Romney Takes More Lobbyist Campaign Cash Than The Rest Of GOP Field Combined

By Marie Diamond/Think Progress

It’s no secret that Mitt Romney’s (R-MA) strategy for winning the Republican presidential nomination relies heavily on amassing more campaign cash than his fellow contenders. The GOP frontrunner has come under scrutiny in the past few weeks for several shady contributions from anonymous donors and political action committees. As ThinkProgress has reported, Romney’s biggest campaign donors are Wall Street bankers representing the very firms that caused the financial crisis, including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America.

Now new financial disclosure forms filed at the end of July reveal that Romney has raked inmore campaign dough from lobbyists than all of the other Republican candidates combined:

According to disclosure forms filed at the end of July, 61 registered lobbyists and five lobbyist-linked political action committees contributed $137,650 to Romney’s campaign between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2011. The former Massachusetts governor raised more money from lobbyists during this period than all of his competitors combined.

The other Republican candidates who received contributions from lobbyists in the first half of 2011 were, in order of most money received, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty ($63,204), former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman ($31,600), former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) ($25,500), former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum ($8,800), and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn) ($125). The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) do not accept contributions from registered lobbyists.

Chart of lobbyist contributions, courtesy of Huffington Post.

Romney, a former venture capitalist who made his lucrative career by slashing jobs, has also relied on fundraising by Tea Party billionaire David Koch and a lobbyist for a robo-signingforeclosure mill. He’s also taken an early lead among the top bundlers who raised money for George W. Bush and John McCain.

Washington Lobbyist Hoekstra Files Papers to Keep Revolving Door Swinging

From Michigan Democrats

LANSING—Washington lobbyist Pete Hoekstra today announced that he is filing papers to keep the proverbial political revolving door swinging.  Hoekstra has made a career standing up for special interests, first as a Congressman, then going to work for Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm Dickstein Shapiro LLP, and now is seeking to be sent back to Congress to continue serving his special interest friends at the expense of Michigan families.

“Washington Lobbyist Pete Hoekstra has cashed in on his DC connections, supporting hundreds of billions of dollars in giveaways for his well-connected friends, then becoming their lobbyist–now he wants to serve them again in Congress,”  said Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer.  “Hoekstra supported giveaways for oil companies and taxpayer-funded bonuses for Wall Street executives, while simultaneously fighting to cut Social Security and end Medicare.  Hoekstra’s dealings are good for his friends and for his career as a lobbyist, but they’re awful for Michigan families.”

Throughout his eighteen years in Congress, Hoekstra consistently voted against Michigan families while simultaneously voting for special giveaways for special interests.  Hoekstra supported plans to privatize Social Security, taking seniors’ benefits and risking them on Wall Street.  He supported Paul Ryan’s 2009 budget plan to end Medicare.  He even voted for tax breaks for companies who ship jobs overseas.  But while voting against middle class seniors and families, he voted for hundreds of billions of dollars for the Wall Street bailout and taxpayer-funded bonuses for bailed out Wall Street executives, and hundreds of billions more in tax giveaways for oil and drug companies.

So What's Ginni Thomas Up To Now?

By Eric Lach

Last week came news from Politico that Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has set up a new shop,Liberty Consulting, just a few months after leaving Liberty Central, the Tea Party group she founded in 2009.

Politico's headline says Thomas is "now a lobbyist," but the piece admits that "lobbying records show no registrations for Thomas, Liberty Consulting, Liberty Central or the Patrick Henry Center." So what is she up to?

Liberty Consulting's new website says the group is "committed to effective advocacy and assistance on behalf of those liberty-loving citizens and organizations who wish to preserve limited government, free enterprise, national security, individual liberty and personal responsibility." Thomas is also presenting herselfas a self-appointed "ambassador" to the Republican freshman class. Thomas sent an email to congressional chiefs of staff recently, boasting that she has already met with almost half of the 99 GOP freshmen in the House and Senate. But when Politico contacted "roughly half a dozen aides" for freshman GOPers, they only found one who had a boss who'd met with Thomas.

