JTFA Attorney Tied To American Insurance Association President, Americans For Job Security

A Special Report By Mike McCarville ~ Washington attorney Benjamin L. Ginsberg's role as legal counsel for the mysterious Texas group "Just The Facts America" indicates JTFA's backers are among the nation's foremost Republican high rollers, and our inquiries show a surprising connection to a second group that's been involved in Oklahoma politics this year. Ginsberg also played a role in the controversial "Swift Boat Veterans For Truth" effort in the 2004 presidential election, a connection certain to be noted by Democrats, and, via other another connection we found, has a long-standing, personal, professional and direct connection to the president of the American Insurance Association.

First, the JTFA: It is the group behind the joint Internet-television commercial attack on Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland, a Democrat appointed by Governor Brad Henry and facing her first election campaign. JTFA's front man is Texas Republican James B. Cardle, a member of Texas Governor Rick's Perry's campaign steering committee and member of a health care services study in Texas five years ago. The attack includes allegations that Holland's taking donations from those in the insurance industry she regulates (true, her Oklahoma Ethics Commission reports show), that she's had herself reimbursed for mileage on her personal vehicle (apparently true, based on Office of State Finance documents, the argument being that she was fulfilling her duties on the trips), that she's used her staff to campaign on state time (this allegation is contained in a tort claim filed by her former executive administrative assistant earlier this month) and that she doesn't meet the educational level required for many OID employees (she's a high school graduate, while some OID positions require a college degree).

That JTFA is well-funded is obvious; records at Oklahoma television stations show the initial television commercial buy was about $150,000. Sources with whom TMRO talked say they expect the total expenditure will top $250,000 before the attacks are over. Because JTFA filed in Texas as a non-profit organization just 36 hours before the attack began, it is not required to disclose the names of those who are members, or the source of the group's funding. Thus, it is a secret entity.

Attorney General Drew Edmondson criticized the group, saying it has provided "no information as to who is paying the bills. The public has a right to know what interests in Texas want to elect a new insurance commissioner. Everyone has a constitutional right to free speech, but we have a right to pull them out of the darkness and into the sunshine of public disclosure."

Ginsberg's involvement in the controversy, revealed when he fired off letters to Oklahoma television stations and to the executive editor of The Oklahoman, Sue Hale, tweaked The McCarville Report Online's curiosity; Ginsberg is among Washington's most expensive, well-connected and influential lawyers. What's his interest in the Oklahoma insurance commissioner's race? we wondered.

Our search for information about Ginsberg's role in JTFA turned up a second connection to Oklahoma politics, a fresh one involving those controversial "robo-calls" in the Republican primary for Congress in the 5th District. And a third one that may tie directly to the attacks on Holland.

We've known of Ginsberg for years; he's a legal icon in Republican circles. One Washington consultant, asked about Ginsberg, said that retaining him requires "deep pockets and even deeper connections." And he warned: "Be careful. He's not some Oklahoma rube attorney."

From Wikipedia: "Benjamin L. Ginsberg, partner for Patton Boggs, LLP, represents numerous political parties, political campaigns, candidates, members of Congress and state legislatures, Governors, corporations, trade associations, vendors, donors and individuals participating in the political process.

"In the 2004 and 2000 election cycles, Ginsberg served as National Counsel to the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign. In 2000, he played a central role in the Florida recount. He also represents the campaigns and leadership PACs of numerous members of the Senate and House, as well as the Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee and National Republican Congressional Committee. He serves as counsel to the Republican Governors Association and has wide experience on the state legislative level from directing Republican redistricting efforts nationwide following the 1990 Census and being actively engaged in the 2001-2002 round of redistricting.

"In 2004, Ginsberg gave legal advice to the famed 527 group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Though his simultaneous activities with the 'Swifties' and the 2004 Bush Campaign could be considered questionable, his activities were not illegal. Nonetheless, Ginsberg resigned as legal counsel from the Bush Campaign after his position was made public.

"He came to Patton Boggs in 1993 after serving for eight years as counsel to the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and the National Republican Congressional Committee. Prior to entering law school, he spent five years as a newspaper reporter for The Boston Globe, Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, The Berkshire (Mass.) Eagle, and The Riverside (Calif.) Press-Enterprise.

"Ginsberg appears frequently on television commenting on law and politics. He is currently a Fellow at the Institute of Politics, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
He is well-known as having been a significant force behind the Republican Party's efforts to redistrict state congressional districts in favor of Republican candidates. Ginsberg has lovingly named his dog Gerrymander.

"Ginsberg is a 1974 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. At Penn, he was very involved in the school's prestigious newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian, where he served as a reporter (1970-72), contributing editor (1972) and editor-in-chief (1973)."

Second, Americans For Job Security: Among Ginsberg's numerous connections is a tie to the group "Americans For Job Security." Remember that during the GOP 5th District primary, "robo-calls" from AJS were placed that attacked Corporation Commissioner Denise Bode and Lt. Governor Mary Fallin. The other four candidates in the primary race weren't mentioned, fueling speculation that one of them was behind the calls. The other candidates were State Rep. Kevin Calvey, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, State Rep. Fred Morgan and Dr. Johnny Roy; most of the finger-pointing was aimed at Cornett, who disavowed any knowledge of the calls. Here's what The Hill in Washington reported about the controversy: "The race could also be colored by an investigation into potentially illegal prerecorded telephone messages attacking Fallin and Bode that were placed earlier this week. State Attorney General Drew Edmondson issued a release Tuesday saying the calls might have broken the law because they didn't give recipients a contact phone number for the organization placing them, Americans for Job Security, which is based in Alexandria, Va. The release said the calls might violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and could lead to action in criminal or civil court. Americans for Job Security is a nonprofit issue-advocacy group and is exempt from the TCPA. Reached by The Hill yesterday, President Michael Dubke said the attorney general's office told him it was not investigating his organization but instead making sure one of the other candidates wasn't behind the calls. Dubke said the attorney general's office told him one of the candidates had done prerecorded calls incorrectly in the past, and he got the impression the office was making sure that candidate wasn't responsible for the calls. Dubke said only Americans for Job Security paid for the calls."

