At this time Open Secrets only has skeletal information listed the group so we need to check regularly for updates. Here's some background on Perry
DK writer fbihop tracks more down in this diary. And source watch has more here.
Here's what fbihop says about the ads in NM.
Did you think the NM-01 race was dirty before? Well, you ain't seen nothing yet. I was watching the evening news, when there was one of the most innacurate, mudslinging ads I have seen in New Mexico since the 2004 Presidential Election.It basically accused Patricia Madrid of saying she was going to raise taxes on the middle class and poor to exorbinant new heights.
At the end, it said, "This ad paid for by Americans for Honesty on Issues.
Running down the money, fbihop finds this.
Bob Perry? Well, turns out he has his hands in this new 527 group as well. From MyDD, talking about that very same NY Times article.Not mentioned in the article is the fact that the sole donor, of $2 million, to Americans for Honesty on Issues listed in FEC records is Bob Perry of Houston TX, a major Republican donor (giving to Bush, DeLay and Texas Republican causes). He is the man behind Swiftboat vets. Expect this to be just as dirty.
Here's some more on the FEC filings of the "Americans for Honesty on Issues" (I just can't get over that name...) from FECinfo.com.
The Americans for Honesty on Issues reported that Bob J. Perry gave the group $2 million on September 1st. On the 29th of September the group paid $1,427,964 for electioneering communications on cable and broadcast stations relating to nine federal elections: Bruce Braley (IA-01) $159,572; Edwin Perlmutter (CO-07) $245,675; Brad Ellsworth (IN-08) $142,316; Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-08) $164,067; Baron Hill (IN-09) $97,041; Patricia Madrid (NM-01) $165,409; Joseph Heath Shuler (NC-11) $128,591; Kenneth Ray Lucas (KY-04) $209,223; and Joseph Simon Donnelly (IN-02) $116,073. Sum of dollars varies slightly from overall total due to rounding.
And there's an Enron lobbyist involved in the group. Blog for Iowa has this
A well connected Enron lobbyist has entered the First District Congressional race funding negative campaign ads against Bruce Braley. Sue Walden, a former lobbyist for Enron, is listed in IRS documents as the contact person for the 527 smear group, GǣAmericans for Honesty in IssuesGǥ. She was also a Bush Pioneer for 2000 and 2004 and a Bush Ranger for 2004.Americans for Honesty on Issues (EIN: 134341094) is a 527 committee running attack ads against nine Democrat candidates in the 2006 mid-term elections, the New York Times reported (http://www.nytimes.c...) October 11, 2006. It states that its purpose is "to engage in political issue communications in compliance with Federal and state laws."
Although the new political action committee incorporates the word "honesty" in its name, little honesty has been employed by the organization regarding information about itself.
http://www.sourcewat...
There's a shell game being played with 527's and small companies to help conceal the identity of the players.
Overview:
Seniors CoalitionStated Purpose:
Representing senior citizens before federal and state officials through public information, education and grassroots presentations.Tax Status:
501(c)(4)Political Orientation:
RepublicanProfile:
The Seniors Coalition is one of three purported senior citizen advocacy organizations, along with United Seniors Association and 60 Plus Association formed with the help of conservative direct mail pioneer Richard Viguerie and at least partially funded by the pharmaceutical industry.1Despite its claim of non-partisanship, the Seniors Coalition disseminated electioneering messages in at least 11 political contests in 2002 in support of Republican candidates.2
Both in the content of its communications and in its choices of political contests in which to intervene, the Seniors Coalition appeared to coordinate in 2002 with two other non-profits, 60 Plus and America 21, an evangelical group based in Tennessee. The three groups, for instance, each sent direct mail pieces praising 7th District Colorado Republican congressional candidate Bob Beauprez. The direct mail pieces were similar in appearance and content, and each incorrectly spelled the candidate's name as "Beuprez."3 The Seniors Coalition's mailing said: "Bob Beuprez: Leadership on Prescription Drug Coverage for America's Seniors."4
The Seniors Coalition sent out similar direct mail pieces praising Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.), Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), former Rep. Jim Talent, a Republican seeking to represent Missouri in the U.S. Senate, and Adam Taff, a Republican who was challenging incumbent Rep. Tom Moore (D-Kansas).5 The group also ran television ads that accused Moore of voting "to raid the Social Security lockbox 13 times," and told voters to "tell him to stop playing around and get serious about Social Security."6
Despite distributing direct mail and running television ads close to Election Day, the Seniors Coalition reported in its IRS forms that it had zero spending in 2002 for "political expenditures,"7 which the IRS defines as those intended to influence the selection, nomination, election, or appointment of anyone to a federal, state, or local public office.8 In effect, the group claimed that none of its ads or direct mail messages were intended to affect the outcomes of elections. That claim is particularly dubious in the cases of communications praising Talent, Taff and Beauprez for endorsing a Medicare prescription drug bill in the U.S. House. None of the three was in Congress at the time and, thus, none was in a position to vote on the bill. The group's spending, meanwhile, has risen and fallen in sync with election years in 2000, 2001 and 2002.9
Issues of concern involving the pharmaceutical industry are prominent in the Seniors Coalition's electioneering communications. The front page of the Seniors Coalition's "Beuprez" mailing contained a highlighted sidebar that claimed "Bob Beuprez supports the House-passed Prescription Drug Plan" and then enumerated facets of the bill in a favorable light.10 The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the trade association of the brand name prescription drug industry, gave the Seniors Coalition nearly $2.1 million in 2000, AARP Bulletin reported.11 The group reported receiving nearly $6 million from a single person or organization in 2002.12
Dan Alexander, who played a role in founding the Seniors Coalition, served four years in prison in the 1980s for extorting kickbacks for school construction while he served on a school board in Alabama.13 Much of the group's staff resigned in 1996, after the Virginia Supreme Court issued a ruling that placed individuals close to Alexander in control of the group.14
E-mail the local paper and complain that it's a deceptive ad.