Liberty Consulting filed incorporation papers in Virginia in mid November, around the same time that news broke about Thomas' departure at Liberty Central. At the time, Liberty Central spokesperson Caitlin Carroll, of CRC Public Relations, told The Washington Post that Thomas would "take a back seat so that Liberty Central can continue with its mission without any of the distractions." Liberty Central initially pushed back on the Post story, and said the reporter had "breached confidentiality." The move came on the heels of a much publicized incident in October, in which Thomas left a voicemail for Anita Hill, asking for Hill to apology for the testimony she gave at Justice Thomas' confirmation hearings in 1991.

In December, Thomas said it was "laughable" to suggest that the Hill call was the reason she stepped down at Liberty Central, but she did admit the call "was probably a mistake on my part." In an interview then, Thomas told The Daily Caller "she still plans to spend the bulk of her time working as a consultant for the organization's newly-formed alliance with the Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty."

But Thomas' About Page on the Liberty Consulting site mentions her time at Liberty Central in the past tense. (Meanwhile, Slate's Dave Weigel points out some of the testimonials are recycled from her earlier gig.)

TPM's attempt to contact Thomas through Liberty Consulting was not immediately successful.

At Least 13 New Republican Members Of Congress Hire Corporate Lobbyists To Manage Their Office

By Lee Fang To many Americans, Washington is fundamentally broken. While corporations enjoy record profits and executives reward themselves with million-dollar bonuses, lobbyists have gamed the system so corporate behemoths like ExxonMobil and GE pay zero corporate income taxes. During the economic crisis, with high unemployment and stagnant wages, middle class Americans seem to be bearing the sacrifices. Riding a wave of this popular discontent, Republicans won a historical congressional election this year by channeling anger against “Beltway insiders” and Washington corruption.

Perhaps to the surprise of many Tea Party populists who helped elect them, the Washington Post reports, “Many incoming GOP lawmakers have hired registered lobbyists as senior aides. Several of the candidates won with strong support from the anti-establishment tea party movement.” These lobbyists are not public servants. They are experts at carving out special deals and tax giveaways to powerful corporations:

– Rep.-elect Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) selected lobbyist Tim Harris as his chief of staff. Harris works as lobbyist for a trade association representing the shareholders of energy companies like American Electric Power, Duke Energy, NiSource, Vectren.

– Rep.-elect Mike Pompeo (R-KS) selected Mark Chenowerth as his chief of staff. Chenowerth previously worked as a lawyer on the lobbying team for Koch Industries, the conglomerate owned by Charles and David Koch. As ThinkProgress reported early this year, Pompeo was groomed for office by Koch Industries-run front groups, and has served as an executive for Koch Industries oil company subsidiaries.

– Rep.-elect Robert Dold (R-IL) selected corporate lobbyist Eric Burgeson as his chief of staff. Burgeson works for the lobbying firm BGR Holdings serving business clients in China, the coal industry, and a nuclear company.

– Rep.-elect Chip Cravaack (R-MN) selected corporate lobbyist Rod Grams as his chief of staff. Grams works for a lobbying firm called Hecht, Spencer, and Associates where he represents 3M, Norfolk Southern and the Financial Services Roundtable, the trade association for the country’s largest banks.

– Rep.-elect Krisi Noem (R-SD) selected Jordon Stoick as her chief of staff. Stoick is a vice president at the lobbying firm Direct Impact. Direct Impact also specializes in building public support for corporate causes, boasting on its website that it once generated hundreds of letters to the FCC on behalf of the telecom industry.

– Rep.-elect Jeff Denham (R-CA) selected corporate lobbyist Jason Larrabee as his chief of staff. Larrabee is the founder of his own lobbying firm.

– Sen.-elect Pat Toomey (R-PA) selected former corporate lobbyist Chris Gahan as his chief of staff. Gaham previously worked at the lobbying firm Latham and Watkins.

– Rep.-elect Steve Pearce (R-NM) selected Todd Willens as his chief of staff. Willens is a lobbyist at Vitello Consulting, a firm that represents a number of interests, including a casino.

