The Piercing Truth

This is right from the dictionary and seems to describe Albuquerque, Berry and Schultz. Fascism (f ash ,izem) noun An authoritarian right wing system of government and/or social organization. (in general use) extreme right wing, authoritarian, chauvinistic and/or intolerant views or practices. Fascism tends to include a belief in the supremacy of one group over another, national, ethnic, especially social strata or monetarily; a contempt for democracy, an insistence on obedience to a powerful leader, and a strong demagogic approach. Compliments of one of our Eyes

Jul 24, 2008

Bermuda in the Grassroots

Bermuda grass - it's the bane of our existence. If you've ever owned a property where some fool has planted the stuff at anytime in the history of man you'll understand that getting it out of your beautiful Bluegrass is damn near impossible. This "grass" - that should really be classified as a weed - sends out coarse tendrils right along the ground. They go through just about anything rooting themselves and creating cells of Bermuda along the way.

Each cell then sends out its own tendrils that root in more places spreading out at an unimaginable pace. It's an ugly coarse grass that hurts when you walk on it barefoot and gets denser over time choking out the grass around it. It reminds us of Aspen groves where each seemingly individual tree is connected to a single organism. Only Bermuda grass is as ugly as Aspens are beautiful and it hides in the grass that it is destroying.

You're probably wondering what grass has to do with, well... anything. There's Bermuda grass hiding among the Bluegrass of New Mexico. And just like the plant version each of the cells are connected.

What got us thinking about this was the series of ads being run on 770 KKOB by the Center for Civic Policy. You know the ones, Big Oil Bob and Healthcare Hal. The spots are a childish attempt to characterize corporations involved in producing energy and providing access to healthcare as selfish and greedy.
(Sidebar)
Businesses operate on profit. When profit is removed from the equation there's little reason to perform a task. You wouldn't work for nothing and we know that we wouldn't. Nationalizing (or as Rep. Maxine Waters - D California says "socialize") either industry will remove the incentive for companies to run efficiently, to produce more, better, and cheaper products to compete with other private companies. Government regulation is largely responsible for both crisis's and groups like the Center for Civic Policy are largely responsible for the regulation.
(End Sidebar)
Despite immediately dismissing the spots for their idiocy of message and poor production value, we were curious about this Center for Civic Policy. It turns out they're a 501(c)(3) connected to Clearly New Mexico which is a 501(c)(4) by the name of the Center for Civic Action. Both groups are run by one Eli Il Yong Lee. Mr. Lee is also listed as a consultant for 1Sky a global warming scare group. In addition, Mr. Lee is the CEO and President of Soltari a political consulting firm for liberal candidates in small elections.

Eli Lee is in turn connected with Matt Brix Executive Director of Common Cause. Mr. Brix is a registered lobbyist for both of Lee's non-profits and listed as employed by them along with Common Cause on the Secretary of State's website.

So far, we have four apparently independent organizations with different names but similar if not identical agendas. They are all cross employed with each other and have the ability to take tax exempt donations to fund those salaries. They're professional advocates that rely on charitable donations and scare tactics for their livelihood.

More importantly, the groups are clearly involved in coordinated political activity. How could they not be when they share leadership and salaries? Plus, they create an echo chamber by making the public think that the same opinions are coming from different organizations.

Look... we don't care that they advocate for positions and candidates that we vehemently disagree with. It's their Constitutional right to lobby government and speak out on any topic they choose. We'd defend that right at all costs because we benefit from those same protections.

Our problem is the hypocrisy involved. These groups rail against "corporate special interests" while creating a multi-cell lobbying group, run by them, for them and their financial gain, and with their own set of special interests. It's disingenuous, it's hypocritical, it's deceptive and it's just like the damn Bermuda grass hiding in our yard.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice investigative work. You really exposed a pilferer of public trust and money but who really cares?

Sure businesses are meant to operate for a profit but that is to be done so responsibly. Government is to ensure that there is accountability for WHEN the shirking of responsibility happens. And it does happen. This horseshit of the market will correct things is just that horseshit. When your loved ones die because of corporate greed and lack of responsibility do we sit back and wait for the market to fix things?

You might as well have done an article on big tobacco...remember the "public advocacy groups" that lied about cancer? You've hammered Obama, the enviro-nut groups, the govenor....there's a theme that's getting too obvious unless you start providing equal coverage. Eye...your starting to look like the NYT.

Anonymous said...

I would like to thank the Eye for ferreting out all the interconnections and cross-linking between all these groups.

I, too merely dismissed the ads as idiocy on the march with more money (for the ads) than sense. Unfortunately their target audence is nearly as idiotic as they are. How else can one explain Big Bill and the Almighty Alcalde?? No doubt that as the election gets closer, their real agenda will be revealed....that Steve Pearce is a drinkin' buddy of Big Oil Bob and his friend Hal, while Tom Udall is on the side of the Angels with his "Conserve yourself back to the Cave" agenda.

It is soooo tiresome, but it is at least predictable.

Anonymous said...

Well written!!! I dont think Jim will talk about this one for two hours like he did your last post though. Cant piss off the sponsors.

Anonymous said...

Such tactics are pretty run-of-the-mill tactics used by the KGB for decades. Now, funded by whom? At this point one can only guess, but there seem to be a great number of homegrown commies [just look at all the Hollywood nutcases] with gobs of money to spread around. There's also, of course, the Chinese government, which realized some time ago that it is cheaper to buy a politician than to get someone elected.

ched macquigg said...

It is reasonable to suspect of wrong doing; anyone, or any group that is not entirely transparent.

There is only one reason to hide the truth.

Anonymous said...

As an aside, Bluegrass is a massive waste of water and if you're maintaining a patch of it you're either selfish or an idiot. If you insist on pretending that your house is in England or New England you should at least use Buffalo grass.

Anonymous said...

Some corrections: Matt Brix hasn't been an employee of Common Cause New Mexico since March 2007, when he left our organization to take a position at the Center for Civic Policy. As one of the leading experts in the state on ethics reform, he remains active with Common Cause purely on a volunteer basis, both as a member of our state governing council and as a volunteer lobbyist.
Steven Robert Allen
Executive Director
Common Cause New Mexico