Americans for Prosperity is a right-wing political advocacy group founded by billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch, the owners of Koch Industries.[1]

AFP serves as the Kochs' "grassroots" operation, also known as astroturf. AFP spends millions on TV ads in election cycles. 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 and then peaked $115 million in 2012.[2] In 2018, the most recently available report, AFP's budget was $96.5 million.[3]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."[4]

AFP's messages are in sync with those of other groups funded by the Kochs and the Kochs' other special interest groups that work against progressive or Democratic initiatives and protections for workers and the environment. Accordingly, AFP opposes labor unions, health care reform, stimulus spending, and any effort to combat climate change including President Obama's 2015 Clean Power Plan.

Charles and David Koch both used the "powerful political group" to espouse "their libertarian philosophy" from AFP's founding until 2018 when, reportedly, Koch Industries announced David was "stepping away from his political and business interests because of declining health"[5]

AFP lists 38 states on their website as places where they are active. According to AFP president, Tim Phillips,[6] who says that they are only in states where AFP feels it can "move the needle." Phillips says AFP employs "hundreds" of staffers and has "thousands of volunteers," it's website boasts that "there are over 3,200,000 of us, and we’re active in your neighborhood."[7][8][9]

Emily Seidel currently serves as the CEO of AFP.

Description

Americans for Prosperity generally refers to the organization's section 501(c)(4) "social welfare" branch, generally referred to as a "dark money" group because it does not have to disclose its donors, despite spending millions to influence elections. It can also refer to the "Americans for Prosperity Foundation" (AFP Foundation), a related 501(c)(3) organization. Both organizations state that they are "committed to educating citizens about economic policy and a return of the federal government to its Constitutional limits." On AFP's website it says it supports "cutting taxes and government spending in order to halt the encroachment of government in the economic lives of citizens by fighting proposed tax increases and pointing out evidence of waste, fraud, and abuse."[10]



AFP was one of the lead organizations behind the Tax Day Tea Party protests April 15, 2009. Its Director is Art Pope, an ex-legislator who has been dubbed "The Knight of the Right" by Raleigh News and Observer journalist Rob Christensen.[11]

In mid-2009, Americans for Prosperity launched an advertising and advocacy campaign opposing U.S. health care reform named Patients United Now.[12]

On its website it describes its "featured partners" as being the Heartland Institute's International Conference on Climate Change, the Internet Freedom Coalition and Townhall.com.[13]

History and Ties to the Koch Brothers



Credit: Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP David Koch speaking at a 2013 Americans for Prosperity Foundation event

AFP was established in late 2003 as a successor to the Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation, an industry-funded political organization,[14] following an internal rift between the leaders of Citizens for a Sound Economy and its action arm founded by David Koch and Richard Fink.[15] In 2014, David Koch was the Chairman of the Board of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation.[16]

AFP was also formally affiliated with the Independent Women's Forum. Both organizations shared the same Washington address, and formerly shared most of the same operational staff.[17] In 2008, IWF moved to separate office space.

An October 2003 Washington Times report on the formation of AFP noted that "Nancy Pfotenhauer, an executive of Citizens for a Sound Economy [CSE] in the 1990s who helped defeat Hillary Rodham Clinton's health care reform proposal, has been tapped to head a new national advocacy organization to protect 'every American's fundamental right to pursue prosperity.'[18]

Before joining the Independent Women's Forum in 2001, [Nancy] Pfotenhauer headed the Washington office of Koch Industries, a conglomerate with holdings in oil and gas, chemicals, minerals, ranching, and securities; Koch Executive Vice President David Koch was a founder and a chairman of the CSE Foundation and is now on the AFP board," reported the National Journal in November 2003. Pfotenhauer worked with Koch in the mid-'90s, when she was executive vice president of both CSE and the CSE Foundation. But she has an even longer history with AFP board member Walter Williams, for whom she was a graduate research assistant at George Mason University 20 years ago."[19]

According to investigative journalist Jane Mayer in an article in the August 30, 2010 issue of The New Yorker, the Kochs are known for "creating slippery organizations with generic-sounding names," that "make it difficult to ascertain the extent of their influence in Washington." Charles Lewis, founder of the Center for Public Integrity said, “The Kochs are on a whole different level. There’s no one else who has spent this much money. The sheer dimension of it is what sets them apart. They have a pattern of lawbreaking, political manipulation, and obfuscation. I’ve been in Washington since Watergate, and I’ve never seen anything like it. They are the Standard Oil of our times.”[20]

Ties to the Trump Administration

AFP Launches Campaign to Promote Trump Judges

AFP will spend $1 million on campaigns to get Trump's federal judicial nominations confirmed.[21] AFP hired Sarah Field to the newly-created post of Vice President of Judicial Strategy to lead this effort. AFP states on its website, "President Trump has nominated more fair and qualified lower courts nominees than any other president in American history."[22]

Former AFP Employees in Trump Administration

As of April 2018:[23]

Andeliz N. Castillo (former Senior Vice President of Grassroots Business Integration), Office of the Vice President

John Baylor Myers (former Deputy State Director), Department of the Treasury

Campaign Advocacy

Americans for Prosperity is heavily involved in electoral activities and has paid for and released numerous political campaign materials, often which target political candidates of the issues which AFP pursues.

AFP Launches New Super PAC, "AFP Action," Before the 2018 Midterms

Within months of the 2018 midterm elections, "the sprawling Koch political network" known as AFP announced "a new tool to build broad policy coalitions in Congress to help advance AFP's vision," which "will advocate for candidates who share our commitment to breaking internal and external barriers that prevent people from realizing their full potential" according to CNN[24] Bill Riggs is servings as AFP Action's spokesperson.

Under campaign finance laws, this arm of AFP will be able to spend will be able to spend unlimited sums on election activities with only "loose" disclosure laws.[24]

As of October 2018, AFP Action is funding the following campaign:

Florida

Against Sen. Bill Nelson: AFP-Action announced on Oct. 5, 2018 that it would be funding a "seven-figure digital ad buy to supplement its grassroots and direct-mail efforts urging Floridians to vote against Bill Nelson in the race for U.S. Senate." Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott is running for Nelson's seat. [25]

Against Gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum[26]

Illinois

Supporting U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam[27]

Indiana

Supporting U.S. Rep. Trey Hollingsworth[28]

Iowa

Supporting U.S. Rep. Rod Blum [27]

Supporting U.S. Rep. David Young[27]

Minnesota

Supporting U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer [29]

Supporting Rep. Erik Paulsen[30]

North Carolina

Supporting U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows [31]

Supporting U.S. Rep. Ted Budd[27]

Ohio

Supporting U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot[27]

Tennesee

Supporting U.S. Rep. Phil Roe [27]

Supporting Rep. Marsha Blackburn: On Oct. 3, AFP announced a "significant $2 million television campaign" as a part of its "its continued efforts in support of Marsha Blackburn."[32]

Texas

Supporting U.S. Rep. Will Hurd[27]

Utah

Supporting U.S. Rep. Mia Love[27]

Virginia

Supporting U.S. Rep. Dave Brat[27]

Washington

Supporting U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers[27]

"Doing business as" Concerned Veterans for America and The Libre Initiative

In addition to its efforts under the name "Americans for Prosperity," Federal Election Commission filings show that AFP does buisness as Concerned Veterans for America and The Libre Initiative among others.[33] AFP has filed expenditures that are in support of and opposed to candidates and policies during the 2018 elections in Wisconsin, Iowa, Virginia, Florida, and Texas under the banner of these groups.