– Sen.-elect Charlie Bass (R-NH) selected lobbyist John Billings as his chief of staff. Billings is a lobbyist for a food marketing and whole sale trade association.

– Rep.-elect Chris Gibson (R-NY) selected Steve Stallmer as his chief of staff. Stallmer is a lobbyist for the Associated General Contractors of New York State.

– Sen.-elect Ron Johnson (R-WI) selected Don Kent as his chief of staff. Kent is a lobbyist for the firm Navigators Global. Navigators Global represents AT&T, CitiGroup, and other major corporations.

– Sen.-elect Mike Lee (R-UT) selected lobbyist Spencer Strokes as his chief of staff. Lee is one of the most prominent corporate lobbyists in Utah, representing clients from the private prison industry to the nuclear industry.

– Sen.-elect Rand Paul (R-KY) selected anti-union lobbyist Douglas Stafford for his chief of staff. Stafford is the vice president of the National Right to Work Committee.

These Republican lawmakers, many of whom cast themselves as insurgents, are linking their professional decisions into the corporate establishment of influence peddling. Congressional chiefs of staff are often in charge of helping members make pivotal decisions, like which positions to take on public debates, how to vote on pieces of legislation, and of course, how to use your votes to raise money for your re-election.

As the Washington Post reported last weekend, freshmen “Tea Party” Republicans have already ingratiated themselves into the cocktail culture of K Street. Dozens of freshmen Republicans have crowded into near-daily fundraisers, parties, and high-priced dinners hosted by corporate lobbyists. Already undercutting a promise to wean themselves off earmark giveaways to corporate interests, the new Republican Chairman of the Appropriations Committee is leaning towards hiring a defense industry lobbyist as the committee chief of staff.

Boehner Invites Lobbyists To Help Form GOP Agenda In Intimate Meeting At His Office

By Alex Seitz-Wald A few months ago, House Republicans launched an effort called Americans Speaking Out, which purports to give average Americans the ability to offer their input on what Congress should do. It became quickly apparent that the enterprise was little more than a taxpayer-funded PR gimmick to help Republicans market their agenda for this fall’s elections, even as they ignored any ideas they didn’t already support.

Now, under the banner of Americans Speaking Out, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) has summoned advice from those who he truly seems interested in listening to: lobbyists. Roll Call reports that Boehner has invited “senior Republican lobbyists and top officials from several large trade groups” to a meeting at Boehner’s office to discuss “their suggestions for a new GOP agenda”:

The meeting is part of the House leaders’ initiative called America Speaking Out, which is intended to draw broad input to create a new policy agenda for the party to launch in the fall.

An e-mail invitation sent to more than 20 trade representatives and obtained by Roll Call summoned guests to Boehner’s second-floor office on July 16 “to discuss House Republican efforts to produce a new policy agenda with a small group of trade association leaders.”

Invitees included Dan Danner, head of the National Federation of Independent Business; Bruce Josten, top lobbyist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Jay Timmons of the National Association of Manufacturers; and Joe Stanton of the National Association of Home Builders.

A spokesperson for Americans Speaking Out defended the meeting, saying it was important to meet with large employers. But this is hardly the first time Boehner and his colleagues have run to lobbyists for help coming up with ideas.

As the Wonk Room’s Pat Garofalo has documented, congressional Republicans have “organized a pow-wow with lobbyists in order to devise a strategy” for nearly every piece of major legislation over the past year, from health care reform, to Wall Street reform, to climate change, to a jobs bill.

K Street Lobbyists Hope To Make John Boehner The Next Speaker: He’s ‘A Good Investment’

By Lee Fang Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner’s (R-OH) ability to corral his caucus into opposing reform is paying off dividends in his bid to become the next Speaker of the House. Roll Call reports this morning that lobbyists view Boehner as a “good investment,” and that Boehner has assembled a “kitchen cabinet” of lobbyists to organize his fundraising operation. According to the article, Boehner has leaned on these lobbyists to pressure their clients to increase their contributions to vulnerable Republican lawmakers. Already, Boehner’s outreach has helped his own campaign war chest swell to $3.2 million, while his leadership PAC had brought in $1.9 million by the end of March.

