A powerful new video from Brave New Films documents the Koch brothers’ takeover of the Wake County school system through Americans for Prosperity and the 2009 school board election. It reveals the links to past segregation rhetoric and the upheaval created by the Koch agenda to destroy public education, equal opportunity, diversity in schools. With so much good video and a big target on the Kochs, it leaves out lots of the story, including the crucial link to Raleigh’s own Art Pope, local patron of Americans for Prosperity, member of its national board, leading financier of NC Republicans, and key strategist in the 2009 election. As Sue Sturgis of the Institute for Southern Studies says in the film, “Follow the money, you can see it, it’s real.” Dallas Woodhouse of NC Americans for Prosperity says his group didn’t directly spend money on the 2009 election, although he carefully doesn’t deny organizing support for the winners, their new plan or their allies running as candidates in this year’s important election.
1-888-OUR-VOTE|info@democracy-nc.org
Bob, the truth matters and you as always take a cheap shot here. Issue based advocacy is exactly what your organization does, It does not mean you purchase elections
Recently, Brave New Films, founded by Robert Greenwell, released an online video that falselyclaims that Americans for Prosperity was involved in the 2009 Wake County School Boardelections. The video is more than a gross distortion; it is a series of outright lies. Some selectmedia have repeated and expanded on these false claims, which impugn the good name ofAmericans for Prosperity.
The video is libelous, and responsible journalists should not fall for
the lies set forth in this slick attack piece.
At the heart of the video and a coordinated hit piece in the Huffington Post is the claim that
Americans for Prosperity played a role “bankrolling” candidates in the 2009 Wake County
School Board race. Americans for Prosperity did not spend one single dime on those elections
nor did AFP spend funds on independent electioneering communication activities during that
election cycle.
Moreover, Americans for Prosperity was not engaged in any nonpartisan Get-
Out-The-Vote activity or in issuing any voter education material.
In sum, Americans for
Prosperity had no presence during the 2009 Wake County School Board race.
Americans for Prosperity is a nonpartisan, issue-based policy organization and does not support
or oppose candidates for public office. AFP does weigh in on policy matters of a fiscal and
economic nature. To that end, Americans for Prosperity was critical of the Wake County School
Board before the 2009 election for their wasteful busing program that achieved no measurable
academic result, for forced mandatory year round assignments, and for a school board bond that
raised taxes by 1 billion dollars in 2006.
The legal team at Americans for Prosperity, at the direction and request of North Carolina State
Director Dallas Woodhouse, has demanded retractions from Brave New Films and from the
Huffington Post for the following false claims that were published:
#1
During the film, Bob Geary of the liberal Independent weekly says “Americans for Prosperity put
hundreds of thousands of dollars and a lot of effort into helping the school board candidates first
get organized and then nominated and elected.”
This is not only untrue, it is unsubstantiated. Americans for Prosperity never surveyed,
interviewed or met with candidates for the Wake School Board races on either side and certainly
spent no money on this fictional program. No candidate has ever said this happened because it did not.
#2
Various comments by Sue Sturgis of the liberal Institute for Southern Studies
“follow the money it is real”
“Americans for Prosperity played a very important role in the wake county elections”
What role is that? Did Sue follow the money? If so what did she find? Did she find campaign
finance reports with Americans for Prosperity’s name on them?
Again, AFP played no role in the 2009 WCPSS election.
From the Huffington Post article written by Trymaine Lee
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/14/the-battle-for-wake-count_n_926799.html
#3
According to the Huffington Post article:
“But Wake County’s plan became a political flash point when five conservative candidates,
bankrolled by Americans for Prosperity, a political activist group funded in part by the Kochs,
were elected to the school board on a “neighborhood schools” platform that would dismantle
the existing integration policy.” (emphasis added)
Not only is this statement false, it accuses AFP of a criminal violation of law. Since corporations
are prohibited from providing contributions to candidates, it would be illegal for Americans for
Prosperity to “bankroll” candidates. A journalist who quickly looks online to do due diligence
would have easily found that corporations are not permitted to “bankroll” candidates in North
Carolina. This was nothing more than a hit piece, and the author did not concern himself with
the truth.
One a final note. While Americans for Prosperity did not engage in any independent
electioneering communications or issue advocacy during the 2009 Wake County School Board
election cycle, when AFP does engage in those activities, we do so in a legally compliant
manner. We support free market issues as well as robust political speech. However when
organizations, media members and media outlets engage in outright libelous behavior that in no
way can be supported by evidence we will defend the good name of Americans for Prosperity to
the full extent of the law.
Dallas Woodhouse
Americans for Prosperity-North Carolina State Director
200 West Morgan Street, Suite 100
Raleigh NC 27601
919 839 1011 ext 3
919 671 1050 cell
dallas.woodhouse@afphq.org
http://americansforprosperity.org/081611-statement-brave-new-films-%E2%80%93-%E2%80%9Cwhy-do-koch-brothers-want-end-public-education%E2%80%9D
full response
It looks like the big, bad Koch Brothers have no interest at all in the Wake County Schools. Now that that is out of the way, should Democracy NC examine the influence of George Soros (famed Nazi collaborator) on the media?