What is a 527 Operation?

[WhiskeyGirl]

What is a 527 Operation?  I don't remember ever hearing about this before. 

Exclusive: MoveOn To Close Its 527 In Response To Obama's Candidacy

By Greg Sargent - June 20, 2008, 12:05PM

MoveOn, the advocacy group supporting Barack Obama, has decided to permanently shutter its 527 operation, partly in response to the Illinois Senator's insistence that such groups should not spend on his behalf during the general election, I've learned from the group's spokesperson.

MoveOn's decision, which will dramatically impact the way it raises money on Obama's behalf, is yet another sign of how rapidly Obama is taking control of the apparatus that's gearing up on his behalf.

By shuttering its 527, MoveOn is effectively killing its ability to raise money in huge chunks from labor unions, foundations, and big donors who would give over $5,000. The decision doesn't mean MoveOn will stop spending on Obama's behalf. Instead it will raise money exclusively with its political action committee, whose average donation is below $50 and will even be raising money with things like bake sales starting this weekend.

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/moveon_to_close_its_527.php

June 20, 2008,  4:55 pm

It’s Not Paranoia If Everyone’s Out to Get You
By Tobin Harshaw

Tags: Barack Obama, Campaign Finance

In opting out of the public financing system, Barack Obama explained that he needed to counter the “smears and attacks” from John McCain’s “allies running so-called 527 groups who will spend millions and millions of dollars in unlimited donations.”

The Politico’s Jonathan Martin interprets the move skeptically:

Obama’s alarmist prophecy –­ a bit of typical campaign rhetoric meant to scare his own donors into reaching for their credit cards­ — is wildly at odds with the flatlined state of conservative third-party efforts.

The truth is that, less than five months before Election Day, there are no serious anti-Obama 527s in existence nor are there any immediate plans to create such a group. (snip)

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/its-not-paranoia-if-everyones-out-to-get-you/index.html?ref=opinion

From the wiki ~

527 group is a type of American tax-exempt organization named after a section of the United States tax code, 26 U.S.C. § 527. A 527 group is created primarily to influence the nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates for public office. Although candidate committees and political action committees are also created under Section 527, the term is generally used to refer to political organizations that are not regulated by the Federal Election Commission or by a state elections commission, and are not subject to the same contribution limits as PACs.

Under federal election law, coordination between an election campaign and a 527 group is not allowed. The heavy spending of key 527 groups to attack presidential candidates brought complaints to the Federal Elections Commission of illegal coordination between the groups and rival political campaigns.

Attorney Benjamin Ginsberg pointed out that it was not uncommon or illegal for lawyers to represent campaigns or political parties while also representing 527 groups. For example, Washington attorney Joe Sandler simultaneously represents the Democratic National Committee and a 527 group airing anti-Bush ads, the MoveOn.org Voter Fund.

In 2006 and 2007 the FEC fined a number of organizations, including MoveOn and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, for violations arising from the 2004 campaign. The FEC's rationale was that these groups had specifically advocated the election or defeat of candidates, thus making them subject to federal regulation and its limits on contributions to the organizations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/527_group

The article also lists the top twenty 527 groups.

Thank you wiki.

Never knew what these groups were.   

[WhiskeyGirl]

I hear about moveon.org from a friend this weekend.

www.moveon.org

What is moveon.org?

from the wiki ~

MoveOn is an American non-profit progressive, liberal public policy advocacy group[2] and political action committee which has raised millions of dollars for candidates of the Democratic Party in the United States.[3] Formed in response to the impeachment of President Clinton,[4] it has been cited in some accounts as a factor which helped propel the Democratic Party to power in the 2006 election.[5]

Some of the core principles of MoveOn are:

Moveon is not dependent on foundation money.

The ability to use 'hard money' – as opposed to grants and tax-deductible contributions – enables them to be partisan, contribute to political campaigns and exercise clout in the political process.

Changes in federal election laws have also impacted groups like MoveOn. The McCain/Feingold election finance reform legislation, which went into effect in 2002, allowed political parties to raise larger amounts of "hard money" contributions, but were forbidden from raising "soft money" — As a result, individuals who sought to influence the 2004 election gave money to non-party organizations like MoveOn, which are still able to engage in political advertising using soft money under section 527 of U.S. tax code.

