The first installment will be on an Independent Expenditure group called America Votes who registered in Arizona on October 17, 2012. Joan Fitz-Gerald is the President of America Votes which is headquartered in Washington D.C.
Partners of America Votes include:
Arizona AFL-CIO
Arizona SEIU
UFCW Local 99
AFSCME Local 3111
Emily's List
Arizona List (Committee for Pro-choice Democratic Women)
NEA
NAACP
Planned Parenthood
NARAL-Pro Choice
Center for Community Change
Of course, we're familiar with groups like the AFL-CIO, SEIU, NEA, and Planned Parenthood. Some of the others might seem a bit more obscure.
But, remember the Center for Community Change?
Their "action arm" called Campaign for Community Change is an organization that donated $9000 to the leftist group, Promise Arizona, to help support "republican" Jerry Lewis during the recall election. Jerry Lewis even chipped in a $100 donation to PAZ in June and the only candidate that PAZ helped during the primary election was Raquel Teran, Randy Parraz's community organizer sidekick. Quid pro quo. Wouldn't it be ironic if PAZ helps Jerry Lewis' opponent in the general election?
Also, the leaders of the Arizona AFL-CIO (Rebekah Friend and Paul Castaneda) personally helped Randy Parraz get Jerry Lewis elected. In fact, Castaneda is the treasurer of Moving Mesa Forward, Parraz and Chad Snow's creation which donated over $6500 to help Bob Worsley defeat Russell Pearce in the 2012 primary election. Someone might want to inform Snow that they owe $150 in late fees for their group.
So, imagine our surprise when we noticed that America Votes contributed to Jerry Lewis' Democratic opponent, Ed Ableser.
What? Wait a second...the same groups that helped Jerry Lewis get elected during the recall are now donating to his opposition?
And not only are they donating to support Ed Ableser but they are also donating to Andrew Sherwood's campaign. Sherwood was a big help to Parraz during the recall effort. He was also the best man at Todd Landfried's wedding.
Sherwood and Landfried, spokesman for the Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform:
Landfried and Lydia Guzman:
Raquel Teran, Randy Parraz and AFL-CIO Paul Castaneda
Todd Landfried hugging Jerry Lewis on election night:
Who would have EVER seen that coming?
Remember when the Director of Center for Community Change, Deepak Bhargava, said this on Obama's
Poverty Agenda?
Three ingredients necessary for transformational change to happen.
(6:17) "We do need visionary leadership that's capable of building durable coalitions. We need crisis, economic, foreign policy or otherwise, that force the breakdown of old paradigms and old ways of seeing the world. And most importantly, we need independent social movements that create public will to generate ideas that will deliver votes."
Three ingredients necessary for transformational change to happen.
(6:17) "We do need visionary leadership that's capable of building durable coalitions. We need crisis, economic, foreign policy or otherwise, that force the breakdown of old paradigms and old ways of seeing the world. And most importantly, we need independent social movements that create public will to generate ideas that will deliver votes."
and this on immigration.
"...a group of immigrant leaders
approached me and the Center for Community Change with the idea of doing a
national campaign to win legalization for the growing population of
undocumented people in the US. At that time, the topic was unspeakable in
polite Washington conversation discourse—no politician, no national advocacy
organization would tackle it. Partly because of the extraordinary quality of the
leaders that approached us, and partly because it was so clear that we
couldn’t be an anti-poverty organization without tackling immigration, we
decided to go all-in.
We helped to form what was the
earliest pro-legalization coalition in the country,
and we’ve been in it ever
since."
Turning Arizona blue.
