I am leaving all the original links and info I researched, but will label new additions with (edit). You will probably find some links no longer work, some companies have changed names, and of course board members have changed.
My own words are red, while info copied and pasted from long ago sites are black.
All the people who are behind the Tea Party have vested interest in blindsiding people in order to increase their own profits and power.
http://www.freedomworks.org/
The organizers of the "new" tea parties is Freedom Works. Using the link you can go to their mission statement. Sounds pretty good overall.
"FreedomWorks fights for lower taxes, less government and more economic freedom for all Americans.
FreedomWorks combines the stature and experience of America’s greatest policy entrepreneurs with the grassroots power of hundreds of thousands of volunteer activists all over the Nation.
FreedomWorks, led by former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, has an unrivalled ability to reach opinion leaders and elected officials with innovative policy ideas and effective strategies for change.
FreedomWorks drives policy change by training and mobilizing grassroots Americans to engage their fellow citizens and encourage their political representatives to act in defense of individual freedom and economic opportunity."
But let's dig just a little deeper into who supports it, who founded it, and its board members.
Endorsers and their comments:
"Folks, you've got to get to know this organization ... They have been doing a great job all over the country educating people."-President George W. Bush
"I am an enormous fan of FreedomWorks."-U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, Chairman of the House Republican Study Committee
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mike_Pence
use link to find out about Pence's voting record such as:
"Pence has long been an advocate of earmark reform. He voted against the $139.7 billion Transportation-Treasury spending bill in June 2006, and in favor of a series of amendments proposed that same month by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) to strip other members’ earmarks from the federal budget. Pence, however, has secured several of his own earmark projects. He earmarked $500,000 for the “Transit Acquisition and Intermodal Facility Project” in his state, as well as $250,000 for construction of a park in Portland, Indiana. Pence also secured earmarks for inclusion in a fy2007 Labor-Health and Human Services bill. This included $200,000 for both Ball State University’s Center for School Innovation in Muncie, Ind. and to the Madison County Community Health Center in Anderson Ind. In addition, he also secured $100,000 for Ivy Tech Community College in Columbus, Ind. When confronted, Pence’s spokesman confirmed the projects, stating, “Mr. Pence stands by his earmark requests,” he said."
"Pence is the head of the conservative Republican Study Group which recently pushed, successfully, for cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and student loans."
The others I left out since I could not find any verification of statements nor context. Only information on this page are ones I could verify from more then one source.
Now lets take a good look at the founders and board of directors:
http://www.freedomworks.org/about/board-of-directors
*(edit: this link now sends you to the new board members)
The valued members of our Board of Directors help chart the course for FreedomWorks.
The Honorable Dick Armey (Chairman) Former House Majority Leaderwhat Freedomworks fails to mention is: (*edit: Dick Armey is no longer Chairman, here is link to latest news on him:
http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/armey-in-exile/ )
Dick Armey's real job:
The largest law firm in the nation and internationally. (in Washington dc they are known as the most powerful lobbyist on an international scale)
http://www.dlapiper.com/home.aspx
They provide a wide range of services globally through 13 core Service groups.
* Aerospace and Defence
* Banking
* Commercial Contracts
* Corporate
* Employment, Pensions and Benefits
* Energy and Water
* Finance
* Hospitality and Leisure
* Intellectual Property
* International Arbitration
* International Trade
* Life Sciences
* Litigation and Arbitration
* Product Liability
* Projects and Infrastructure
* Real Estate
* Regulatory and Government Affairs
* Restructuring
* Tax
* Technology and Media
* Transportation
DLA Piper clients range from multinational, Global 1000, and Fortune 500 enterprises to emerging companies developing industry-leading technologies.
DLA Piper represents more than 140 of the top 250 Fortune 500 clients and nearly half of the FTSE 350 or their subsidiaries.
http://www.dlapiper.com/dick_armey/
Congressman Dick Armey joined DLA Piper in January 2003, upon completing 18 years of service to the nation in the US House of Representatives, culminating in eight years as Majority Leader.