Organizing methodology

MoveOn uses e-mail as its main conduit for communicating with members, sending action alerts at least once a week. It communicates primarily through a variation on a chain letter:

The MoveOn website also uses multi-media, including videos, audio downloads and images. In addition to communicating via the Internet, MoveOn advertises using traditional print and broadcast media as well as billboards, bus signs and bumper stickers, digital versions of which are downloadable from its website. It also contains an area called the "Action Forum", which functions much like a traditional electronic discussion group. The Action Forums act as a grassroots organization allowing members to propose priorites and strategies."[7]

In preparation for the 2006 midterm elections, MoveOn created a new system for soliciting potential voters named Call for Change. As part of the Call for Change effort, registered voters in key voting districts were contacted by MoveOn members, who placed over 7 million phone calls as part of the effort. [9]

MoveOn is co-founder of Avaaz.org a civic organization that promotes progressive political action on issues such as the climate change and religious conflicts.

What is Avaaz.org?

Avaaz.org is an international civic organization that promotes activism on issues such as climate change, human rights, and religious conflicts.[1] Its stated mission is to "ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making." The organization operates in thirteen languages, and claims more than three million members from every country in the world.[2]

Avaaz, which means "voice" or "song" in Urdu, Hindi, Dari, Persian, and other languages, is managed by a team of campaigners working from Switzerland, Brazil, the United States, Argentina, and the United Kingdom. They communicate with members via email, and employ campaigning tactics including online public petitions, videos, and email-your-leader tools.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avaaz.org

This sounds like a modern day version of the phone calls unions used to make to get people out to vote.  Call several times a day, offer a ride, and remind them gently to vote...

I have to wonder if these online polls influence their candidates positions.

Why are all these threads about Obama?  Isn't there something odd about McCain to discuss?

[Tylergal]

Moveon.org was and is funded by Soros International.

[WhiskeyGirl]

I never heard of Soros International.  Just a little info -

George Soros
Founder and Chairman

A global financier and philanthropist, George Soros is the founder and chairman of a network of foundations that promote, among other things, the creation of open, democratic societies based upon the rule of law, market economies, transparent and accountable governance, freedom of the press, and respect for human rights.

Soros was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1930. His father was taken prisoner during World War I and eventually fled from captivity in Russia to reunite with his family in Budapest. Soros was thirteen years old when Hitler's Wehrmacht seized Hungary and began deporting the country's Jews to extermination camps. In 1946, as the Soviet Union was taking control of the country, Soros attended a conference in the West and defected. He emigrated in 1947 to England, supported himself by working as a railroad porter and a restaurant waiter, graduated in 1952 from the London School of Economics, and obtained an entry-level position with an investment bank.

Philosophy
At the London School of Economics, Soros became acquainted with the work of the philosopher Karl Popper, whose ideas on open society had a profound influence on his intellectual development. Specifically, Soros's experience of Nazi and Communist rule attracted him to Popper’s critique of totalitarianism, The Open Society and Its Enemies, in which he maintained that societies can only flourish when they allow democratic governance, freedom of expression, a diverse range of opinion, and respect for individual rights.

Publications
In 2006, Mr. Soros published The Age of Fallibility: Consequences of The War on Terror (Public Affairs, 2006).  His previous books include The Bubble of American Supremacy (2005); George Soros on Globalization (2002); Open Society: Reforming Global Capitalism (2000); The Crisis of Global Capitalism: Open Society Endangered (1998); Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve (1995); Underwriting Democracy (1991); Opening the Soviet System (1990); and The Alchemy of Finance (1987). His essays on politics, society, and economics appear frequently in major periodicals around the world.

Soros has received honorary degrees from the New School for Social Research, Oxford University, the Budapest University of Economics, and Yale University. In 1995, the University of Bologna awarded Soros its highest honor, the Laurea Honoris Causa, in recognition of his efforts to promote open societies throughout the world.

George Soros's political activities are wholly separate from the Open Society Institute. Read an official OSI statement on this subject.

For more information about George Soros's activities that are separate from the Open Society Institute, visit www.georgesoros.com.

http://www.soros.org/about/bios/a_soros

[WhiskeyGirl]

The worst market crisis in 60 years

By George Soros

Originally published on FT.com January 23 2008 02:00

The current financial crisis was precipitated by a bubble in the US housing market. In some ways it resembles other crises that have occurred since the end of the second world war at intervals ranging from four to 10 years.

However, there is a profound difference: the current crisis marks the end of an era of credit expansion based on the dollar as the international reserve currency. The periodic crises were part of a larger boom-bust process. The current crisis is the culmination of a super-boom that has lasted for more than 60 years.
(snip)

The super-boom got out of hand when the new products became so complicated that the authorities could no longer calculate the risks and started relying on the risk management methods of the banks themselves. Similarly, the rating agencies relied on the information provided by the originators of synthetic products. It was a shocking abdication of responsibility.

Although a recession in the developed world is now more or less inevitable, China, India and some of the oil-producing countries are in a very strong countertrend. So, the current financial crisis is less likely to cause a global recession than a radical realignment of the global economy, with a relative decline of the US and the rise of China and other countries in the developing world.

