Is Common Sense of Glen Allen, Virginia interfering with your local election?

[hedgehog]

Common Sense of Glen Allen, Virginia is sending out leaflets attacking State Senator Aubertine who is up for re-election. My guess is that someone wants to put a Republican in his seat to ensure that New York State is once again gerrymandered during the upcoming redistricting.

The thing is, I can't find out who is behind this. There is absolutely no info on the web site
(www.commonsenseprinciples.com) House Whip Cantor has a near-by office, but so do a lot of other people. There may be a connection to J. S. Polle of Common Sense Strategies and Altria Group

http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/jay-poole.asp?cycle=10

(Thanks to Spazito for getting me this far :hi: )

Common Sense, whoever is behind this, is also involved in Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio, with more states to come. Are we dealing with the Koch Brothers? Is this an attempt by the Republicans to pull the strings on the Tea Party?

[Spazito]

1. Hmmm, I found this interesting article from Aug 18/2010...

Common Sense author is a mystery

The authors of a recent mailer bashing six Democratic state senators, including Darrel J. Aubertine, are unknown, although their intended targets coincide with those of Senate Republicans.

Common Sense, an advocacy group which claims to be from Glens Falls, Va., are blaming Mr. Aubertine, David J. Valesky, William T. Stachowski, Brian X. Foley, Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Suzi Oppenheimer for passing a budget "loaded with tax hikes and wasteful spending."

The mailer directs readers to the group's website, which advocates for "smaller government, fiscal responsibility and free societies." It offers no contact information.

The website was registered by Strategic Advantage International, which is run by Daniel Odescalchi, a consultant on many Republican campaigns, including Douglas L. Hoffman's bid for the 23rd Congressional District last year.

more, well worth reading:

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20100818/BLOGS09/100819832/-1//BLOGS09

Strategic Advantage International; about us:

Daniel Odescalchi is president of Strategic Advantage International, a political consulting and public opinion management firm based in New York. With over two decades of experience in the field, Odescalchi has helped candidates at every level.

He was deputy national political director for the presidential bid of Republican Steve Forbes and assisted NYS Governor George Pataki. His efforts span from the re-election campaign of Congressman Hamilton Fish Jr. to the more recent internet effort which created the ground swell of support and fundraising windfall for conservative icon, Doug Hoffman.

snip

Odescalchi made SAI a leader in online campaigning as the internet’s penetration became prominent. Today, SAI focuses their client’s message and activities online as well as in the field.

Odescalchi has worked with political parties in Lebanon, Iraq, all over Eastern Europe and the US. He also was policy and media advisor for BetterLeadershipAmerica.org, a policy advocacy group.

http://saipr.com/about_us.html

[hedgehog]

2. Someone's paying biiiiiiig money for all this, and working hard

to stay hidden.

[Spazito]

4. Yep, it is becoming fascinating to try and drill down...

The article from the Watertown Daily Times, link in my previous post, mentions CT Corporation Systems which, from first reading, seems to be a very small, local company but I am pretty sure it is actually a branch of a very BIG corporation which is, in and of itself, an offshoot of an even bigger international company. Here is what I have found so far:

C T Corporation System
4701 Cox Road
Suite 301
Glen Allen, VA 23060-6802
Phone: [phone]

Please note: The addresses provided are for service of process delivery only. The addresses should not be used as general business address, mailing address, address for state or federal tax returns, or for any other reason not authorized by CT.

http://ct.wolterskluwer.com/companies-and-products/ctcorporation/ras/locate

Seems to me Common Sense breached their agreement with CT Corporation System when it used it's address on it's mailer when one reads the Please note: THE ADDRESSES SHOULD NOT BE USED AS GENERAL BUSINESS ADDRESS, MAILING ADDRESS...

About CT Corporation

Overview: CT Corporation

CT Corporation is the leading provider of registered agent services, corporate and secured transactions, and corporate compliance as required by state and federal law.

Registered Agent Services

Our renowned service organization monitors new legislation and corporate requirements in all 51 jurisdictions. We help keep the way clear for you to do business and help you respond swiftly and efficiently to service of process. With CT Corporation as your partner, you don’t have to worry about adverse compliance surprises.

http://ct.wolterskluwer.com/companies-and-products/ctcorporation
(Lots to read on the above link)

On to Wolters Kluwer, the parent company of CT System Corporation among others:

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer is The Professional’s First Choice for information, tools, and solutions to help professionals deliver quality results more efficiently. Our customer promise is to be the preferred global provider of information-enabled solutions to help professionals manage processes and drive results effectively.

At Wolters Kluwer, we excel at combining our superior information with the latest innovative technologies for use in the professional context our customers operate in. Our intelligent solutions incorporate open architecture networks in which we play a hub role, coordinating activities and enabling communication across a customer’s workflow.

Revenues €3.425 billion (2009)
Employees approx. 19,300 worldwide
Markets Legal, Business, Tax, Accounting, Finance, Audit, Risk, Compliance, and Healthcare
Operations Over 40 countries across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America
Headquarters Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands
Stock listing Euronext Amsterdam: WLSNC.AS, stock code 39590, ISIN code NL0000395903; included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices


http://wolterskluwer.com/WK/About+Us/At+a+Glance/

[hedgehog]

5. Wait - this trail starts to go overseas? We're stil not seeing

the money, but the plot thickens!

Many thanks for taking the time! I looked and hit a dead end.

BTW - if it encourages anyone - I'll be forwarding any juicy stuff to a local newspaper that's usually desperate for copy. My bet is that this all goes back to the Republican National Committee.

[hedgehog]

3. BTW - why is this of any importance? Because 2010 is a

redistricting year. Control of the New York State Senate may influence who controls the House.