Third, the American Insurance Association: Americans For Job Security was founded with a $1 million donation from the American Insurance Association, records located by The McCarville Report Online show. Like JTFA, AJS takes great pains to hide the names of its donors and the sums they provide. Here's what the Campaign Finance Institute reports about AJS: "Americans for Job Security, a 501 (c)(6) trade association, grew out of the Coalition, a loose confederation of business groups that ran issue ads in 1996 to oppose the AFL-CIO's $35 million campaign. After the Coalition split in 1997 over a dispute over strategy, Robert Vagley, president of the American Insurance Association (AIA), formed Americans for Job Security. The AIA contributed $1 million to found AJS; the American Forest and Paper Association also gave $1 million. David Carney, onetime political director in the Bush White House, serves as executive director of AJS. Michael Dubke, former head of the Ripon Society, is the president of AJS. Benjamin Ginsberg, counsel to AJS, was also counsel to George W. Bush's presidential campaign. Others associated with AJS include Republican consultant Eddie Mahe and Leigh Ann Pusey, a former aide to Newt Gingrich, who now serves as AIA's chief lobbyist."

The Texas Observer, writing about the veto of bills by Governor Rick Perry in 2001, took note of the interest of AJS officials in insurance legislation: "David Carney (also a consultant to Perry's campaign), the former political director of the first Bush White House, now heads Americans for Job Security. Robert Vagley, president of the Washington-based American Insurance Association, formed the group in 1998, to counter the influence of increased labor spending in Congressional elections. The group specializes in issue ads, spending $10-12 million in 2000 to take issues like 'regulatory reform' straight to the public. Benjamin Ginsberg, an attorney with George W. Bush's presidential campaign, is also affiliated with the group. Also killed in the so-called 'Father's Day Massacre' veto bash was another insurance reform, HB 2430, which would have funded an ombudsman position to help Texans navigate the complex health care system and protect their rights. Bill sponsor Elliott Naishtat summed up the fate of the bill, which had broad bi-partisan support, in one line: 'The insurance industry didn't like it.'"

There's more about that "Father's Day Massacre" on June 17, 2001, when Perry veoted 78 bills. Here's the analysis of the Austin Chronicle on two bills the insurance industry opposed and Perry vetoed: "HB 1862: Prompt Payment for Health Care Providers - This veto pissed off doctors, now at the mercy of HMOs for timely reimbursements under multiple and confusing rules. The gov complained that the bill would allow doctors to sue insurers rather than using binding arbitration -- where the insurers always win. Translation: the insurance lobby owns the gov. HB 2430: Insurance Ombudsman's Program - Another Naishtat bill, developed over many months with input from across the board, created a fledgling program to help consumers navigate insurance problems with state help. Perry said he vetoed it because it was 'insufficiently funded' -- but that principle would end every state program except corporate welfare. This looks like a vindictive chop with a clumsy ax. Fingerprints: the insurance lobby."

At the time Ginsberg was legal counsel to the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign, its chairman and his obvious associate was former Montana Governor Marc Racicot, who served from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as the state's attorney general. Racicot was chairman of the Republican National Committee from January 2002 to July 2003. In 2000, Bush rushed Racicot into Florida to take charge of his vote recount effort; the attorney he worked with: Ginsberg. In 2004, when Ginsberg resigned as legal counsel to the Bush-Cheney campaign after his connection to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth was revealed, Racicot released a statement calling Ginsberg a "friend, public servant and statesman."

Today, Racicot is president of the American Insurance Association.

The registered lobbyist in Oklahoma for the American Insurance Association is attorney Justin Whitefield, listed as "Of Counsel" to former Attorney General Larry Derryberry's law firm. Whitefield's firm, his lobbyist registration on file with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission shows, is Capital Resource Group, located at the same address as Democrat Derryberry's law firm on North Lincoln. Whitefield also was a partner with prominent Republican Bob Funk (founder of Express Personnel Services) in the purchase of a $450,000 yearling horse earlier this year and of two other horses for $600,000, auction results posted by the 2006 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and the 2006 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling Sale show.

Another interesting twist is that the national survey research firm shown as working for AJS in 2004 is the Tarrance Group, the same firm that now polls for Fallin in Oklahoma. Thus, the incongruity of AJS attacking Fallin, the client of a polling firm it has used.

Ginsberg did not respond to our earlier questions about JTFA; thus ignored, we didn't ask for his comments for this story.

Sources used in preparing this report included, but were not limited to: Wikipedia, stealthpacs.org, Campaign Finance Institute, The Washington Post, PattonBoggs.com, The Hill, Congressional Quarterly, opensecrets.com, Public Citizen, Americans For Job Security, Oklahoma Office of State Finance, Oklahoma Insurance Department, Oklahoma Ethics Commission, Human Events, Texans For Public Justice, Wall Street Journal, Omaha World-Herald, bloodhorse.com, warandpiece.com, American Insurance Association, kmax.blogspot.com, answers.com, New York Times, The Nation, Texas Observer, counterpunch.org, Detroit News, San Diego Union-Tribune, Austin Chronicle, martindale.com, findlaw.com, sourcewatch.org, Newsweek, and itaa.org, plus confidential conversations with U, V, W, X, Y and Z located in Alexandria (VA), Austin (TX), Oklahoma City, Potomoc (MD) and Washington.

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