Boehner promised that if he becomes the next Speaker, he will create a more “open” and “transparent” Congress. But Boehner’s courtship of K Street undermines that claim, especially considering the fact he has consistently prioritized the interests of lobbyists over the public over the past year:

– In July of 2009, Boehner interrupted House proceedings so Republican lawmakers could attend his annual “Boehner Beach Party” fundraiser with corporate lobbyists. [Politico]

– In December of 2009, Boehner convened a meeting with 100 corporate lobbyists to plot strategy to defeat Wall Street reform. [Roll Call]

– In January of 2010, Boehner mobilized the House Republican retreat. In an interview with ThinkProgress, Boehner said he didn’t know if any corporate lobbyists would be there. However, ThinkProgress traveled to the retreat, and found lobbyists from Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, and the health insurance industry not only in attendance, but helping fund the event. [ThinkProgress]

– In March of 2010, Boehner addressed the American Bankers Association, telling corporate lobbyists to fight financial reform. “Don’t let those little punk staffers take advantage of you,” Boehner implored the bank lobbyists, encouraging them to stand up to Capitol Hill staffers. [MarketWatch]

Boehner has been known for his cozy relationship with K Street lobbyists ever since he handed out campaign contribution checks from tobacco lobbyists on the House floor in the mid-90s. When Republicans controlled Congress, Boehner and Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) were the point men for former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) in communicating with corporate lobbyists. And in 2006, he was caught living in a house owned by a lobbyist who had sought legislative favors from him.

Boehner’s track record suggests he is indeed a good investment for corporate lobbyists. But his promise of more transparency and open government fall flat given his relationship with influence peddlers.

VIDEO: Bank Lobbyists Huddle For Another Secret Meeting With GOP Senators

By Lee Fang

Earlier today, President Obama traveled to New York to tell the nation’s most influential bankers to call off their “battalions of financial industry lobbyists” and embrace a new regulatory structure meant to avert another economic crisis. But around the same time back in Washington, D.C., bank lobbyists hosted a fundraiser for Senate Republicans, including Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who has become the Republican liaison for Wall Street fundraising.

The invitation to the fundraiser, obtained by the Party Time blog of the Sunlight Foundation, shows that the it was hosted by lobbyists Wendy Grubb, Kirsten Chadwick, Scott Reed, and a variety of corporate PACs. Grubb is a top lobbyist for Citigroup, a bank that took taxpayer TARP funds and has yet to repay them. Chadwick, a former staffer to Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO), is a lobbyist for Zurich Financial Group, a financial services conglomerate.

ThinkProgress, along with several other journalists, waited outside of the fundraiser at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) building. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) walked quickly past reporters into his car, refusing to take questions. Both Sens. Cornyn and George Lemieux (R-FL) dodged reporters by driving into the NRSC’s underground lot. Although ThinkProgress tried to ask both GOP lawmakers and the other attendees of the fundraiser about regulation reform legislation, only Charlie Black spoke to us. Black is a longtime corporate lobbyist who now represents a variety of investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, within a trade group called the “Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.”

ThinkProgress attempted to talk to the attendees of the event, but everyone other than Black refused to even provide their names. The video below, produced by Victor Zapanta, documents our failed attempts to get fundraiser attendees to talk about the event as they fled the scene:

Last week, Republican Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) met with elite hedge fund managers to enlist “Wall Street’s help” in bankrolling Republican campaigns this year. Shortly after the meeting, McConnell pledged to block financial reform and blasted it using an absurd talking point refuted by members of his own party. Last night, Karl Rove secretly met with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, another trade group that represents big banks and opposes reform.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) challenged Republicans to stop doing “the big bankers’ bidding.” With GOP Senators still running to bank lobbyists for campaign cash, the public will find out where lawmakers stand as the Senate takes up reform next week.

Rep. Steve King Sings The Praises Of Lobbyists On The House Floor: ‘Somebody Needs To Stand Up’ For Them

By Zaid Jilani

The Center for Public Integrity reported recently that the health care debate kept more than 4,500 lobbyists employed at various points throughout the year, effectively drowning out the voices of the American public. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said these lobbyists descend “into the offices of members of Congress and say, ‘Don’t vote for change. Keep the status quo alive.’”

