CONFIRMED: The Latino Coalition is AstroTurf

Last night I was reading the extensive diary by Evil Paula, regarding The Latino Coalition.  She found a lot of information, and all of it pointed to an republican astroturf organization, and not just because Raising Kaine said so.

I did some digging and found the name & address of the firm that registered The Latino Coalition's domain.

Sullivan & Mitchell PLLC
1100 Connecticut Avenue NW #330
Washington
20036

But then I did some more.  I found that Cleta D. Mitchell was not only a founding partner of Sullivan & Mitchell PLLC (briefly a lobbying firm in DC for Educational Testing Services, Inc. aka ETS), but when ETS started using Foley & Lardner LLP (a HUGE multi-state law firm, with their fingers in everything) Cleta was right there, on the Lobbyist Disclosure form.

Not terribly significant perhaps, but then I found her bio. (after the fold for more)

The key paragraph from her bio says:

Ms. Mitchell represents numerous Republican candidates, campaigns and members of Congress, including Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), among others. She is legal counsel to the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Ms. Mitchell served as co-counsel for the National Rifle Association in the Supreme Court case involving the 2002 federal campaign finance law.

So we have five republicans and the NRA, a more conservative lawyer I can hardly imagine.

But Wait There's More!

She didn't just lobby for ETS from 2001-2005 on behalf of Foley & Lardner LLP.  Oh no, she lobbied for The Heratage Foundation probably one of the biggest and most influential conservative "think tanks" in the USA for the last twenty years. (See this section of wikipedia for why they can lobby even though they have 501(c)(3) status)

So there you have it.

If it wasn't enough that all the founders and the board of directors have direct republican ties (see the Raising Kaine article), the law firm used to register the domain is run by a woman who has dedicated her life to furthering republicans.

I can't imagine her being involved in something like this if it didn't' benefit her party.

•  Good find.

  When the lights are turned on, the rats scurry for darkness.

  by monster on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 12:06:15 AM PDT

  •  Thanks

    I ended up spending a good two hours digging up all this information.

    Glad to know at least one person has seen it. :D

    by Hiro on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 12:32:58 AM PDT

    •  Once you start

      it is hard to stop, eh?

      And you know what?  If they just didn't try to hide their true political leanings, I couldn't give a fark about 'em.

      by EvilPaula on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 01:05:42 AM PDT

    •  Oh, more than one. Not all viewers post. n/t

      by Xapulin on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 07:38:34 AM PDT

•  Great job; I'm going to add this to Raising Kaine

  by PM on Sat Oct 14, 2006 at 11:27:52 AM PDT