The Kochs' AFP began an aggressive campaign entitled "Defeat 22" in South Dakota in August 2016 to prevent the passage of Measure 22.[34] According to the USA Today, the measure "calls for public disclosure of donors who fund advocacy efforts, the creation of a state ethics commission and public financing of political campaigns. It also limits lobbyists' gifts to elected officials and lowers the number of campaign contributions to candidates, parties and political action committees."[34]

AFP is framing its campaign as a fight for the "free speech" rights of donors but as the USA Today reports, voters polled in the state support transparency in campaigns and elections, "The initiative's supporters say their internal polling shows strong support for the measure, which comes in the wake of a high-profile corruption investigation into state management of the federal EB-5 program, which grants green cards to wealthy foreigners who invest in South Dakota projects. A former state official has been charged in connection with the probe and a former cabinet official, who was under investigation, committed suicide in 2013."[34]

Although Defeat 22 is calling itself a "coalition," the chairman of Defeat 22 is Ben Lee, South Dakota Director at AFP.[34] Luke Hilgeman, the Chief Operating Officer at AFP, declined to tell the USA Today how much the organization is spending to defeat Measure 22.[34]

2016 Elections

According to research from The Center for Media and Democracy, AFP is supporting the following candidates in the 2016 elections:

Rep Mike Coffman (CO-06)

Rep. George Holding (NC-13)

Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV) for US Senate

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA)

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)

State Rep. Joel Kitchens (WI-01)

AFP reportedly plans to spend $225 million in the 2016 election cycle.[35] As of October 16, 2015, the Center for Responsive Politics reports that AFP has spent $1,550,889 on electioneering communications opposing former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland's 2016 U.S. Senate bid.[36] AFP began the ad campaign the week of August 18, 2015. U.S. News and World Report noted that unusually for AFP, the ad included "express advocacy," explicitly telling viewers "Vote against Ted Strickland. He's failed Ohio's families."[35]

In August 2015, AFP started running $1.2 million in ads against Democratic New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, who was reportedly considering running for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH). Those ads told viewers to "tell Maggie Hassan we can't afford her tax hikes."[35]

AFP Kentucky ad, "You’re Going The Wrong Way, Jack Conway"

In Kentucky, AFP released a web ad and direct mailer attacking state Attorney General Jack Conway, a Democrat, in July 2015. The web ad was titled "You’re Going The Wrong Way, Jack Conway" and "depict[ed] Conway as a supporter of cap-and-trade legislation, the Affordable Care Act and high-dollar government spending" and attempted to link Conway to President Obama, as described by Kentucky's cn|2. The mailer was expected to go to approximately 20,000 residents, inviting them to attend the annual Fancy Farm picnic and "Help Stop Jack Conway."[37]

2014 Elections

The 2014 midterm elections were remarkable for the increasing importance of campaign spending by outside groups.[38] Because AFP is not required to disclose all of its spending, it is unclear how much the group spent in total on midterm-related activities. AFP reported $5,082,683 in independent expenditures and election communications to the FEC,[39] but its actual spending was far greater, according to a representative from the group who spoke with the National Journal.

"Americans for Prosperity, a nonprofit organization that serves as the Koch brothers' flagship political enterprise, spent $77 million on competitive Senate and House races, said spokesman Levi Russell. That total includes $56 million from AFP on TV, radio, and digital ads and direct mail, and another $21 million on grassroots efforts from their state chapters."[40]

AFP may have spent even more on voter turnout efforts. The New York Times reported that AFP "poured more than $125 million into a sustained field effort, knocking on 2.5 million doors across 26 states this cycle."[41] AFP had a major presence in many key state races in 2014 and appeared to have significantly built its organization compared to previous election cycles. The New York Times reported that AFP claimed to have built "a network of more than 500 paid staff members across 32 states" for the midterms.[42] Slate noted that "of the nine U.S. Senate races where the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity was active, its favored candidates also prevailed in at least five contests. Only in New Hampshire and Michigan did the Crossroads groups and Americans for Prosperity see defeat."[43]

Koch Network Planned to Spend Hundreds of Millions on 2014 Midterm Elections

Based on a "Confidential Investor Update" memo obtained by Politico in May 2014, Americans for Prosperity plannned to spend $125 million on electioneering during the 2014 midterms and at the time an inside source commented that was a “very conservative estimate. We’re on track for more than that.”[44] An official at the June 2014 Koch network donor retreat said that the network's budget for 2014 was $290 million. At that time AFP, together with Freedom Partners, American Energy Alliance, and Concerned Veterans for America, had spent $5.3 million on ads in Arkansas, $2.2 million in Colorado, and $3.4 million in Iowa.[45]

Between January 2013 and September 2014, the Koch network "aired more than 43,900 television ads this election cycle in an attempt to help Republicans take control of the Senate in the upcoming November election," amounting to nearly 1 in 10 ads, about twice as many as the right-wing American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS PACs, according to a report by the Center for Public Integrity. AFP alone had aired more than 27,000 ads.[46]

The organization conducted a "forensic analysis" of what went wrong in the 2012 election (when President Obama won) and decided it needed to make changes in its "media message-testing strategy to target specific demographics in specific locations." The group also needed to soften its messaging, asserting that "Americans place a great importance on taking care of those in need and avoiding harm to the weak. We consistently see that Americans in general are concerned that free-market policy — and its advocates — benefit the rich and powerful more than the most vulnerable of society...We must correct this misconception."[44]

The donor memo boasts about victories in Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina, and Wisconsin and announced its plan to expand into eight new “pathway states,” listing Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.[44]

2014 Campaign Ads

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."[44]

Untruthful advertisement from Americans for Prosperity that aired in Colorado

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."[47]

Americans for Prosperity ad which makes claims about Senator Begich PolitiFact rated as "Mostly False"

Americans for Prosperity spent $400,000 on a TV ad that began airing February 21, 2014 attacking Democratic Senator Mark Begich of Alaska, which has been rated "Mostly False" by fact checkers.[48] The ad claims that "Begich is on record supporting a carbon tax, even pushing Harry Reid to make it a priority."[49] The Tampa Bay Times rated this claim as "Mostly False," explaining that: "Begich voted on an amendment that said if there is a carbon tax, the revenue generated by a carbon tax to be given back to the public in some form. The letter to Reid said that energy policy should be aimed at putting some sort of price on greenhouse gas emissions, without specifically saying it should be a carbon tax. Begich’s campaign said he’s never explicitly supported a carbon tax."

AFP Ad Buys Against Politicians Supporting Affordable Care Act

On April 23, 2014, Americans for Prosperity launched a series of ads in several targeted races across the country, including ads against in Michigan against Rep. Gary Peters, in Lousiana against Senator Mary Landrieu, in New Hampshire against Senator Jeanne Shaheen, and in Colorado against Senator Mark Udall.