This afternoon, while speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) defended the role of Washington lobbyists, saying that they “do a very effective and useful job on this Hill” and went as far as to say that “somebody needs to stand up” for them:

KING: The people of my district deserve every bit of as much representation in this Congress as the people do in any district. But this structure, this iron-fisted structure in this House of Representatives, that’s what breaks down deliberative democracy and it undermines our constitutional republic and it denies the very legitimate knowledegable input from all across this country. Think about how this works. Each of the 435 of us we go home to our districts. We build a network of advisors providing information for us … in a whole series of ways. Town hall meetings, individual meetings, individual lobbyists, yes lobbyists do a very effective and useful job on this Hill. … Somebody needs to stand up for the lobby, it is a matter of providing a lot of valuable information.

Watch it:

This isn’t the first time King has lauded lobbyists. Last year, he praised astroturf lobbying group Americans for Prosperity for busing in protesters to Washington, DC, even comparing them to Paul Revere. And unfortunately, he isn’t the only member of Congress who has taken it upon himself to defend lobbyists. During the Senate Finance Committee’s mark-up session of its version of the health care bill, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) demanded that the committee delay its votes to give health care lobbyists “at least 72 hours” to read the bill.

Of course, lobbyists hardly need members of Congress standing up for them. Last year was a record year for lobbying expenditures, with $3.47 billion being spent to pay lobbyists to influence-peddle at every level of the federal government.

M.C.L comment: Oh please will someone think of the multi-billionaires?

Boehner Feigns Ignorance That His GOP Retreat Is Attended By Goldman Sachs, Other Corporate Lobbyists

By Lee Fang

This weekend, Republican leaders will convene at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore to plot strategy, socialize, and plan both legislative and campaign themes for the year. Yesterday morning, ThinkProgress caught up with House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH), who confirmed that the Congressional Institute — a nonprofit run by Republican corporate lobbyists — is sponsoring the retreat. Normally, such lobbyist-sponsored soirées would be illegal under House ethics rules. But by forming an ostensibly nonpartisan educational front called the Congressional Institute, lobbyists are able to skirt any such oversight. However, Boehner told ThinkProgress that he did not know if any lobbyists would be present at the retreat:

TP: For your retreat this weekend, is the Congressional Institute attending or sponsoring at all?

BOEHNER: They’ve always sponsored retreats for both Democrats and Republicans.

TP: Are any of their lobbyists attending this weekend?

BOEHNER: I don’t know. [...] I said I don’t know.

Watch it:

Boehner is wrong when he claims that the Congressional Institute sponsors Democratic retreats. According to the Politico, House Democratic retreats are not paid for by any special interest funds or the lobbyist-run Congressional Institute.

To fact-check Boehner’s sheepish reply that he simply didn’t know if lobbyists would be at the retreat, I visited the Renaissance hotel in Baltimore yesterday afternoon. Upon arriving at the front desk, I spoke to Patrick Deitz, a staff assistant for the Congressional Institute, who confirmed that Congressional Institute board member Michael Johnson was upstairs at the retreat, and that Dan Meyer, another board member, was on his way. Johnson, a lobbyist at the OB-C Group, touts himself as a “Republican heavyweight” whose firm represents the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, JP Morgan Chase, and the health insurance giant WellPoint. Meyer, a longtime Republican operative and chairman of the Congressional Institute, works for the Duberstein Group, where he represents BP, Goldman Sachs, HealthNet, and AHIP, the umbrella trade group for the health insurance industry. Meyer’s colleague at his lobbying firm, Steve Champlin, urged insurance industry executives last year to fight ruthless to kill health reform, proclaiming, don’t “give comfort to the enemy who is down.”

After informing Deitz and other Congressional Institute staffers that I work for ThinkProgress and wanted to interview some of the lobbyists in attendance, another staffer, named Mary, told me to leave the building or else I would be arrested. Mary, who refused to give her business card or last name, told Deitz not to tell me his last name either. During the course of the conversation with Congressional Institute staffers, a gaggle of men dressed in business attire discussed technology policy behind me. One of them had a name tag that read John Sampson; who according to his LinkedIn profile is the chief lobbyist for Microsoft.

Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that ThinkProgress will be able to attend, or even approach the building, for the lobbyist-organized GOP retreat. If we could, we might witness quite a reunion. Many of the lobbyists running the Congressional Institute are former top staffers to Newt Gingrich, who is addressing the gathering. Here is a picture of Congressional Institute board members Meyer and Arne Christenson — now a lobbyist for American Express — plotting strategy for Gingrich back in 1995.

Responding to the State of the Union, Boehner was quick to attack the administration for supposedly lacking transparency. But for a retreat planning public policy, Boehner apparently prefers to keep the corporate lobbyists involved behind closed doors — and even refuses to acknowledge their attendance.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Lobbyists Quietly Helping Extreme Effort To Declare Health Reform Unconstitutional

By Lee Fang ThinkProgess has documented how the private health insurance industry is waging a duplicitous, “two-faced” campaign to kill health reform. Because the industry understands that the public views it in a largely negative light, the industry presents itself as proactively working hand-in-hand with legislators to produce reform. However, behind the scenes, the industry is coordinating a massive effort to kill all reform — employing attacks from front groups, allied politicians, think tanks, lobbyists, and right-wing media.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which is a lobbying group representing 39 independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans, is also engaged in this two-faced campaign. Like most of industry, the BCBS Association says it fully supports the concept of health reform, but continually demands drastic changes to the bills in Congress. Some have begun to question the BCBS Association’s claim of support given its new study attacking reform legislation in the Senate. The criticism of BCBS is bolstered by a new revelation that BCBS Association lobbyists are helping to orchestrate a right-wing movement to invalidate all of health reform.

Yesterday, the BCBS Association released yet another industry-sponsored study to distort health reform and falsely claim that premiums will skyrocket because of the legislation. However, the nonpartisan CBO reported earlier this week that under the Senate health reform bill, “most Americans would pay the same or less in premiums.” A New York Times editorial yesterday criticized BCBS Association’s study, and noted correctly that it is yet another example of the private insurance industry doing whatever it can to frighten Americans.

But while the study certainly damages BCBS’ credibility, BCBS is involved in another anti-health reform ploy that they do not bother to promote on the BCBS website. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), founded in 1973 by conservative activist Paul Weyrich, is a DC-based front group which helps state lawmakers craft corporate-friendly legislation. As the Atlantic has noted, ALEC developed template health care “states’ rights,” legislation to declare aspects of health reform unconstitutional. ALEC has promoted this “tenther” legislation using its network of mostly far right Republican state lawmakers. The bills, which have been adopted in some form in 24 states so far, aim to invalidate federal regulations of health insurance, the public option and the individual mandate using the Tenther Amendment.

According to the ALEC website, the resolution was developed by a three member task force of industry representatives. One of the of the members is Joan Gardner, who is executive director of state services with the BCBS Association’s Office of Policy and Representation. In an interview with ThinkProgress, Christie Herrera, the director of ALEC’s health task force, confirmed that Gardner played a pivotal role in crafting this anti-health reform states’ rights initiative. Herrera told us that Gardner’s unique position at the BCBS Association brought “great knowledge” to the issue, and that Gardner voted to press forward with the campaign.

Part of the reason the BCBS Association has claimed that it opposes the reform bill in its current form is because of what it perceives as a weak individual mandate. However, the BCBS Association-supported ALEC campaign depicts the very notion of an individual mandate as “anti-freedom.” So either way the Senate acts, BCBS will be able to trash the bill and try to kill reform.

Private insurers have already been caught using a stealth lobbying firm to send employees to rowdy town halls (and radical tea party events), sharing lobbyists with slash-and-burn anti-health reform attack groups, and paying a number of conservative pundits who regularly appear in major media outlets to slam health reform. Now that it is clear that BCBS helped write the script for the radical tenther movement, any claim that the industry supports reform must be viewed with heightened skepticism.