, we haven’t had any Exxon money. I would be happy to go back and look at the records. And I will get back to you, Rachel, if we have. But again, though, we’re happy to take corporate money.

video and more at ...........

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/07/maddow-afp/

[drm604]

1. I saw that.

He insisted they had taken no Exxon money, until she proved him wrong, at which point he started using the phrase "this year" as if that's what he meant all along. Lying SOB.

[Gabi Hayes]

2. M$M continues to ignore the obvious. Rachel missed this:

Americans for Prosperity (AFP)

Background

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a conservative think-tank established in Washington, D.C. in 2003. It replaced the Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation. AFP is the sister organization to FreedomWorks. FreedomWorks is an organization that formed in 2004 when Citizens for a Sound Economy merged with the think tank Empower America. Both the Citizens for a Sound Economy and Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation were created by the Koch Foundations.

Americans for Prosperity describes itself as a grassroot organization that is committed to engaging "citizens in the name of limited government and free markets on the local, state, and federal levels." Further, the AFP offers training to not only educate citizens about economic policy, but also, to mobilize those citizens to become advocates in the public policy process. As a result, the AFP has state chapters in twenty-three states; these chapters focus on issues particular to their region.

The organization is extremely conservative in its economic and governance beliefs. It's mission is to reduce taxes and government spending, promote entrepeunership, and restore fairness to the American judicial system.

Funding
AFP is a non-profit organization who does not to disclose its donors. However, the Media Transparency project shows from 2003-2006, Americans for Prosperity received $1,181,000 from conservative foundations. $1 million of that funding was given by the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation--one of the Koch Family Foundations.

http://www.desmogblog.com/big-money-behind-americans-prosperity

lots more at this link, and it's too bad she didn't find this to confront that lying sac. it took me less than five minutes, and I'm a moran

[Gabi Hayes]

4. she mentioned the Koch/Lambe connection, but did she go into the detail provided here?

if she did, I apologize, and I watched the segment, but don't recall her going after Phillips as hard as she could've with the above info, including DEMANDING an explanation as to why groups like this get away with being able to call themselves non-profit entities.

this is a serious loophole in federal tax regulations, when pure advocacy groups don't have to pay taxes on the millions and millions they get from groups that are headed by people that are worth (in the case of one of the Kochs) SEVENTEEN BILLION bucks

hope rachel does a little more digging, and has a rejoinder to Phillips' holier than thou funding BS, including the garbage about 88% of their funding coming from individual and foundation contributions.

they don't have to break that down, apparently, but I'd like to see what percentage comes from "foundations" like Koch, and who the 'people' are that make individual donations.

total BS that these groups don't have to release to the public where their filthy lucre comes from, ESPECIALLY when they don't have to pay any frickin taxes

[Gabi Hayes]

6. ha....AFP is the third largest benefactor of Koch money, behind Cato Institute, which

one of the Kochs FOUNDED!

number 2 is George Mason U, wingnut heaven:

The university began as the Northern Virginia branch of the University of Virginia in 1957. In 1972 it had grown to the point where it officially separated from its parent institution.

It became a "magnet for right-wing money" <1> during the 1990s. From 1992 through 1994, 12 libertarian foundations invested a combined total of $8.55 million in various academic programs and institutes of George Mason University. It was this funding that help establish (and continues to support) the University's unrivalled set of libertarian "study centers", which aim to recruit and support young, free-market-oriented students - typically through paid-for "study trips", seminars, and placements.

The Mercatus Center is currently the main focus of right-wing and libertarian funding. Between 1999 and 2001, the Mercatus Center was the third largest recipient of conservative foundation money (a position previously held by the Institue of Humane Studies). <2>



http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=George_Mason_University

[skygazer]

3. I love the way Rachel brings these people on her show

She's such a great interviewer - professional, fair, but pointed and direct. This guy kept trying to spin all this to make it sound like these corporations and lobbyists are just regular Americans with small-town legitimate concerns about health care - it's bizarre.

[4lbs]

5. "THIS YEAR we haven't taken Exxon money". That wasn't the question as I understood it.

I believe Rachel was asking if he had EVER taken Exxon money.

Nevertheless, Phillips acknowledged he'd have no problem taking money from large corporate interests.

Yeah, some "community organizer" :eyes:

[Gabi Hayes]

7. from 86-2006 they got around a million bucks, from a source I just found

will see if I can find it

meanwhile, did you see the link I posted showing other funding sources?

[JPZenger]

8. Great interview - people should watch the whole thing

[Gabi Hayes]

9. at around 6:25 of the clip he says, quote:

''THE CORPORATE INTERESTS ARE A MINISCULE PART OF OUR FUNDING''!!!!!!!

so...yours is an almost entirely grassroots, up from the masses, bottom to top organization, yes?

she let him get away with that

he clearly knows the details of where their money comes from, and he's lying his ass off about it.

I hope this gets out there

[Gabi Hayes]

10. more from the think progress link, which Rachel touched on, but didn't go into the detail this does:

read the link, cause the bolded parts add emphasis to just what a SCUM this guy is

– Phillips was paid $380,000 by Enron to mobilize “religious leaders and pro-family groups” to push energy deregulation in Congress and on the state level. The Washington Post reported that the pair informed Enron that they had leveraged their relationships with members of Congress and “placed” articles in prominent papers like the New York Times.


