Americans for Honesty on Issues
Americans for Honesty on Issues is a Houston, Texas based 527 group that by mid-October 2006 had spent over one million dollars on television advertisements, critical of Democratic Party candidates, in advance of the 2006 United States general election.[1] 527 groups are tax-exempt organizations that participate in political activities, typically via soft money contributions, which have no legal limit.[2] By United States federal law, they are not allowed to coordinate their efforts with political campaigns.
Backers
- Sue Walden, a Houston business owner, is the president of Americans for Honesty on Issues. Walden was a lobbyist for Enron and is considered a close ally of the former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who was forced to resign from Congress amid ethics scandals. Walden has been a Minor League Pioneer fundraiser for George W. Bush,[3] raising $43,000.[4] and was an adviser to Kenneth L. Lay, the former chief executive of Enron.[1]
- Bob J. Perry, a Houston construction firm owner, appears to be the sole funder of AHI. Perry was the major funder of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, who ran a campaign against John Kerry in the 2004 election. He also is the majority funder of the Economic Freedom Fund[5] and has donated $5,000,000 to the Free Enterprise Fund.[6]
References
- "As Election Nears, Groups Plan Negative Ads", The New York Times, 2006-10-11
- 527 Committee Activity Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine at OpenSecrets.org
- Sue Walden entry Archived November 15, 2005, at the Wayback Machine at Texans for Public Justice website
- Houston Chronicle, 2003-07-19, cited by Iowa Democratic Party website Archived October 18, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- "New Front-Group Alert - Americans for Honesty on Issues", Patriot Project website, 2006-10-20
- "Builder's $8 million tops GOP donor list", Houston Chronicle, 2006-10-17, page A1
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