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Council for National Policy
The Council for National Policy (CNP) is a shadowy, secretive group dubbed "Sith Lords of the Ultra-Right" by the liberal blog DailyKos. [1] Mark Crispin Miller called CNP a "highly secretive... theocratic organization -- what they want is basically religious rule" ( A Patriot Act ). Their membership (see below) is a Who's Who list of the biggest names of the Radical Right. "The CNP describes itself as a counterweight against liberal domination of the American agenda," reported ABC News. [2] CNP's membership is comprised of leaders in the family values, national defense and decency movements woven by members of the Dead Billionaires Club like the Adolph Coors Foundation , the Koch brothers , Richard DeVos , Richard Scaife and other billionaires and foundations who have invested heavily in developing a complex web of far-Right groups, think-tanks and politicians over the last forty years to return the United States to its pre Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 19th century capitalist roots. [3]Center for Media and Democracy Donations
In January 2011, the Supreme Court rewrote the First Amendment to say that Congress can't restrict corporate spending to influence elections. But corporations don't deserve the same rights as people, and the financial influence of companies in our elections must be limited. The future of our democracy is at risk. Activist judges have rewritten the Constitution to mean that money = speech and that Congress can't limit corporate spending in elections.
U.S. Supreme Court Considers ALEC Voting Bill; Could Have Broader Implications for Voting Rights by Brendan Fischer The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments on March 18 to decide whether an Arizona statute that imposes restrictions on voter registration conflicts with federal law.
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Portal:Front groups
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is a lobbying group that calls itself "the voice of small business." However, the group has been shown to lobby on issues that favor large corporate interests and run counter to the interests of small businesses. News reports have also found that NFIB, which claims to be non-partisan, engages in partisan politics, and receives millions in hidden contributions.
The tobacco industry is particularly significant for those seeking to understand modern public relations techniques and the operations of specific companies for two reasons. Firstly, as a global industry that came under sustained criticism from the mid-twentieth century onwards, it pioneered many big-budget campaigns that fueled the growth and evolution of the public relations industry. Secondly, as a result of legal actions against the major tobacco companies, there are now over 40 million pages of internal company documents publicly available on searchable websites that provide a fascinating insight into the inner workings of past and still running campaigns. Tobacco industry strategies/arguments to deflect legislation The tobacco industry pioneered strategies to take the focus off of the health, safety and environmental hazards posed by detrimental products, and shift attention onto topics considered more favorable to the industry.
Tobacco industry
MEMO: Health Insurance, Banking, Oil Industries Met With Koch, Chamber, Glenn Beck To Plot 2010 Election
In 2006, Koch Industries owner Charles Koch revealed to the Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Moore that he coordinates the funding of the conservative infrastructure of front groups, political campaigns, think tanks, media outlets and other anti-government efforts through a twice annual meeting of wealthy right-wing donors. He also confided to Moore, who is funded through several of Koch’s ventures, that his true goal is to strengthen the “ culture of prosperity ” by eliminating “90%” of all laws and government regulations. Although it is difficult to quantify the exact amount Koch alone has funneled to right-wing fronts, some studies have pointed toward $50 million he has given alone to anti-environmental groups. Recently, fronts funded by Charles and his brother David have received scrutiny because they have played a pivotal role in the organizing of the anti-Obama Tea Parties and the promotion of virulent far right lawmakers like Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC).
Many of the same U.S. corporations touting popular “green” initiatives are simultaneously funding anti-climate trade groups to sway public opinion and lobbyists to push polluter-friendly legislation. Does this two-faced strategy reveal hypocrisy at the heart of America’s “green” revolution? By Jon Gingerich
The Politics of Climate Change - O'Dwyer's Magazine, February 2010
American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity
American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) is a coal industry front group formed by merging Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC) and the Center for Energy and Economic Development (CEED). A press release from ACCCE on April 17, 2008 announced "More than 40 leading U.S. companies from the electricity generation, transportation, coal production, energy technology, and equipment manufacturing industries have aligned to create the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE). ... ACCCE believes that the use of coal, America’s most abundant energy resource, is essential to providing affordable, reliable electricity for millions of American consumers and a growing domestic economy.