AFP ad against Senator Shaheen, claiming health care premiums up 90 percent in New Hampshire

AFP faced criticism for its statements in its ad against Shaheen. In the ad, AFP claims "health care premiums up 90 percent in New Hampshire." However, fact-checkers rate these claims "False," stating: "The claim cited a Morgan Stanley report that based its New Hampshire numbers on data from just one insurance broker in the state. Experts say that’s far too small a sample to say anything definitive about what’s happening to premiums in the state."[50]AFP put $457,000 behind the ad buy.[51]

In the same wave, AFP faced controversy its ad targeting Udall. The ad came under fire for using a picture of Udall and Barack Obama following a mass shooting in an Aurora, Colorado movie theater. According to the Denver Post, the group "later released a new commercial without the image, but several family members who lost loved ones in the massacre released a statement decrying its use in the first place."[52]

According to Politico, AFP also spent $650,000 on May 14, 2014 in an ad buy criticizing Rep. Ann McLane Kuster's vote for the Affordable Care Act.[53]

AFP Spent Nearly $900,000 in Wisconsin in Support of Scott Walker

Americans for Prosperity ad in Wisconsin

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Americans for Prosperity made $866,000 in ad buys boosting Governor Scott Walker's reelection campaign just as polls showed him tied with his opponent, Democrat Mary Burke, in late May 2014.[54] The ad never mentions Walker by name; however, the ad touts the budget policies of his administration. Notably, it was AFP's 501(c)(3) arm, Americans for Prosperity Foundation, that produced the ad, resuing the "It's Working" message on which it spent $2.9 million in 2011 and 2012 with the MacIver Institute, another 501(c)(3).[55] AFP is reportedly embroiled in a criminal investigation looking into potentially illegal coordination in Wisconsin.[56]

2012 Elections

Source: Robert Maguire with the Center for Responsive Politics. 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.

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."[57] The analysis revealed that Americans for Prosperity spent at least $33.5 million on television ads encouraging viewers to vote against President Obama.

However, at a Koch network donor retreat in June 2014, Arkansas Rep. Tom Cotton credited AFP for shifting the political landscape in Arkansas in recent years, saying ""Americans for Prosperity in Arkansas has played a critical role in turning our state from a one-party Democratic state [inaudible] building the kind of constant engagement to get people in the state involved in their communities."[45]

See Americans for Prosperity in the 2012 Election.

2010 Elections

A video released by AFP during the 2010 election cycle directly responded to Obama's criticisms of AFP, reframing Obama's statements as an attack on an effective grassroots opponent of his.

APF propagated claims that Senator Boxer's support for cap-and-trade climate legislation would result in much higher prices for gasoline and electricity and less jobs. It helped create rallies in Carson City, Reno, Las Vegas, Henderson, Nevada and Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield, California, from June 15th to June 17th, 2010.[58].

American's for Prosperity ran dozens of attack ads in both state and federal races around the country, several of which are listed here:

Building for 2016 Election

Of the $125 million AFP planned to spend on the 2014 midterm elections, more than half was directed to "expanding its ground organization, with more than 500 paid field staffers positioned in pivotal races across the country," according to the Washington Post.

“We’ve got to get to the point where we’re a deeper part of a community, and the left has done that for a lot longer, with a much bigger footprint,” said Tim Phillips, the group’s national president. “It’s about building a brand in a community. Then when the attacks come, ‘Oh, you’re just part of a Koch network or some national network,’ it doesn’t really ring true with what people are seeing.”[59]

According to the Post, AFP has also spent "millions" on technology and data analytics to help target likely voters. AFP has worked with Data Trust, a company that has an exclusive data agreement with the Republican National Committee. In August 2014, Data Trust formed a partnership with i360, "a data management company that works with AFP and about a dozen other groups in the Koch-backed political network."[59]

The Post also noted that "although the tax-exempt group maintains that it is nonpartisan, AFP has decided to engage in direct campaign activity in key Senate races in the coming weeks — freeing its field staff to explicitly urge voters not to support Democratic candidates."[59] Under current tax rules, a nonprofit like AFP "can only spend a limited amount of its annual budget on campaign activities, and those expenditures must be reported to the Federal Election Commission — the kind of disclosure that the closely held group has sought to avoid."[59]

AFP Involvement in Michigan's Right-to-Work Bill

AFP Michigan's director, Scott Hagerstrom, advocates "taking the unions out at the knees"

Americans for Prosperity played in integral role in supporting governor Rick Snyder's signing of the controversial "Right to Work" bill on December 11, 2012, which dealt a major blow to unions across the state. Scott Hagerstrom, the Michigan director of AFP, stated the "Michigan passage of right-to-work legislation will be the shot heard around the world for workplace freedom. A victory over forced unionization in a union stronghold like Michigan would be an unprecedented win on par with Wisconsin that would pave the way for right to work in states across our nation."

The Koch-funded organization set up a tent serving free food, drinks, and even $25 gas cards outside of the Capitol in an effort to harness support for the bill. According to a New York Times report, AFP members called thousands of Michigan residents, urging them to support the right-to-work bill and contact their representatives. An AFP spokeswoman failed to answer a question regarding the amount of money the organization had given to support of the passage of the bill. The group even circulated a story claiming to be attacked by union supporters following the collapse of an AFP tent set up in front of the capital.

Americans for Prosperity in Wisconsin

Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin is the state arm of the David Koch's AFP.

Opposition to Medicaid Expansion

Eric Bott, AFP Wisconsin State Director, argued in an email to supporters that Medicare "expansion means taking resources away from those who truly need Medicaid in order to fund a welfare expansion for those who already have private coverage" and urged supporters to send a letter saying "I agree that those who need health care should have access to quality services. Medicaid Expansion means taking resources away from those who truly need Medicaid in order to fund a welfare expansion for those who already have private coverage" to their legislators.[60][61]

2011 Wisconsin Protests & 2011/2012 Recall Elections

Leaked Audio Suggests AFP Violated WI Law During Recall

A leaked audio recording of the invite-only June 2014 Koch network donor retreat revealed Phil Cox, Executive Director of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), telling a gathering of right-wing donors that AFP was a "tremendous partner" and "heavily involved" during Wisconsin's 2012 recall elections. Cox also thanked David Koch for "his very strong support of the RGA."[62] AFP spent at least $10 million during the recall,[63] mostly through its 501(c)(3) "charitable" arm, while the RGA is a 527 PAC and spent some $7 million campaigning expressly for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. If, as the audio suggests, the two groups coordinated their campaigns, they likely violated tax laws barring political intervention by charities, as explained by the Center for Media and Democracy.[62]

Koch Industries and Scott Walker

In Feb. 2011, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker introduced a "budget repair bill" that would deny collective-bargaining rights to public-sector workers, and included language that would allow for the selling off of state-owned power plants, as well as enable officials appointed by the governor to make sweeping cuts in health coverage for low-income families without having to go through the normal legislative process.[64]

Among those supporting the bill were Americans for Prosperity, with state records showing that Koch Industries, whose energy and consumer products conglomerate is based in Wichita, Kansas, was one of the biggest contributors to Walker's election campaign. Koch owns a coal company subsidiary with facilities throughout Wisconsin, including in Green Bay, Manitowoc, Ashland and Sheboygan.[65]

On February 27, 2011, the activist group Anonymous announced an attack on Koch Industries as a response to the Wisconsin protests. Between 1997 and 2008, David and Charles Koch collectively gave more than $17 million to groups lobbying against unions; the Kochs are one of (Republican) Governor Walker's largest corporate supporters.[66][67] Anonymous accused the brothers of attempting "to usurp American Democracy" and called for a boycott of all Koch Industries products.[68] Under "Operation Wisconsin," Anonymous members took down the website of the Koch-funded group Americans for Prosperity with a distributed denial of service attack on Feb. 27, 2011.