Richard K. Armey
Senior Policy Advisor
Co-Chair, Homeland Security
500 Eighth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20004
United States
T: +1 202 861 6007
F: +1 202 689 8564
The Honorable James H. Burnley (*edit: No longer listed as a board member though still with Venable new link goes to his profile and areas of expertise: http://www.venable.com/james-h-burnley/
A partner at Venable LLP, James H. Burnley previously served as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation from 1987 to 1989 and is one of the nation’s foremost authorities on transportation law and policy. He also served as Deputy Secretary of Transportation from 1983 to 1987 and was General Counsel of the Department in 1983. Prior to his years with the USDOT, Mr. Burnley served as Associate Deputy Attorney General for the Justice Department and as Director of the VISTA Program in the early 1980s
http://www.venable.com/overview/Check out their areas of service.
http://www.venable.com/services/
Matt Kibbe FreedomWorks
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Matt_Kibbe
CSE President Beckner left to work for Silk Lintott Inc.
Virginia-based Silk Lintott, Inc., a provider of complete financial solutions to very high net worth families.
(*edit now President and CEO of Freedom works and updated information on his background not found before: That center, also known as 'Center for Market Processes' (CMP), later turned into the Mercatus Center. Both the Cato Institute and CSE recruited people from CMP as can be seen from this posting of Vernon Imrich on March 7, 1994.
Click on Mercatus Center and surprise, surprise whose names show up?
The Mercatus Center was founded and is funded by the Koch Family Foundations. According to financial records, the Koch family has contributed more than thirty million dollars to George Mason, much of which has gone to the Mercatus Center, a nonprofit organization. Democratic strategist Rob Stein described the Mercatus Center as "ground zero for deregulation policy in Washington.”
The Mercatus Center has engaged in campaigns involving deregulation, especially environmental deregulation. It now fills the role once played by the economics department at Chicago University as the originator of extreme neoliberal ideas. Fourteen of the 23 regulations that George W Bush put on his hitlist were, according to the Wall Street Journal, first suggested by academics working at the Mercatus Centre ) **end of edit
CSE President Paul Beckner to Join Silk Lintott Incorporated;
Current Executive Vice President Matt Kibbe to Lead CSE
http://www.freedomworks.org/press-releases/cse-president-paul-beckner-to-join-silk-lintott-in
For those who do not know: CSE (Citizens for a Sound Economy) eventually changed its name to FreedomWorks.
Thomas Knudsen
Thomas Knudsen is president of Thomas Publishers located in New York City. He graduated from Yale University and received an MBA from the Uris School of Business.
Richard J Stephenson Cancer Treatment Centers of America
Richard Stephenson heads the Cancer Treatment Centers of America as well as several other health care, finance, and real estate companies. He received his bachelor’s degree from Wabash in Crawfordsville, Ind. and his J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law.
FreedomWorks Emeritus Board
Bill Jaeger Jaeger Vineyards
FreedomWorks Foundation
The Honorable Dick Armey (Chairman) (edit: no longer foundation member)
Former House Majority LeaderSteve Forbes (Full Bio)
Forbes Magazine
Steve Forbes is President and Chief Executive Officer of Forbes and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes magazine. The company’s flagship publication, Forbes, is the nation’s leading business magazine, with a circulation of 900,000. In both 1996 and 2000, Mr. Forbes campaigned vigorously for the Republican nomination for the Presidency. Key to his platform were a flat tax, medical savings accounts, a new Social Security system for working Americans, parental choice of schools for their children, term limits and a strong national defense. Mr. Forbes is the author of Flat Tax Revolution: Using a Postcard to Abolish the IRS (Regnery, 2005) and A New Birth of Freedom (Regnery, 1999).
Ted Abram
American Institute for Full Employment
Ted Abram is executive director of the Klamath Falls, Oregon-based American Institute for Full Employment. Prior, Abram served 16 years as a Circuit Court Judge for the State of Oregon. He spent ten years as Presiding Circuit Judge for Klamath and Lake Counties and served on the Commission for Judicial Fitness for six years.
