AD: Organization far from credible

On July 13 the United States Citizens Association printed a full page ad in The Press. It claimed that the Democratic Party had been the primary cause of the U.S.'s slide to socialism. It has no documentation, no names you could check to see if they're trustworthy, just a lot of bald assertions. Let's look at who and what are behind this expensive ad.

First of all the USCA is a registered lobbying organization. They've lost a lawsuit preventing them using the name the "Better Government Association." In fact they have a permanent injunction against referring to using that name. You see, there is a legitimate non-partisan group which has been fighting corruption since 1923. Apparently, the USCA is a partisan organization. By the way, the ad they ran then had the same headline and much of the same text. In 2009, their address was that of a Cleveland Law Firm. That law firm happens to be an intellectual property office. It was an intellectual property case that they lost because they were stealing a company's good name.

Their funding comes from the Cato Institute, Heritage Foundation and Hillsdale College. The Cato Institute gets its daily bread from, among others, the Koch Brothers. The Heritage Foundation has taken money from the South Korean CIA, the Scaife Foundations and several defense contractors. Hillsdale College has more than $70 million in unknown sources.

As an example of how ludicrous their claims are, let's look at one of their claims: the Community Reinvestment Act. They say it originated under Carter. True, but President Reagan with a Republican Congress did not repeal it. Where is the picture of Ronald Reagan in their list of people who caused the mortgage collapse?

Further, George W. Bush had a Republican Congress and the collapse happened on his watch. He proposed and had TARP passed in his administration. Where is his picture on the wall?

They claim that under socialism 99 percent live in poverty permanently. In fact let's take Sweden, a socialist country, and compare it to the U.S. In 2010, the Swedish economy expanded at 7.3 percent. The US economy grew at 1 percent. Spending during the Bush years increased at 19 percent.

To be honest we have an organization that has been prohibited by law from using its original name. That very selectively picks and chooses which presidents they denigrate. That hobnobs with the elite and right wing corporations, while crying out about the gowns lent to Michelle Obama by designers. Don't take my word for it; look up parties who worked with each president. Look up U.S. Citizens Association and be sure to look at their legal record.

JEFF BOURGET

Coeur d'Alene