Anti-Union Advocacy

AFP adopts the anti-union positions held by its libertarian funders, David and Charles Koch.[69] A video published on YouTube on February 26, 2011 shows Scott Hagerstrom, the executive director of Americans for Prosperity Michigan, advocating "taking unions out at the knees so they don't have the resources" to fight for workplace benefits or political candidates. [70]

"David Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity conventions in Wisconsin" in the two years prior to 2011 "may have helped lay the groundwork for the state's controversial battle over labor rights and budget cuts. The conventions featured leading figures in the right-wing's attack on workers, and may also have skirted disclosure rules in the process. Governor Scott Walker and Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen appeared when they were running for office, and both conventions featured Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David T. Prosser, Jr..

"In both the 2009 and 2010 conferences, AFP invited activists to attend a closing 'reception' with 'invited candidates for elected office' that was 'fully sponsored and hosted' by the Wisconsin Center for Economic Prosperity (WCEP), a Political Action Committee (PAC). AFP added a disclaimer to the 2010 political candidate meet-and-greet reception, stating 'the reception and corresponding activities are not sponsored or hosted by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, Americans for Prosperity, or the Wisconsin Prosperity Network.' This disclaimer was likely aimed at avoiding restrictions on non-profit involvement in partisan political activities, such as funding a reception for federal and state candidates. However, at the time of the conventions, WCEP shared leadership with AFP. Federal filings showed that at least one of WCEP's checking accounts was in the name of Mark Block, the president of Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin until 2011."[71]

A TV station reported on a March 4, 2011 AFP rally in Ashwaubenon, WI that featured a custom-painted, pro-Scott Walker luxury coach

In early March 2011, AFP conducted a "Stand with Walker" bus tour to Wisconsin, complete with a custom-painted luxury coach with a picture of embattled Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker professionally-painted on the side. The bus arrived in Ashwaubenon, WI on Friday, March 4. About 100 people attended the rally, a "high turnout" that, one Wisconsin TV station reported, "forced organizers to move from Perkins restaurant to the Holiday Inn next door." Americans for Prosperity's Wisconsin state director, Matt Seaholm, who attended the rally, said, "What we're doing here is, we want to go around the state, you know, give our folks a chance to show their support for what Governor Walker is doing. So often they can't make it down to Madison and take the day off, so we thought we'd bring the show to them." [72] A custom-painted luxury coach that goes on highly publicized tours is a hallmark of a corporate-funded front group, according to PRWatch.org's article on the characteristics of front groups.[73]

The debate over the public union-quashing Wisconsin "Budget Reform Bill" overflowed into the Spring 2011 non-partisan statewide election, where candidates for Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, incumbent David T. Prosser, Jr. and challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg, campaigned as pro- and anti-Walker, respectively. Americans for Prosperity weighed in, sending out a "mailer criticizing Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Joanne Kloppenburg for prosecutions that were trumpeted by her boss Wisconsin's Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, who is defending Governor Walker's union-busting bill in court.... [E]ach of these acts were in the context of enforcing the state's environmental laws. Considering that AFP and the Kochs have been pushing climate change denial and the repeal of environmental regulation[s], is it coincidence that they chose these examples?"[74]

Then, on April 16th, 2011, "Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska who quit her job in 2009, headlined a rally in Madison, Wisconsin, bought and paid for by the front-group Americans for Prosperity (AFP), but billed as a "grassroots" Tea Party event. The Koch-funded AFP set up the stage and programmed 13 buses into Madison, but only six were labeled "full" on their website on Saturday. AFP also likely paid the airfare and fees of the national speakers."[75] "[C]ounter-protesters outnumbered Tea Party supporters. Wisconsin Wave held an early rally on the opposite side of the capitol, giving progressives a platform for the day but ending in time for attendees to march in opposition to Palin's speech.... Hundreds of protesters brought hand puppets to the event, illustrating the theme 'Walker and Palin are corporate puppets' of the Koch Brothers and other corporate interests."[76]

In February 2012, David Koch gave a rare interview to the Palm Beach Post and discussed his involvement with the Governor's pending recall election. "We're helping him, as we should. We've gotten pretty good at this over the years," he told the Post, adding "We've spent a lot of money in Wisconsin. We're going to spend more."[77]

The interview closely followed AFP's purchase of $700,000 worth of television ads in Wisconsin, which it produced in tandem with the MacIver Institute. The ad claimed that by eliminating collective bargaining, Walker had "put taxpayers back in control" and praised his record. [78] The ads were paid through AFP's 501(c)3 branch, which is not allowed to directly participate in elections. The ad does not mention Scott Walker by name, but clearly articulates for his policies.

AFP has been very active in Wisconsin, teaming up with the Madison-based MacIver Institute to spend millions on the "It's Working!" campaign – a series of TV ads and town hall meetings asserting that Governor Scott Walker’s severe cuts to education and his dramatic repeal of the rights of public workers are “working,” in advance of Walker’s June 2012 recall election. AFP and MacIver reportedly spent at least $2.9 million in 2012 on TV ads supporting Walker’s agenda as well as untold sums on town hall meetings, rallies, direct mail, Internet outreach, and other work. State AFP chapters around the country also organized “Freedom Phone” phone banks to have individuals make calls into the state “supporting the Wisconsin reforms.” Additionally, the AFP chapter in Illinois is busing out-of-state people into Wisconsin to canvass neighborhoods just a few days before the election.

Luke Hilgemann, the director of AFP-Wisconsin, was the Chief of Staff for Rep. Suder, the ALEC co-chair for Wisconsin. In his AFP biography, Hilgemann notes that during his time in the Assembly, under the Walker administration, he “helped craft and implement one of the most conservative legislative agendas in state history which included collective bargaining reforms, Conceal and Carry, Voter ID, and Castle Doctrine” – all of which track key provisions of ALEC model legislation. AFP is a private sector member of ALEC, as is Koch Industries, which has had a seat on ALEC’s governing private sector board for almost two decades and also chaired ALEC’s corporate board for a number of years.[79]

According to documents obtained by Common Cause, AFP was on ALEC’s Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force in 2011, and its Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force in 2010, but currently-available task force information does not include member rosters.

When ALEC came under additional public scrutiny in 2012, Wisconsin legislators received identical emails supporting ALEC from people claiming to be constituents, and the text of the emails was identical to the language in an online petition pushed by AFP across the country.