Matt Kibbe FreedomWorks
Robert Lansing (*edit: now Chairman, FreedomWorks and The Westminster Funds . Did find out that Litchfield is the law office for Westminister Funds where Lansing is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer - Lake Forest http://www.westminsterfunds.com/Team.html
Litchfield Advisors, a Chicago real estate advisory companyI could find nothing about Litchfield except from UK. But did do political contributions search:
http://tinyurl.com/kt89g3 (*edit: link no longer works)
http://www.campaignmoney.com/ (*edit: no longer works)
Please check out who and what he contributes to personally. (*edit while I did not find his nor Westminster name on contributions, since this has been his baby for so long I am sure with some research will begin to find connections with others name. No wonder Cruz check out all the donations they made to him
http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/committees/club-for-growth-action.asp?cycle=12
CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC (older list of contributions to campaigns, before the Personhood of corporations).
New links for information on Club For Growth PAC
http://www.clubforgrowth.org/
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Club_for_Growth
Click on it and you will see it is primarily: Trade/Membership/Health lobbyist. http://www.clubforgrowth.org/about.php (*edit: link no longer works and the new version of website does not list primary lobbyist.)
one example listed on Club for Growth PAC website:
http://www.americanshareholders.org/
AmericanShareholders.org was founded in 2000 to represent the interests of America's shareholder-majority. In 1980, only 20 percent of adults owned shares of stock or mutual funds.
(*edit newly found related organizations:
http://www.atr.org/grover-norquist-a3016
which is the Americans for Tax Reform and
http://www.americanshareholders.org/
American Shareholders is a special project of Americans for Tax Reform dedicated to representing the interests of America's shareholder majority.)
Frank M. Sands, Sr.
Sands Capital Management
Frank M. Sands, Sr., is Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Sands Capital Management. Sands Capital Management began operations in February of 1992. It was founded with the belief that a small, dedicated, professional investment group, committed to and focused on a high quality growth investment strategy, could create wealth for its clients over time and in a prudent fashion. The investment strategy has been developed and refined by Frank over his 37-year career in investment management. Since 1992, assets under management have increased from approximately $60 million to approximately $19 billion. In addition to his successful business, Mr. Sands has been involved as a board member of a number of different volunteer boards and community organizations. He and his wife, Marjorie, reside in Virginia.
People must dig deep into any organization they join. My grandmother always told me to believe non of what you hear and half of what you see. Research and learn truths for yourself was her point. That was nearly 50 yrs ago, but it still holds true today. People must begin to use their critical thinking skills, research, and find out if 1+1=3 or does it equal 2?
Freedom Works and all its ties to big Corporation lobbying, has many knotted threads with other similar organizations whose only goal is tax freedoms for wealthy, corporate control, and ending middle class in order to have an 'indentured servitude' type of working class.
Just because something reads good on surface, tells you what it knows you want to hear, doesn't mean it is not the same old Bait and Switch con. I bet more people do a deeper research before buying a car then following a pied piper. Never noticing where they are going until they fall off the cliff.
Who decides how much your health care cost? For Profit insurance companies, clinics, hospitals, and pharmaceuticals.
Who decides how much your utilities cost? For Profit companies, electrical, gas, cable, etc...
Who decides how much you pay for food? For Profit corporate farms. (here I just want to throw in the fact that the farms in Mexico and Canada from which the CDC determined the swine flu began are owned by the same US corporate pig farm)
Who decides how much interest you pay for your home, cars, credit cards? The Banking industry
The list goes on and on. Being that every organization involved in formation the the Tea Party are connected to Corporate, Banking, Health Care for profits, doesn't that make you wonder "are they really looking out for MY interest.
No what they want you to do is (Bait) divert your attention and blame to the government and away from Corporate America while they ensure (Switch) their interest become the power in this country. Same old con game.
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