Let's turn over some rocks: rightwing "grassroots" organizations

[Bossy Monkey]

Here in SC (and I bet where you live, too) there's an outfit putting up billboards all over town (and probably all over the state) favoring taxpayer subsidization of white-flight "academies"-- oops, I mean school choice. The same outfit also runs radio ads masquerading as news reports attempting to rabble-rouse against those politicians wasting the state's surplus instead of returning it in the form of tax cuts. Those of us that can count know that with the federal government running massive deficits, support for state governments evaporates; this is why most of us know somebody in state government who got laid of the last time we had this little adventure, but the validity of the ads isn't the point of this thread. The point is that the stone idiots identify themselves as South Caro-LINE-ians for Responsible Government. Those of you not from the Carolinas are excused for not knowing, but the i in the middle of that word is short. So in other words, these idiots, just because they were too lazy to check with anyone living in the state, made obvious to every listener that, as we tend to say, they ain't from around here. So for once, even the lowest brows probably aren't going to fall for this horseshit.

SCians for Responsible Government have a website; WHOIS gives the organization that registered the site as Americans for Limited Government, an outfit out of Glenview IL. At the same address are uh, other "grassroots" groups called US Term Limits and the famously egregious Club for Growth. I'd also bet that (Residents of each state) for Responsible Government/ Putting Parents In Charge would also be there, but I didn't feel like doing the search another 49 times. LEAD Action (Legislative Education Action Drive Action; I swear I'm not making this up)was at the same address until a few months ago; now it's Madison WI, while their website is registered by an outfit (shockingly) with a K St. address.

They're a charming bunch. The following is mainly about these guys' bad works regarding agricultural issues in Washington state, there's a good deal of background info on Americans for Limited Government: http://www.washblog.com/story/2006/5/21/22028/5993

The mad doctor, Tom Coburn, senator from OK is called chairman emeritus of Americans for Limited Government at various sites.

My initial instinct was that this was a Richard Mellon Scaife production. Various blogs agree, but documentary evidence is lacking so far. However, there are a couple of Club for Growth items on his political contributions list: http://www.newsmeat.com/media_political_donations/Richard_Mellon_Scaife.php
No doubt he funnels the other contributions through some foundation or another. For some reason, Firefox won't open pdf files on this machine. Anyone with a burning curiosity can go here http://www.scaife.com/sarah.html
and look at the 2005 annual report.

Anybody up for helping look under this particular rock?

[acmejack]

1. All three appear to be innocent of this particular outrage.

Appear being the operative term of course. Think of the good the could do with a that ill spent loot.

[Bossy Monkey]

2. Sorry; not following. You checked all 3 Scaife foundations and none of

them support Americans for Limited Government/Club for Growth? If so, thanks for the effort. I don't see a bow and scrape smilie, so I'll try this one: :toast:

[acmejack]

3. Surprisingly enough!

I would have bet that they would have been involved...

[Bossy Monkey]

4. I think Scaife's procedure is to endow them at the start

At least by all reports that's how he did it with the Heritage Foundation. The key would be a) figuring out what year that happened (for the Heritage Foundation it was their third year) and b) getting a hold of annual reports for Scaife's foundations for that year. Unfortunately there are no results for ALG's getliberty.org at archive.org's Wayback Machine. Its predecessor site, www.limitedgov.org however goes back to October 4, 2003. Actually, it's still being updated and links to Cato, Club for Growth, Parents in Charge Foundation and Townhall.com; the latter is described as Heritage Foundation's conservative Internet portal. A tenuous link, definitely, but still a link to Scaife.

Further fun stuff:
FEC Sues Pro-Republican Political Group

By SHARON THEIMER, Associated Press Writer

Monday, September 19, 2005
(09-19) 23:55 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --

Federal election regulators have taken a political group to court in what could serve as a test case for how the government will address complaints over millions of dollars in big contributions poured into last year's presidential race.

The Federal Election Commission filed a lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington against the Club for Growth, the first case of its kind to arise from high-dollar fundraising during the 2004 elections. The pro-Republican group spent at least $21 million in the 2003-2004 election cycle.

The FEC contends the club spent enough in federal races to require it to file with the commission as a political committee and to follow contribution and spending limits. It wants the court to fine the group and order it to comply with campaign finance rules.

Pat Toomey, the club's president, called the FEC lawsuit "outrageous" and "a bizarre interpretation of the club's mission, the Constitution, the laws adopted by Congress and their own regulations governing nonprofit organizations."
(more)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/09/19/national/w140628D63.DTL

Presumably by now it's been settled with maybe a $50 fine being paid but the very idea of a suit warms the cockles of my black, black heart.

[acmejack]

5. Thanks for this, I missed it somehow.

So much malfeasance, so little time...