"It's Working Wisconsin"

Climate Change Denial

Opposition to Automobile Efficiency Standards

Across the country, AFP has been involved in a fight against regulations mandating that cars are more efficient. According to The New York Times, "in Illinois, it discouraged state officials from considering subsidies for electric vehicles." and in Colorado, AFP representatives argued that people want SUV's, not tighter emissions rules.[80]

Plot to Kill Public Transit Projects

According to The New York Times, AFP has taken part in "killing public transit projects around the country." Using data from i360 AFP activists are going to door in various cities urging their fellow citizens to oppose public transport plans. "The Kochs’ opposition to transit spending stems from their longstanding free-market, libertarian philosophy. It also dovetails with their financial interests, which benefit from automobiles and highways," The New York Times reported in June of 2018.[7]

AFP Called Out for Blocking Action on Climate Change

In July of 2016, nineteen U.S. Senators delivered a series of speeches denouncing climate change denial from 32 organizations with links to fossil-fuel interests, including Americans for Prosperity.[81] Sen. Whitehouse (RI-D), who led the effort to expose "the web of denial" said in his remarks on the floor that the purpose was to,

"shine a little light on the web of climate denial and spotlight the bad actors in the web, who are polluting our American discourse with phony climate denial. This web of denial, formed over decades, has been built and provisioned by the deep-pocketed Koch brothers, by ExxonMobil, by Peabody coal, and by other fossil fuel interests. It is a grim shadow over our democracy in that it includes an electioneering effort that spends hundreds of millions of dollars in a single election cycle and threatens any Republican who steps up to address the global threat of climate change. . . . [I]t is long past time we shed some light on the perpetrators of this web of denial and expose their filthy grip on our political process. It is a disgrace, and our grandchildren will look back at this as a dirty time in America’s political history because of their work.”[81]

Hot Air Tour

During 2008, Americans for Prosperity ran its Hot Air Tour campaign, a hot air balloon cross-country tour with the slogan, "Global Warming Alarmism: Lost Jobs, Higher Taxes, Less Freedom." According the the Hot Air Tour website, "Climate alarmists have bombarded citizens with apocalyptic scenarios and pressured them into environmental political correctness. It's time to tell the other side of the story. Americans for Prosperity is working hard to bring you the missing half of the global warming debate. What will the impacts of reactionary legislation be for you, your family and our economy?"[82]

AFP has received millions from fossil fuel interests, including at least $5 million from Koch family foundations.

Influence Over House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Fred Upton

In early January 2011, House Energy and Commerce Committee chair Fred Upton coauthored a Wall Street Journal op-ed with Tim Phillips, the president of Americans for Prosperity, about new EPA regulations to curb greenhouse gas emissions. They wrote that the EPA "presumes that carbon is a problem in need of regulation. We are not convinced." They also said the carbon regulation rules are "an unconstitutional power grab that will kill millions of jobs." Koch Industries was among Upton's top contributors in the 2010 election cycle, along with several other energy companies.[83]

In the past, Upton has advocated taking action on global warming: "I strongly believe that everything must be on the table as we seek to reduce carbon emissions," he once stated on his website, which has since been removed. Following the 2010 Tea Party-aided Republican takeover of the House and a heated fight for the chairmanship of the energy and commerce committee, Upton's position on climate change has veered closer to those of global warming skeptics, like most Republican congressional members. Upton is considering using the Congressional Review Act to block the EPA's new regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, in which Congress can overturn regulations from the executive branch within 60 days of their publication in the Federal Register, although the President retains the right to veto.[83]

Involvement in Protesting Health Care Reform

Speaker compares HR 3200 to history's greatest atrocities at a Patients First co-sponsored event in Pueblo, CO in August, 2009

Americans for Prosperity created an offshoot front group called Patients United Now, which organized what is estimated to be in excess of three hundred rallies against health-care reform. Patients United Now also helped organize "Kill the Bill” protests outside the Capitol, in March 2010, where Democratic supporters of health-care reform alleged that they were spat on and cursed at.[84]

In 2009 Americans for Prosperity, along with The 912 Project, was one of the conservative groups involved in organizing "town hall protests" and "recess rallies" where participants oppose health care reform by rambunctiously shouting down members of Congress while they are holding public meetings to inform the public about the proposals.[citation needed]

AFP started a group called "Patients First" to oppose health care.[12] Patients First conducts bus tours around the country to create opposition to health care reform. Americans for Prosperity/Patients First visit cities and speaks to rally people and encourage them to oppose health care reform.

AFP has been accused of likening democratically-proposed health care reform to the regimes of Mugabe, Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot as the SEIU-produced video here demonstrates. A speaker at an AFP co-sponsored event in Pueblo, Colorado repeated the discredited conservative idea that Democratic health care reform will mandate physician-assisted suicide or death for older members of society. "Adolf Hitler issued six million end of life orders -- he called his program the final solution. I kind of wonder what we're going to call ours," he said. The speaker further advises audience to "go to offices of members of Congress and put the fear of god in them." [85]

Deceptive 2013 Anti-Obamacare Ad Campaign

Americans for Prosperity Anti-Obamacare Ad

In July 2013, Americans for Prosperity started an ad campaign aimed at young women in an effort to capture swing voters for the 2014 midterm elections. One of the ads features a young mother with a chronically ill child. She expresses concern about being able to choose her own doctor and whether she can trust Washington to provide her family with healthcare. AFP is targeting young women by playing the commercial during shows popular with women like the Food Network cooking competition “Chopped,” “Law & Order: SVU” and “Good Morning America.”[86]

The ad is directly misleading, providing viewers with false information. Among the concerns brought up is not being able to choose your own doctor and having a limited network of doctors from which to choose. Obamacare does not force patients to see certain doctors and current health insurance companies severely limit the network of practitioners from which a patient may choose. Another misleading claim is that patients will be paying higher premiums. In fact the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 19 million people, the majority of enrollees, will eventually receive subsidies to purchase comprehensive health care coverage from the exchanges.[87]

AFP has also created a website to accompany the ad campaign. Viewers can input personal data to find out "risk factors" they may face under Obamacare. The site uses scare tactics to overwhelm viewers and intimidate them against the new healthcare reform law.[87]

Anti-Astroturf Signs

After being accused of astroturfing for corporate interests, Americans for Prosperity volunteers started making hand-made signs for rally participants to have more of an appearance of an actual grassroots crowd. Many of the pre-made signs had small “AFP” markers on them. Speakers at AFP rallies started mocking the "AstroTurf" and "Brooks Brothers" themes in nearly every speech at the rallies.[88]

2010 Campaigning

What Will Government Run Health Care Actually Look Like?

A week before the Nov. 2, 2010 mid-term elections, AFP began running an ad featuring a Canadian resident, identified on the AFP website as Shona Holmes, who said she developed a brain tumor in Canada and would be dead if she had relied upon the country's state-run health care: “Many Americans wonder what the new health care bill will do. Well, I know. If I had waited for treatment in my government-run health care system, I’d be dead.” The ad does not mention that the U.S. health care bill does not, in fact, embrace a single-payer system, nor does it mention how many people die in the U.S. as a result of not having health insurance.

AFP stated that "the $607,000 ad buy will run on National cable networks starting today [Oct. 27, 2010] and continuing through November 1st." On the ad, AFP President Tim Phillips said: “Our health is too important to leave in the hands of a government bureaucrat. Shona is a sobering example of how patients in other countries look to the U.S. for more choice and availability in health care when their own government-controlled systems fail.”[89]

According to the Ottawa Citizen, Holmes' "brain tumour" was actually a Rathke's Cleft Cyst on her pituitary gland. On Holmes, the John Wayne Cancer Center stated: "Rathke's Cleft Cysts are not true tumors or neoplasms; instead they are benign cysts."[90]

Anti-Economic Stimulus Stance

Beginning in 2009, Americans for Prosperity launched the website nostimulus.com, a grassroots website intended to address concerns regarding government spending and growth. [91] The site also contained a petition against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that became so popular that it crashed the website in early February 2009.[92]

Anti-Military and Economic Lobbying

In North Carolina, AFP lobbied for a bill (H810) that would raise the interest rate of some small loans by almost 40 percent. The News-Record reports: "Interest rates for some small consumer loans would more than double under a bill that cleared the House banking committee Thursday — despite opposition from consumer groups and top commanders of the state’s military bases. Opponents of the bill say the vote came after pressure from Republican leaders on behalf of an industry that helped bankroll the GOP takeover of the chamber. Backers of the bill say small lenders haven’t been able to raise their rates or fees since 1983, meaning they’re working on slim profit margins. Such lenders are typically store-front operations who will loan to people who don’t have access to credit cards and want loans smaller than banks are willing to make."