– Phillips worked with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff to pressure members of Congress to vote against legislation that would have made the U.S. commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands subject to federal wage and worker safety laws. A federal report “found that Chinese women were subject to forced abortions and that women and children were subject to forced prostitution in the local sex-tourism industry.” Nonetheless, Phillips sent out mailers claiming Chinese workers “are exposed to the teachings of Jesus Christ” while on the islands, and many “are converted to the Christian faith and return to China with Bibles in hand.” The mailers then encouraged the recipients to contact lawmakers and ask them to oppose the Marianas labor reform legislation.

– As a GOP consultant, Phillips founded “The Faith and Family Alliance,” a group supposedly designed to support conservative and Christian causes. But like his other front groups, Phillips used the Family Alliance to simply slime his political opponents with an organization that appeared to represent a grassroots community. The Richmond Times Dispatch reported that Phillips was hired by State Sen. Stephen Martin to manage his direct mail campaign against State Del. Eric Cantor in the 2000 Republican primary for the Congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Tom Bliley (R-VA). Phillips used his Family Alliance to blast robo-calls and mass mailers claiming Cantor did not represent “Virginia values” and that his opponent was the “only Christian in the contest.”

did rachel get the 380 grand exxon paid PHILLIPS himself when she talked about his Reed links?

[Gabi Hayes]

11. who is tim philliips? from the wonk room:

Tim Phillips, The Man Behind The ‘Americans For Prosperity’ Corporate Front Group Factory

The rate at which the Koch Industries funded Americans for Prosperity (AFP) churns out front groups to promote its right-wing corporate agenda sets the organization out among similar conservative “think tanks.” This week, AFP created their latest front group called “Patients United Now,” an entity set up to defeat health care reform. Patients United follows a familiar pattern AFP has used for their other front groups: create a new stand alone website, fill it with lines like “We are people just like you” to give the site a grassroots feel, and then use the new group to recruit supporters and run deceptive advertisements attacking reform. This “astroturfing” model has been used by AFP to launch groups pushing distortions against other progressive priorities:

– The “Hot Air Tour” promoting global warming skepticism and attacking environmental regulations.
– “Free Our Energy,” a group promoting increased domestic drilling.
– The “Save My Ballot Tour,” a group that pays Joe the Plumber to travel around the country smearing the Employee Free Choice Act.
– “No Climate Tax,” a group dedicated to the defeat of Clean Energy Economy legislation.
– “No Stimulus,” a group launched to try to stop the passage of the Recovery Act.

Notably, AFP was also instrumental in orchestrating the anti-Obama, anti-tax tea party protests in April.

With nearly 70 Republican operatives and former oil industry spokesmen working behind the scenes of AFP’s various fronts and disclosures that point to ever increasing oil and corporate donations to the group, one must wonder, who is guiding this massive front group factory? The answer is Tim Phillips, the President of AFP who has built a long career of inventing fake grassroots causes. In Phillips’ official biography, there appears to be over a 10 year gap — but that period was when Phillips developed his very first astroturf groups to do everything from smearing his opponents with anti-Semitic attacks to laundering money for criminal lobbyists.

http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/05/29/afp-timphillips-astroturf/?sortby=toprated

and WHY aren't people like the guy who did this on TV, going against lying liars like phillips, who know enough specifics to make him eat his hat in front of the world? that's where rachel fell down, in not knowing the details with which to doggedly pursue and expose the steam of lies emanating from this greedy, anti-semitic huckster's mouth

time to read some of this now....can't take this anymore

[Gabi Hayes]

12. key point from the above link, which rachel touched upon, but really needs to be thrown in this

creep's face, if/when he shows it again:

In Phillips’ official biography, there appears to be over a 10 year gap — but that period was when Phillips developed his very first astroturf groups to do everything from smearing his opponents with anti-Semitic attacks to laundering money for criminal lobbyists.

the Cantor/Abramof references above are explained in post #10 here

[Gabi Hayes]

13. washpost article about reed/phillips/rove/enron:

Reed has drawn criticism for his 1997 work on one Enron issue, a Pennsylvania deregulation matter, but Century Strategies Vice President Tim Phillips said yesterday the firm's relationship with Enron continued until October 2001, when it ended by "mutual agreement."

Phillips said Enron never finalized the specific lobbying job outlined in Reed's memo, but he declined to answer questions about what tasks Reed did carry out for the Houston company. Reed did not return phone calls.

Last month Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, asked for a federal investigation into whether Rove arranged the 1997 Enron contract to avoid paying Reed from Bush campaign funds. Others have questioned whether the Bush camp had hoped to ensure Reed's allegiance during the early days of the campaign.

Enron has offered little information about its dealings with Reed, one of many prominent political figures and commentators the company cultivated ties with before it collapsed in bankruptcy late last year. Rick Shapiro, the Enron vice president to whom Reed addressed the memo, declined to comment.

http://bodurtha.georgetown.edu/enron/Bush%202000%20Adviser%20Offered%20To%20Use%20Clout%20to%20Help%20Enron.htm

lots more at link

[Gabi Hayes]

14. last bit from wonkroom:

Though Phillips and Reed are best known in the campaign consulting world for engineering the dual victories of Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Republican Gov. Sonnie Perdue in Georgia (by associating images of Osama bin Laden with the incumbent Democratic senator), the pair can also be credited with the most below the belt tactics ever seen in modern Republican primaries. The duo “spearheaded” the telemarketing and direct mail efforts for George Bush against John McCain in the 2000 primaries. It is widely believed that Century Strategies executed the mass mailers and robo-calls which accused McCain of fathering an illegitimate child with a black woman, using the image of McCain’s adopted daughter from Bangladesh.