Ron Paul in one of many joint press conferences he has held with far left, anti-war Congressman Dennis Kucinich
Ron I-might-put-Dennis-Kucinich-in-my-Cabinet Paul has joined with his friends on the Left to launch an attack ad against Rick Santorum. The ad quotes opposition research from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). Here’s background on them from Discover the Networks.
- Public interest organization that litigates against corrupt political leaders
- Targets almost exclusively Republicans
- Heavily funded by George Soros’s Open Society Institute and by Democracy Alliance
Established in 2001, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) describes itself as a “nonpartisan” public interest group that litigates and brings ethics charges against “government officials who sacrifice the common good to special interests” and “betray the public trust.”
CREW’s ultimate purpose is to use “the rule of law to bring about constructive social change” in a manner the organization likens to the 1960s civil rights movement. The “social change” sought by CREW is the transformation of America into a nation that more fully embraces leftist values and policies. Toward this end, CREW strives to discredit conservatives and Republicans it deems vulnerable to attack, with the objective of decreasing their numbers in political offices nationwide. Thus the overwhelming majority of the public officials targeted by CREW are Republicans. In September 2006, the organization issued a 241-page report – titled “Beyond [Tom] Delay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress” — which named 17 Republicans and 3 Democrats. The report further listed 5 “Dishonorable Mentions” — 4 Republicans and 1 Democrat. A similar disproportion has marked the political contributions made by CREW’s Board members and staffers in recent years. Between 1995 and 2004, those individuals contributed$125,245 to Democrats and $16,013 to Republicans.
Citing the existence of conservative legal advocacy groups like Judicial Watch, the Rutherford Institute, and the National Legal and Policy Center, CREW says: “Conservative groups such as these have no real parallel in the progressive arena.” While acknowledging that there are numerous leftist groups that focus on research and legislation, CREW states that such organizations “do not use litigation to target outrageous conduct.” This is the niche that CREW has carved out for itself.
CREW was founded by Democrat activists Norm Eisen (an attorney) and Louis Mayberg (a prominent Democrat donor, and co-founder of the Maryland-based mutual fund management firm ProFund Advisors LLC). CREW’s “Form 990″ IRS filing for 2001 lists Mayberg as one of its three Founding Directors; the other two are Daniel Berger (a high-profile Democrat donor who in 2004 made a $100,000 contribution to America Coming Together) and Mark Penn (a fellow at the New Politics Institute, and a top Democrat strategist and pollster who not only played a key role in Bill Clinton‘s 1996 presidential campaign, but also served as head of ”message and strategy” for Hillary Clinton‘s 2000 Senate campaign).
CREW has received financial backing from George Soros‘s Open Society Institute, Democracy Alliance, the Tides Foundation, theStreisand Foundation, the Arca Foundation, the David Geffen Foundation, the Wallace Global Fund, the Mayberg Family Charitable Foundation, the Woodbury Fund, and the Sheller Family Foundation — all institutions distinguished by their support for far-left causes.
Say NO to Ron Paul’s alliance with the Left against authentic conservatism. Say no to Ron Paul. Vote Rick Santorum.