Some of the biggest opponents of the bill are military commanders, who spoke out against the bill. The News-Record reports that: "“Soldiers get themselves in financial trouble with high-interest installment loans, and then we have to pick up the pieces,” said Col. Stephen Sicinski, the garrison commander for Fort Bragg. Speaking after a committee meeting a week ago, Sicinski said soldiers can lose their security clearances and ability to work if they get into financial problems. That’s because they are deemed a security risk for getting bribed. The bill has faced a tumultuous path through the General Assembly this year and has had numerous stops and starts. Banking Committee chairman Johnathan Rhyne, a Lincolnton Republican, pulled the measure last week after remarks from Sicinski curdled support."[93]

Apparently, $140,370 was given in campaign donations from "lenders that make small installment loans and their PACS that went to Republican candidates or campaign funds during the 2010 election cycle. At the same time, the lenders shifted support away from Democratic leaders."[94]

The AFP website for the North Carolina branch lobbied for support of the bill with an announcement titled, "Why We support the Consumer Finance Act." It states that the bill would "update a 28-year-old law governing consumer loans in North Carolina by providing more flexibility for borrowers and lenders. Consumer finance lenders serve an important gap in the financial sector by providing lending options to North Carolina’s underserved middle class. The average consumer finance loan borrower in North Carolina has an annual income of $55,000-$75,000."

State Budget Lobbying

"According to the Americans for Prosperity Web site, some 28 Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature signed a 'no tax increase' pledge with the organization," along with two Democrats, wrote Dave Zweifel in October 2007. He blamed pressure from no-tax groups on delays with Wisconsin's state budget, more than three months overdue. When these legislators "already had announced they had closed their minds -- even to an increase in cigarette taxes to expand health care to kids -- how really could there be compromise?" he asked. [95]

Americans for Prosperity, which held an anti-tax rally in Madison on October 17, 2007, [96] has also been active in other states. In March, Americans for Prosperity put pressure on Kansas legislators as they debated their state budget. The group patched in calls from residents to legislators' offices, but "they weren't quite clear why they were calling in," said one office assistant, referring to the callers. "Something about state spending," but the Kansans "couldn't tell her who had made the call or any specifics on what they were told," reported the Capital-Journal in Topeka. [97]

Americans for Prosperity and the Tea Party

In a 2013 study, researchers at the University of California-San Francisco found links between the Tea Party movement and "tobacco industry efforts to oppose smoking restrictions and tobacco taxes beginning in the 1980s," as reported by the university.[98]

“If you look at CSE, AFP and Freedom Works, you will see a number of the same key players, strategies and messages going back to the 1980s,” said lead author Amanda Fallin, PhD, RN, also a CTCRE fellow. “The records indicate that the Tea Party has been shaped by the tobacco industry, and is not a spontaneous grassroots movement at all.”[98]

According to a 2010 article on Koch Industries and the billionaire Koch brothers in The New Yorker, the advocacy wing of Americans for Prosperity organized a July 4th 2010 weekend summit called Defending the American Dream in Austin, TX. Five hundred people attended the summit, which The New Yorker said served, in part, as a training session for Tea Party activists in Texas. An advertisement cast the event as a populist uprising against vested corporate power: “Today, the voices of average Americans are being drowned out by lobbyists and special interests. But you can do something about it” without making any mention of its corporate funders. The White House has expressed frustration that such sponsors have largely eluded public notice - David Axelrod, President Obama’s senior adviser, said, “What they don’t say is that, in part, this is a grassroots citizens’ movement brought to you by a bunch of oil billionaires.”[99]

Reports indicate that the Tea Party Movement has benefitted from millions of dollars from conservative foundations that are derived from wealthy U.S. families and their business interests. It appears that money to organize and implement the movement is flowing primarily through two right-wing groups: Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks.

In an April 9, 2009 article on ThinkProgress.org, Lee Fang reported that the principal organizers of Tea Party events were Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Works, which it described as two "lobbyist-run think tanks" that are "well funded" and that provide the logistics and organizing for the Tea Party movement from coast to coast. Media Matters reported that David Koch of Koch Industries was a co-founder of Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE). David Koch was chairman of the board of directors of CSE.[100] CSE received substantial funding from David Koch. Media Matters reported that the Koch family has given more than $12 million to CSE (predecessor of FreedomWorks) between 1985 and 2002.[101][102]

RightOnline

In July 2008, Americans for Prosperity hosted RightOnline, a conference of right-wing bloggers in Austin, Texas. The conference brought together conservative activists to develop strategies to counter left-wing bloggers and develop conservative "New Media" techniques. The meeting was held in conjunction with the Texas AFP chapter's conference.[103][104]

2011 Campaign against Detroit's New International Trade Crossing bridge project

On June 6, 2011, members of Americans for Prosperity posted fake eviction notices to homes in Southwest Detroit as part of their campaign against a publicly built bridge across the Detroit River.[105] The shock campaigning generated outrage among local legislators and journalists, with State Representative Rashida Tlaib complaining that the fear mongering tactic has created chaos in an already socioeconomically stressed neighborhood, and Detroit Free Press Editor Stephen Henderson labeling the pamphleting "substantively shameful," "contextually inexcusable," and "emotionally [manipulative]."[106][107] The Michigan director of Americans for Prosperity, Scott Hagerstrom, said the group's actions were "meant to startle people" and call their attention to the bridge development project, which will remunerate displaced homeowners despite AFP claims that all local residents stand to be evicted. According to Stephen Henderson, "In an area like Delray where values are so depressed, property owners bargain for more in a public development project than they'd ever get selling their places on the market."[108] Henderson compared the distribution of the fake eviction notices, which he described as "emotional terrorism," to the blockbusting of the mid-20th century, when bigoted realtors and building developers hired black families to pretend they were moving into a neighborhood, creating panic among white families who then sold their properties at bloated prices.[109]

Tobacco

AFP advocates pro-tobacco industry positions on issues like cigarette taxes and clean indoor air laws. The name "Americans for Prosperity" will sound familiar to tobacco prevention policy advocates, as Americans for Prosperity worked around the U.S. to defeat both smoke-free workplace laws and cigarette excise tax increases."[110]

According to a report from the Guardian, AFP has "accepted donations from Altria -- the parent company of Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, Inc., and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, Inc. -- from 2011 to 2014. In both 2012 and 2017, AFP accepted $50,000 from the makers of Camel cigarettes, RJ Reynolds. British American Tobacco told the Guardian that it, too, has donated to AFP. AFP argued in support of a Philip Morris product to the US Food and Drug Administration, "was fundamental in structuring and supporting the Tea Party in its initial stages and went on to adopt a policy agenda aligned with tobacco companies, opposed tobacco taxes in California in 2012 and in Arkansas in 2009 and opposed clean indoor air laws in North Carolina in 2007.[111]

