Changed article to 60 Plus Association
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Revision as of 17:06, 29 January 2015
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<h3>[[
Americans for Prosperity
]]</h3>
+
<h3>[[
60 Plus Association
]]</h3>
−
'''Excerpt from a longer SourceWatch article on
Americans for Prosperity
''':
+
'''Excerpt from a longer SourceWatch article on
60 Plus Association
''':
−
'''
Americans for Prosperity
'''
is
a
right
-
wing political
advocacy group
founded by billionaire brothers [[David H. Koch|David]]
and
[[Charles G. Koch|Charles]] [[Koch brothers|Koch]],
the
owners of [[Koch Industries]]
.<ref>
Peter Overby
, "[http://
www.npr
.org/
templates
/
story/story.php?storyId=123859296 Who's Raising Money For Tea Party Movement?
],"
NPR
,
February 19
,
2010
.</ref>
In the 2012 election cycle, it
was a
key component of the Kochs' $400 million political network, receiving large portions of its money from Koch-linked dark money groups like
[[
Freedom Partners
]]
, [[American Encore]], and [[Donors Trust]]. AFP's budget, which comes from
the
[[Koch family foundations]] and other unknown sources, surged from $7 million in 2007 to $40 million in 2010 to $115 million in 2012
. <ref>
Eric Lipton
, [http://www.
nytimes
.
com
/
2011/02/22/us/22koch
.
html
?
_r
=
1
&
adxnnl
=
1&adxnnlx=1299005862
-
E2ftEM6rEdMM4yXvSWu9IA Billionaire Brothers’ Money Plays Role in Wisconsin Dispute
],
''New York Times''
,
February 21
,
2011
.</ref>
According to the Center for Public Integrity
,
Americans for Prosperity "spent a staggering $122 million (in 2012) as
it
unsuccessfully attempted to defeat President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats," including
$
83
million
on "communications
,
ads
, and
media
.
"
<ref>
Michael Beckel
, "[http://
www.publicintegrity
.org/
2013
/
11/14/13712/koch
-
backed
-
nonprofit-spent-record-cash-2012 Koch-backed nonprofit spent record cash in 2012
],"
Center for Public Integrity
,
November 14
,
2013
.</ref>
+
The
'''
60 Plus Association
'''
describes itself as "
a
non
-
partisan seniors
advocacy group
with a free enterprise, less government, less taxes approach to seniors issues"
and
lists ending
the
federal estate tax and saving Social Security for the young as its top priorities
.<ref>
60 Plus Association
, "[http://
60plus
.org/
about
/
About Us
],"
organization website
,
accessed May 13
,
2014
.</ref>
It
was
founded in 1992 and is registered as
a [[
501(c)(4)
]]
non-profit with
the
Internal Revenue Service
.<ref
name="GuideStar2006"
>
GuideStar
,
"
[http://www.
guidestar
.
org
/
pqShowGsReport
.
do
?
partner
=
guidestar
&
npoId
=
100514436 60
-
Plus Association
],
" IRS 990
,
accessed May 23
,
2013
.</ref>
Between 2010 and 2012
, it
received more than
$
42
million
from organizations
,
most of which are affiliated with the [[Koch brothers]]
,
including [[Freedom Partners]]
and
[[American Encore]]
.<ref
name="Conservative Transparency"
>
Conservative Transparency
, "[http://
conservativetransparency
.org/
recipient
/
60
-
plus
-
association/ 60 Plus
],"
IRS documents 2010-2012
,
accessed July 7
,
2014
.</ref>
−
====
2014 Campaign Ads===
=
+
==
Ties to the Koch Brothers
==
+
[[File:A_Maze_of_Money.png|200px|thumb|right|The Koch network was one of the biggest political operations in 2012 and worked largely outside the campaign finance system, raising at least $407 million. ''Source: Robert Maguire with the Center for Responsive Politics.'']]
+
As a [[501(c)(4)]] nonprofit, the 60 Plus Association is not required to disclose its donors. However, 60 Plus has received funding from organizations with links to the [[Koch brothers]]. According to its own tax filings, [[Freedom Partners]] reported giving $15.7 million to 60 Plus in 2012. The Koch-linked organization [[American Encore]] (formerly known as the Center to Protect Patient Rights) reported giving $2,6 million to 60 Plus in 2012, $2.4 million in 2011 and $9 million in 2010.<ref name
=
"Conservative Transparency" />
−
As of May
2014,
AFP had already spent
$
35
million on
ads targeting Democrats like
[[Kay Hagan]], [[
Mary Landrieu
]],
and
[[Mark
Pryor
]].