The danger is that the resulting political tensions, including US protectionism, may disrupt the global economy and plunge the world into recession or worse.

http://www.georgesoros.com/?q=worst_in_60years

To McCain & Obama, I would ask the same question -

How are you planning on paying for your programs? 

[Tylergal]

I don't think the GOP has the same big type 527s that Obama and the Democrats have.  In fact, the 527s for the GOP started out as small sites like Scared Monkeys that were supporting Bush back in 2004; there were several of them whereas the Democrats had the same amount but their funding was huge and their 527s became notorious, like the Huffington Post, Moveon.org, Whitehouse.com, politico.com and many, many others, too numerous to count.

I don't think Scared Monkeys is any longer a 527.  I say that because the format is very different from the Democrats 527 and I don't think there are anymore  GOP 527s but if there are, they are not significant like the Democrats.  If you have not visited moveon.org, you should.  It will almost make a normal person vomit.  I could not spend more than 5 minutes there before losing my breakfast.  Truth is a rank stranger there and race baiting is one of their main goals.  They hate Jews, "crackers," Republicans, married people, anything that does not fit with their marxist agenda.

[Tylergal]

George Soros is about the most evil man who walks the face of the earth.  He is an enemy of America and has stated it on many occasions.  He hates the USA.  He is the one who has dinked with the stock market and the gas prices, shorting them, to up the prices.  Anyone who would buy into what he is selling is an enemy of this country and freedom.  He is a communist.

[WhiskeyGirl]

I don't think the GOP has the same big type 527s that Obama and the Democrats have.  In fact, the 527s for the GOP started out as small sites like Scared Monkeys that were supporting Bush back in 2004; there were several of them whereas the Democrats had the same amount but their funding was huge and their 527s became notorious, like the Huffington Post, Moveon.org, Whitehouse.com, politico.com and many, many others, too numerous to count.

I don't think Scared Monkeys is any longer a 527.  I say that because the format is very different from the Democrats 527 and I don't think there are anymore  GOP 527s but if there are, they are not significant like the Democrats.  If you have not visited moveon.org, you should.  It will almost make a normal person vomit.  I could not spend more than 5 minutes there before losing my breakfast.  Truth is a rank stranger there and race baiting is one of their main goals.  They hate Jews, "crackers," Republicans, married people, anything that does not fit with their marxist agenda.

I've never been a normal person, and I do find some appealing ideas at moveon.org.  "Save NPR and PBS"  absolutely   

What kind of healthcare future do they see for everyone?  Most countries that I am aware of have numerous discussions related  to rationing the limited funds that are available to provide care for everyone.  There always seem to be "have" and "have nots" - who decides?

How are big drug companies affected?  Large hospital systems?  Doctors?  Lawyers?

The pain has to go somewhere, and the money to treat it has to come from somewhere.

imho

[Tylergal]

If you like moveon.org, then start planning for euthenasia for anyone approaching social security age, because their leader, Mr. Soros, is a big proponent of the hemlock society.  His mother was an advocate for such.  American doctors will opt out of the universal healthcare system and we will have left doctors from foreign countries who will not be citizens and who will not have to meet the demands of the government, their earnings will not be taxed and their monies will go into shorting the market and bringing down our economy, such that Soros is doing now.  If that is what you like, you might want to consider moving to a third-world country where that is the standard fare.  I could tell you an awful lot about George Soros from personal knowledge, but if I shared that, I would be at risk of being murdered (and making it look like suicide) so i will just leave it at that.

[Tylergal]

George Soros, radical philosopher and billionaire, is intent on creating a global open society; a one-world government based on the tenet that it cannot succeed.

People are listening.

Important people; powerful people. The most frightening aspect of George Soros' agenda is that it is not motivated by his billions but by his philosophy. The man is accused of almost single-handedly destroying the economies of entire nations; he has subsidized uprisings and overthrown governments with his powerful control of the media and the financial ability to back whatever cause he chooses.

Most of what he professes to believe is diametrically opposed to itself, if that is possible. His one abiding vision is of what he calls a 'Global Open Society'. He admits that the term doesn't actually have any meaning; it is simply what is left after you shuck off all other alternatives.

His vision
To understand the irony, you must understand what the creation of a Global Open Society entails. An abolishment of national governments, one universal standard of judgment and the relinquishment of a belief in any Universal Truth. This is to be paired with complete individual freedom of choice in all matters moral, ethical or religious, as long as these are admitted to be 'choices', not 'truths'. Does he believe that the entire world can be brought into a harmonic 'society', forsaking personal interest for the common good of mankind? No. He admits this is an impossibility. In fact, he doesn't even believe the concept of a Global Open Society can be attained; but he is 'committed to the truth' of the idea (there being, of course, no actual truth).