Americans for Prosperity opposed a proposed Texas smoking ban in 2005. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “A proposed statewide smoking ban appears all but dead, supporters acknowledged Monday as they waged a frantic battle to bring the bill up for a vote in the Senate. ‘I think the bill is dead,’ said Peggy Venable, Texas director of Americans for Prosperity, which opposed the legislation, arguing that it is an intrusion on private-property rights." The strategy of portraying smoking as a "property right" can be traced to Philip Morris which, in the mid-1990s, introduced bills in state legislatures nominally to protect property rights as a means of fighting smoking bans. Venable called the smoke-free measure a "reckless expansion of government" that "set a dangerous precedent." Although Venable did not testify against the bill directly on behalf of the tobacco industry, the Houston Chronicle reported in 2007 that Americans for Prosperity had, in fact, been underwritten by tobacco companies in other states.[112]

Americans for Prosperity opposes smoking bans by using slippery-slope arguments ("Where will it stop?") and erroneous arguments that smoking restrictions are economically damaging.[113]

Tobacco Control[114]) Connections between the tobacco industry, third-party allies and the Tea Party, from the 1980's (top) through 2012 (bottom). The thick black line connects CSE with its direct successor organisations(Source:

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) also opposed an Illinois state tax on cigarettes in 2008, claiming it would eliminate jobs.[115]

AFP has opposed clean indoor air laws in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere.[116]

AFP opposed a clean indoor air law in Kansas City, portraying the issue as one of personal liberty and economics rather than public health.[117]

Tobacco Industry and the Tea Party

According to a study published February 8, 2013 in the journal Tobacco Control, "Rather than being a purely grassroots movement that spontaneously developed in 2009, the Tea Party has developed over time, in part through decades of work by the tobacco industry and other corporate interests."[114] Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks, both of whom have worked to oppose smoke-free laws across the United States since at least 2006, were major players in this effort, with help from the PR firm, DCI Group.[114]

State and Local Involvement

Americans for Prosperity has state chapters in 38 states. As or April 2018, AFP is in the following states:

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Florida

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Virginia

West Virginia

Wisconsin

The Prosperity Network

Another off-shoot of Americans for Prosperity is "The Prosperity Network." The state chapters and their leaders and activities are hard to track, as is where the chapters get their money. Looking at the Wisconsin Prosperity Network chapter is a good illustration of how the Network works on a state and local level.[118]

Information is surprisingly scant for an organization with so many high-profile members and funders. As of March 2011, there is no Web site (it looks as if it was taken down) and the only contact information found is the email address: info@wisconsinprosperity network.com.

Mark Pitsch, a reporter at the Wisconsin State Journal, wrote an in-depth article in May 2009 about the then newly-formed Wisconsin Prosperity Network. In the article, Pitsch describes the group as, "dubbed the Wisconsin Prosperity Network, the effort calls for an annual budget of $6.4 million and the creation of 14 new organizations, according to a draft outline of the network obtained by the State Journal."[119] The draft shows that these groups, existing outside of the Republican National or State Parties, recruits local and state candidates, mobilizes voters, uses lawsuits to advance conservative issues in court, researches public policy issues and fights perceived media bias towards the left.

Not all of the 14 groups are known, but one of the first ones to be established was the MacIver Institute, a right-wing think tank named after Republican operative John MacIver. Also, Fight Back Wisconsin and Refocus Wisconsin (a part of The Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, Inc., of which James R. Klauser is Chairman, as well as a major supporter of WPN) are both listed on the Americans for Prosperity - Wisconsin Web site.[120]

First Freedoms Foundation is another group on the AFP-Wisconsin Web site that has a similar Board Member as reported by the Wisconsin State Journal article, "New Wisconsin Prosperity Network group would push GOP causes."

AFP has also worked to take over schools boards in North Carolina, Colorado, and Wisconsin.[121]

Local and State Leaders

The leaders of Wisconsin Prosperity Network are difficult to find, but Pitsch obtained a list that is in his article. The following are known members of WPN:[122]

James Klauster - Klauster is a GOP power broker and top aide to former Gov. Tommy Thompson. He is also a Chairman on the The Wisconsin Policy Research Institute Inc. board and Senior Vice President at Wisconsin Energy Corp. He was a consultant from 1992 to 1996 for the Republican National Committee and Republican Governors Association, a General Chairman of the Thompson for Governor Committee, Co-Chairman of the Bush for President-Wisconsin committee in 2000 and as Chairman in 2004.[123] Klauser and his wife Shirley have given $96,683.45 to Wisconsin politicians since 1992.[124]

Michael Grebe - Grebe is the Bradley Foundation President and Chairman of the Republican Party of Washington.He also served on the Commission on Judicial Elections and Ethics board in 1997. Grebe is also the former boss of Barack Obama at Foley & Lardner LLP. He also chaired Scott Walker's electoral campaigns. Grebe and his wife Margaret have given $120,850 to Wisconsin politicians since 1992.[125]

Fred Luber – Luber is a businessman and the founder and chairman of Super Steel Corp. He also is a MacIver Institute Chair, was a Scott Walker Campaign Finance Co-Chair and founder of the Anne And Fred Luber Foundation. He also served on the Commission on Judicial Elections and Ethics board in 1997. Luber and his wife Anne has given $114,973 to Wisconsin politicians since 1992.[126]

Mark Block – Former President of Americans for Prosperity Wisconsin chapter, Main organizer of Wisconsin Prosperity Network, on the Board of Directors of the MacIver Institute and the First Freedoms Foundation. In 2008, Block was appointed a member of the Wisconsin Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He was also a consultant and fundraiser in the past with Mark Block and Associates, and did fundraising and consulting for Presidential candidates like George W. Bush and Governors like Tommy Thompson and Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices Janine Geske and Jon Wilcox. The Wilcox campaign that Block managed holds the record for the highest paid election law penalties in Wisconsin history. Block settled the case brought against him in 2001 by the State Elections Board for illegal campaign activity - illegally raising $200,000 with a front group pretending to operate independently from a political party. Block paid $15,000 in fines and had to stay away from Wisconsin political campaigns for three years; The leader of the front group paid $35,000 and was banned from Wisconsin politics for five years; And Jon Wilcox paid $10,000 in fines.[127] Block was also involved in a "voter caging" controversy in Wisconsin during the 2010 elections.[128] The Center for Media and Democracy filed a letter with the Internal Revenue Service, requesting that it investigate Block's Prosperity USA, a nonprofit organization that spent money on Herman Cain's presidential campaign.[129] Block has given $5,643.19 to Wisconsin politicians since 1992.[130]

Scott Jensen – Jensen is the former Chief of Staff for Tommy Tompson between 1990 to 1992. He was voted into the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1991 - 2006. Jensen was the former Assembly Speaker from 1995 - 2002. He is also an advisor on the American Federation for Children Government Team.[131][132] Jensen was convicted of three felonies and a misdemeanor in 2002, facing prison time for "misconduct in public office on accusations of using state resources and state workers to campaign for Assembly Republicans in 1998 and 2000 elections."[133] In 2010, Jensen reached a plea deal after his original sentence was overturned for a technicality.[134] The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "Jensen resolved the criminal case against him involving misconduct in office charges by agreeing Monday to pay a $5,000 civil forfeiture and reimbursing the state $67,174 in legal fees initially borne by taxpayers, according to a plea deal."[135] Jensen has given $3,090 to Wisconsin politicians since 1992.[136]