According to Politico
,
the
"
projected budget
for
Americans for Prosperity would be unprecedented
for a
private political group
in a
midterm, and would likely rival even
the
spending
of
the Republican and Democratic parties’ congressional campaign arms
."<ref
name="spree"
>
Kenneth Vogel
, "[http://www.politico.com/story/2014/
05
/
koch
-
brothers
-
americans
-
for
-
prosperity
-
2014
-
elections
-
106520
.html
Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity plans $125 million spending spree
]," Politico,
May 9
, 2014.</ref>
+
==2014 Election Activity==
+
{{#evp:youtube|HiSKmeXLwBQ|"Obamacare for the Mortgage Industry (Hagan)"|right|200}}
+
In April
2014,
the 60 Plus Association made a
$
1.6
million
TV and radio ad purchase attacking seven senators
on
the Senate Banking Committee for supporting a measure to scrap Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac, including [[Joe Manchin]] (D-WV), [[Mark Warner]] (D-VA),
[[Kay Hagan]]
(D-NC)
, [[
Mike Crapo
]]
(R-ID), [[Dean Heller]] (R-NV)
, [[Mark
Kirk
]]
(R-IL), and [[Jerry Moran]] (R-KS)
.
<ref>Annenberg Public Policy Center
, "
[http://www.factcheck.org/2014/04/obamacare-
for
-the-mortgage-industry/ Obamacare
for
the mortgage industry?]," Factcheck.org, April 4, 2014.</ref> While the ad stated the plan amounted to
a
"takeover of the mortgage industry", ''Politico'' reported that the plan "represents a centrist approach
in
which the government will still play
a
role in supporting
the
mortgage market but less
of
one than it does today
."<ref>
Jon Pryor and Kevin Cirilli
, "[http://www.politico.com/story/2014/
03
/
senate
-
fannie
-
mae
-
freddie
-
mac
-
housing
-
finance
-
deal-104522
.html
Senate Banking leaders reach housing finance deal
]," Politico,
March 11
, 2014.</ref>
−
{{#evp:youtube|R5LR1BwX_TI|Untruthful advertisement
from
Americans for Prosperity that aired in Colorado|right|210}}
+
Despite 60 Plus receiving funding
from the [[
Koch brothers
]],
an anonymous official with the Koch-funded
[[
Freedom Partners
]]
group admitted to ''Politico'' that they were not informed about the ad and were frustrated by it.<ref>Philip Elliott
,
"
[
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0404/Koch-brothers-weren-t-consulted-before-seniors-group-criticized-senators Koch brothers weren't consulted before seniors group criticized senators
],
" Christian Science Monitor, April 4
, 2014.
</ref>
−
On March 17, 2014, Americans for Prosperity began airing ads in Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, and North Carolina that make statements about
the [[
Affordable Care Act]] rated as "false" and "misleading" by fact checkers. These ads target Senators [[Mark Pryor
]], [[
Mark Udall
]], [
[Mary Landrieu]
],
and [[Kay Hagan]]
,
all of whom are up for election in November
2014.
+
−
According to Americans for Prosperity, "millions are paying more and getting less." The Tampa Bay Times Politifact rated this claim as "FALSE", noting that there was "a slowdown in the increase in health costs during the last four years, including a modest 4 percent increase from 2011 to 2012" and "Americans are getting more benefits under the law in a number of ways -- including, in some cases, being able to buy affordable insurance for the first time."<ref>Politifact, "[http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2014/mar/20/americans-prosperity/americans-prosperity-claims-people-are-getting-les Millions of Americans are "paying more and getting less" under Obamacare]," Politifact.com, March 17, 2014.</ref>
+
'''Read the entire SourceWatch page on [[
60 Plus Association
|
60 Plus Association
here]]'''
−
+
−
'''Read the entire SourceWatch page on [[
Americans for Prosperity
|
Americans for Prosperity
here]]'''
+
==References==
==References==
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<references/>
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<small>
<references/
></small
>
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|}
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