TPMMuckraker Alex Vogel
Jill Holtzman Vogel
GOP Lawyer's Latest Gambit: Anti-HCR Bill In Virginia
Zachary Roth | March 8, 2010, 3:35PM
Virginia State Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel (R-Winchester)
A Republican state legislator with close ties to the GOP operatives behind a slew of hardball tactics has sponsored and helped pass a bill -- almost certainly unconstitutional -- that prohibits the federal government from forcing the state's citizens to buy health insurance.
The Virginia legislature last week passed legislation, based on a model created by the American Legislative Exchange Council, that declares unconstitutional any effort to require citizens to buy health insurance -- as the health-care reform measures passed by both chambers of the U.S. Congress would do. In the state Senate, the effort was led by Sen. Jill Vogel.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (52) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (3)Topics: Alex Vogel, Health Care, Jason Torchinsky, Jill Holtzman Vogel, Robo-calls, Voting, voter fraud
Voting
GOP Firm's Latest Bid To Suppress Minority Votes Fails
Zachary Roth | December 2, 2009, 10:19AM
Tom Josefiak
The Republicans' latest failed effort to make it harder for minorities to vote is being led by a lawyer for the same GOP firm that's behind a recent bid to undermine restrictions on robo-calls.
The day before the 2008 election, the Republican National Committee filed suit to end restrictions on GOP programs to combat voter fraud. Those "programs" have sometimes involved "voter caging" -- challenging voters' registration if mail sent to their residences was returned as undeliverable -- and other tactics designed to suppress minority votes. But a federal judge yesterday rejected the GOP bid, Politico reports, ruling that "voter intimidation presents an ongoing threat to the participation of minority individuals in the political process."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (5) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (5)Topics: Alex Vogel, HoltzmanVogel, Jason Torchinsky, Republican National Committee, Robo-calls, Tom Josefiak, Voting, voter fraud
American Future Fund
GOP Group Undermining Robo-Call Laws Has Ties To DCI
Zachary Roth | November 24, 2009, 5:37PM
American Future Fund (AFF), the shadowy conservative advocacy group that's working to undermine state laws against robo-calling, has ties to DCI Group, a Republican lobbying firm with a reputation for dirty tricks and shady clients. And a closer look at AFF suggests the group has been designed to carry out political attacks while escaping scrutiny from the press and public.
AFF paid $249,000 last year to McKenna & Associates for fundraising work, according to a copy of AFF's 990 form for 2008 that was obtained by TPMmuckraker. The Arlington, Virginia-based firm is run by Andrew McKenna, a GOP operative and former senior vice-president of DCI Group. McKenna did not immediately respond to TPMmuckraker's request for comment.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (3) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (5)Topics: Alex Vogel, American Future Fund, Astroturf, Chuck Grassley, FLS Connect, Health Care, Jill Holtzman Vogel, Lobbyists
Jill Hotlzman
Shadowy GOP-Linked Group Plans Barrage Of 2010 Robo-Calls
Zachary Roth | November 23, 2009, 1:10PM
A shadowy conservative group with ties to the operatives behind a host of GOP dirty tricks is working to undermine state restrictions on political robo-calls, as it gears up to unleash a barrage of such calls in 2010 races.
Last month, American Future Fund Political Action (AFFPA) informed the FEC that it's planning robo-calls in congressional races. Jason Torchinsky, a lawyer for AFFPA, wrote that the group "wishes to distribute pre-recorded telephone calls ... as part of a nationwide program of political outreach." The calls, wrote Torchinsky, "will expressly advocate the election or defeat of one or more clearly identified candidates for Federal office."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (6) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Topics: Alex Vogel, American Center for Voting Rights, American Future Fund, Jason Torchinsky, Jill Holtzman Vogel, Jill Hotlzman, Voting, voter fraud
Follow us!
Most Popular
TPM Stories Now Surging on Digg.com
TPM Top News
© 2010 TPM Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