The OSI and the OSF
In 1979, Soros founded the Open Society Fund (OSF), and the money was dedicated to opening 'closed society' countries: he avers that to have an open society, the nationals must be taught to think critically - although his social agendas play a great part in the 'educational' process. There are OSF foundations throughout twenty-five countries, all working together to further his philosophy. The Open Society Initiative(OSI) was founded in 1993, again a network of privately operated institutes involved in grant-making operations. The interests represented by this foundation include public health, independent media and education.

Soros the Philanthropist: Who Are the Beneficiaries?
In sync with Soros' intrinsic values are the PAC's and lobbying groups that receive the grants and donations. Moveon.org, a radical left-wing voter fund is one of his pet projects, as is the National Abortion Federation. Between 1998 and 2003 he donated $31 Million to non-profit pro-abortion groups; he credits his mother's membership in the Hemlock Society with his dedication to fighting for the right of people to legally kill themselves. Soros has supported the "Project on Death in America" (PDIA), whose director, Kathleen M. Foley, testified before congress on physician assisted suicide, and his foundation gives grants to "Death With Dignity, National Center", which defines itself as "...the premier educational organization dedicated to discussing physician aid in dying openly, seriously and with intellectual rigor."

Contradiction
A self-professed foe of the tenets of communism and fascism, Mr. Soros firmly holds the value of the 'common good' over individual rights and freedoms. In the Global Open Society model, citizens would be willing to make personal sacrifices for the good of society, even if they must compromise their systems of belief. He touts democracy with certain mechanisms in place to stabilize the market and redistribution of wealth. His world 'community' sounds remarkably like the Russian 'commune' ideal...

Soros' Non-Solution
Since his goal is unattainable, it will not be surprising to find that he has no 'blue-print' for this new world order (it would not be an open society if there was a blue-print is his mantra); he has never specified who, exactly would define the basic ethical and moral standard of his global enterprise or how (it being a democracy) the elected officials would be chosen.

Reading his theses is akin to watching a dragon swallowing its own tail. Everything he proposes is an impossibility; his solution to this paradox is that the Global Open Society is based on its fallibility. He has already saved himself and everyone else the trouble of argument - what we are going to do is impossible!

Ah, yes. His concept, he admits, is far too sophisticated for the 'primitive' minds of 'closed' society people. And so he continues; pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the media, into the politician's hand and the radical left-wing ideologues cause; each one dedicated to the eradication of truth. After all, as George himself put it, "...deception may be preferable to the truth..."

[Tylergal]

If the $4 per gallon you are paying for gas is something you enjoy, move on to moveon.org.  They are the ones who are causing it.  Soros is speculating the oil market. How bad was our economy shortly after 9/11?  It rebounded faster than anyone thought.  That was the time we had a Republican congress and a Republican president.  When did the economy starting going bad?  When the Democrats took over the congress and the senate, because they opposed everything the Republicans tried to keep the economy going and their shadow government headed by Soros was undermining everything this country stood for. 

Soros' idea is of a one-world government which China will lead.

[Tylergal]

Dear American Voter' – George Soros Says The World Should Pick Our President
Photo of Warner Todd Huston.
By Warner Todd Huston | May 22, 2008 - 01:21 ET

We've seen it over and over, people in Europe who imagine that they should be allowed to vote U.S. presidential elections. Some of these people imagine that they should have a voice in our elections because, they say, America is so supremely powerful that the man who becomes our president makes decisions that will impact the entire world. Now some far left think tanks and foundations have created a so-called "non-partisan" website called "Dear American Voter" for foreigners to make videos aimed at letting Americans know how they feel about our elections.

Obviously I don't want to beat around the bush (no pun intended) about who I think should be allowed to elect an American president. The Constitution wasn't made to cover the entire world so this is OUR election. No true American should give a flying fig what a foreigner says about our elections. Period.

So, what is their deal, anyway? Well, here is what they say about their mission:

[Tylergal]

Global Warming was an invention of George Soros and Armand Hammer.  Look up the connection between Al Gore, Sr. and Armand Hammer, and then know that George Soros is funding the global warming misinformation in order to manipulate world markets, the oil market and the hybrid car market.  He is pouring billions into the Chinese market hedging his bets and hoping to impose their cars on us so that our automotive industry will either become nonexistent or we will work for the same wages as the Chinese in hopes of producing our own vehicles. 

Armand Hammer, Adolph Hitler and George Soros are friends of the destruction of the USA.