Complaints About AFP's Activities

On February 23, 2012, Wisconsin Democrats filed a complaint with the Government Accountability Board and the Internal Revenue Service about AFP's activities in the state. The complaint was issued in response to comments made by David Koch in an interview with the the Palm Beach Post. Koch acknowledged his efforts to aid Scott Walker's campaign to win the likely recall election he will be facing this spring, stating that "We've spent a lot of money in Wisconsin. We're going to spend a lot more." As a 501(c)(3), AFP is not allowed to engage in "activities which constitute participation or intervention in a political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate," so Koch's comments suggest that AFP's activities may be unlawful.[137] Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate also called on television stations airing AFP ads to immediately remove the ads from their broadcasts. [138]

Funding



Source: Robert Maguire with the Center for Responsive Politics. Matea Gold and Cristina Rivero/The Washington Post. The $400 million Koch network uses a maze of nonprofit groups and LLCs to conceal donations and campaign activity

On its website, Americans For Prosperity states that "AFP gets its support from individuals and corporations which share its vision." However, it does not disclose which corporations fund its operations.[139] The Center for Public Integrity noted that Americans for Prosperity "has received large sums of money from other Koch-connected nonprofits such as Freedom Partners and the Center to Protect Patient Rights" along with "corporate interests, such as the American Petroleum Institute and tobacco giant Reynolds American."[140]

It is not known how much of AFP's money comes from direct checks from David or Charles Koch or from Koch Industries. These sources are not required to disclose their donations, unlike the Koch family foundations.

Donations to the 501(c)(3) are tax-deductible.

Koch Funding

Kevin Grandia of DeSmogBlog, who has researched AFP funding, states that:

"The AFP is the third largest recipient of funding from the Koch Family Foundations, behind the Cato Institute and the George Mason University Foundation. "Before 2003, when the AFP was still named the Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation, it received $18,460,912 in funding. 84% of that funding came from the Koch Family Foundations ($12,906,712) and the Scaife Family Foundations ($2,510,000). "Koch Family Foundations is funded by the billionaires who lead Koch Industries. According to Forbes, Koch Industries is the second largest privately-held company, and the largest privately owned energy company, in the United States. Koch industries has made its money in the oil business, primarily oil refining. Presently, it holds stakes in pipelines, refineries, fertilizer, forest products, and chemical technology. Americans for Prosperity is also connected to oil giant ExxonMobil. According to ExxonSecrets, between the years 1998-2001, Citizens for A Sound Economy and Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation received $380,250 from ExxonMobil."[141]

More information about disclosed contributions to AFP from Koch-controlled foundations can be found on the Koch Family Foundations page.

In 2010, AFP received $1,924,000 from the Center to Protect Patients' Rights, a Koch-connected 501(c)4 that acted as a conduit for around $55 million in secret funding distributed to other nonprofit groups that attacked Democrats in the 2010 elections.[142][143]

Core Financials

2018 [3]

Total Revenue: $96,544,184

Total Expenses: $89,615,828

Net Assets: $19,741,686

Grants Distributed

Greater North Dakota Chamber of Commerce: $90,000

No On Proposition 126: $10,000

South Dakota Chamber of Commerce: $25,000

2017 [144]

Total Revenue: $57,578,959

Total Expenses: $51,688,505

Net Assets: $12,813,330

Grants Distributed

Arizona Free Enterprise Club: $110,000

Center for Independent Employees: $18,000

Springs Taxpayers: $15,000

2016 [145]

Total Revenue: $64,022,929

Total Expenses: $58,306,180

Net Assets: $6,922,940

Grants Distributed

Defeat22com: $590,000

Arizona Free Enterprise Club: $100,000

2015 [146]

Total Revenue: $44,382,585

Total Expenses: $45,727,933

Net Assets: $1,206,844

Grants Distributed

Beacon Center of Tennessee: $10,000

Home School Legal Defense Association: $6,000

Kansas Senior Consumer Alliance: $42,000

KidsFirst Mississippi Political Issue Committee: $210,000

Protect my Check: $50,000

2014 [147]

Total Revenue: $82,682,125

Total Expenses: $90,412,075

Net Assets: $2,552,192

Grants Distributed

Let the People Vote: $20,000

Home School Legal Defense Association: $23,200

Coalition for American Values: $85,500



2013 [148]

Total Revenue: $44,245,689

Total Expenses: $34,791,542

Net Assets: $10,282,142

Grants Distributed

Enterprise Freedom Action Committee: $200,000

2012 [149]

Total Revenue: $115,126,635

Total Expenses: $122,250,942

Net Assets: $827,995

Grants Distributed

American Energy Alliance: $15,000

Citizens for Community Values Action: $5,800

Clark County School District: $11,000

Conservative Alliance for Community Growth: $6,400

Hampton Roads Tea Party: $7,700

New Hampshire Advantage Coalition: $20,000

National Federation for Independent Businesses: $20,000

Smart Girl Politics, Inc.: $5,650

Center to Protect Patient Rights: $100,000

We the People Convention: $20,000

American Principles in Action: $7,259

Keep Albuquerque Working: $12,000

New Mexico Business Coalition: $7,500

Tax Fairness for All Wichitans: $43,000

Personnel

Staff

The first president of Americans for Prosperity was Nancy Pfotenhauer who, prior to the group's foundation in 2003, had been an executive with the Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation.[150] Pfotenhauer later left AFP and in 2007 joined the John McCain campaign. Pfotenhauer was simultaneously the president of the Independent Women’s Forum. From 1996 to 2001, Pfotenhauer was the director of the Washington office of Koch Industries.[151][152] She remains on the board.

Tim Phillips is the current president of the group.[153] Phillips has long ties to the Christian right leader Ralph Reed and convicted felon Jack Abramoff.[154]

Leadership

The leadership team listed on the Americans for Prosperity website as of December 2019:[155]

Emily Seidel, Chief Executive Officer

Tim Phillips, President. Phillips received $349,129 in compensation from AFP and related organizations in 2012, the most recent year for which data is available. [149]

Nathan Nascimento, Executive Vice President

Chase Downham, Senior Vice President of Grassroots

Jorge Lima, Senior Vice President of Policy

Brent Gardner, Chief Government Affairs Officer

Victor E. Bernson, Vice President, General Counsel

Dustin Zvonek, Vice President of Strategy and Innovation

Derrick Sontag, Vice President of Operations

Former Staff

Mark Lucas, Senior Vice President of Grassroots

Sarah Field, Vice President of Judicial Strategy

Luke Hilgeman, Chief Operating Officer

Chris Fink, Vice President, Development

Teresa Oelke, Senior Vice President]

Josh Fisher, Vice President of Finance and Treasurer

Molly Tims, Chief of Staff[156]

Board of Directors

The following are listed as members of the Americans for Prosperity board on its website, as of December 2019:[157]

Former Directors

Americans For Prosperity

1310 N Courthouse Road, No 700

Arlington, VA 22201

Phone: (703) 224-3200

Toll Free: (866) 730-0150

Fax: (703) 224-3201

Email: info@AFPhq.org

Web: http://www.americansforprosperity.org



Other websites include:

http://www.rightonline.com/

http://www.defendingthedream.org/

http://www.hotairtour.org/

http://www.noclimatetax.com/

http://www.novemberiscoming.com/ November Is Coming

http://americansforprosperity.com/031910-america-tells-congress-november-coming America Tells Congress: November is Coming

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