Citizens for the Republic (CFTR)

Background

Citizens for the Republic (CFTR) is a political action committee founded by Ronald Reagan in 1977 to “attract conservative support.”  The New York Times reported in 1985 that Reagan had praised his own PAC for ”turning the direction of the United States around.” [1], [2], [3]

Citizens for the Republic was formed using money and mailing lists left over from Reagan’s 1976 presidential campaign. The Nation noted that “Though aspects of CFTR were later determined to be illegal, the notion of using nonprofits between election cycles to pave the way for presidential campaigns has since become commonplace.” [4]

While CFTR was dormant for years, in 2007, a revitalized CFTR managed to secure $17 million in financial commitments and was headed by a group of former Ronald Reagan affiliations. CFTR participants at the time included Reagan biographer Craig Shirley, former Nevada Senator Paul Laxalt, former Reagan attorney general Richard Allen, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and conservative activists Brent Bozell and Gary Bauer, The Atlantic reported. [8]

Craig Shirley’s lobbying firm, Shirley & Banister, claimed to have played a role in helping the “Tea Party Patriots in its rise to prominence as the premiere grassroots group in the country.”  [23]

According to the CFTR‘s website, “Today, the belief that man’s freedom comes from God and not the State is once again in danger of being extinguished in America. Once again, the Republican Party is in danger of extinction.” Working to “renew the conservative movement,” Citizens for the Republic says its “fights are many” and include “leftist, big government elites.” [1]

In addition to the Citizens for the Republic PAC, public nonprofit tax filings indicate that separate entities exist for a “Citizens for the Republic, Inc.” (EIN 32-0234718) and a “Citizens for the Republic Foundation” (EIN 26-4617515) [5], [6], [7]

Bloomberg notes that Citizens for the Republic operates as a 501(c)(4) “social welfare group,” which under federal law does not have to disclose its funding sources. Diana Banister, CFTR‘s executive director (and also President of the PR firm Shirley & Banister), said that contributors to CFTR are “small donors, mostly” and “nothing competitive with” Musk. Asked whether oil companies supported their website, Banister says: “We reached out to them [for donations], but they haven’t responded.” [14], [15]

The Sunlight Project

According to their website, The Sunlight Project’s mission is to “ferret out corruption that wastes taxpayer dollars and continually undermines the American people in favor of the powerful and profitable.” [9]

The Sunlight Project describes the solar industry as “Big Energy”, and a “pet-industry of the Obama Administration.” [9]

Attack on Elon Musk

Citizens for the Republic is behind the “Stop Elon Musk from Failing Again” (stopelonfromfailingagain.com) campaign, which describes itself as an initiative launched by the Sunlight Project, under Citizens for the republic “to root out corruption, fraud and abuse of taxpayer of money in major corporations.” The website claims that “Elon Musk has defrauded the American Taxpayer out of over $4.9 Billion in the form of subsidies, grants, and other favors.” It targets Elon Musk, Tesla, SolarCity, and SpaceX. [10]

Diana Banister, CFTR‘s executive director, announced the campaign, saying it would mobilize “public opinion, advertising, grassroots advocacy, testimony and legislation” opposing federal solar subsidies. [23]

EcoWatch reported that the $4.9 billion figure originated from a Los Angeles Times story which, Musk suggested, was planted after the International Monetary Fund’s report detailing the fossil fuel industry’s recepit of over $5 trillion in subsidies per year. [11], [12]

According to the Washington Examiner, the campaign started days before Tesla approved a merger with sister company SolarCity. “The Musk empire appears to be nothing more than a collection of failing startups and plummeting stock options,” the group said in a statement. “Even the once-touted SolarCity had to be bought out by Tesla” to survive, it added. [13]

Citizens for the Republic regularly republishes news from its “stopelonfromfailingagain.com” critical of Elon Musk and his companies. [16]

Stance on Climate Change

On Solar Subsides

“The U.S. government needs to stop meddling in industries and create an atmosphere that allows business to prosper without pledging taxpayer support.” [17]

Funding

Koch Connection

The Center for Responsive Politics found that two of the major funders of Citizens for the Republic—the Wellspring Committee and the Annual Fund—which together donated nearly $1 million to CFTR between 2010 and 2011, are part of the powerful Koch network. Wellspring in particular was described as a “dark money conduit” by the Koch brothers. [24], [25]

DeSmog has documented the Koch Brothers’ multi-million-dollar-per-year attack on clean energy at Kochvsclean.com.

Funding Breakdown

The Conservative Transparency Project offers a sample of some of the funders of Citizens for the Republic: [18]

Donor & Year	Total
Annual Fund	$475,000
2011	$475,000
Jerry Perenchio	$27,475
1981	$2,500
1982	$5,000
1983	$5,000
1984	$5,000
1985	$4,975
1989	$5,000
Wellspring Committee	$360,000
2010	$360,000
Grand Total	$862,475

FEC Data (Citizens for the Republic PAC)

990 Forms – Citizens for the Republic Foundation

990 Forms – Citizens for the Republic, Inc.

Key People

According to data from publicly-available 990 records, as well as the Citizens for the Republic website: [19], [20]

Name & Organization	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	Title
Citizens for the Republic Foundation
Craig Shirley	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y			Chairman
Citizens for the Republic, Inc.
Cleta Mitchell		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Secretary
Craig Shirley		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Chairman
Dan Oliver		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Director
Diana Banister		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Executive Director
Ed Meese		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Director
Laura Ingraham							Y	Y	National Chairman
Mari Maseng Will		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Director
Neal B. Freeman								Y	Director
Peter Hannaford		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Director
William W. Pascoe, III		Y	Y						Executive Vice President

Actions

“Elon Musk News”

As part of their “Sunight Project,” Citizens for the Republic has been re-posting “Daily Elon Musk News” on their website stopelonfromfailingagain.com (cross-posted on cftr.org). Their “news” stories, taken from a variety of sources, feature regular attacks on Elon Musk, his companies, and the renewable energy industry. Some recent examples include: [16]

• 12/16/2016 – Cut off Elon Musk’s Government Subsidy Gravy Train
• 12/15/2016 – NYT reporter swoons over Elon Musk
• 12/14/2016 – Tesla Could Lose Lead in Electric Cars to Big Automakers
• 12/13/2016 – Tesla: Where’s The Value?
• 12/12/2016 – Elon Musk seeks more California gold
• 12/11/2016 – Tesla Recalls 7,000 Charging Adapters After Two Overheat
• 12/9/2016 – SpaceX customer switches a satellite launch order to European competitor
• 12/8/2016 – Conservative Group, Liberal Bloggers Trade Shots Over Elon Musk’s Taxpayer Subsidies
• 12/7/2016 – Tesla Recalls Charging Adapters Due to Fears They’ll Overheat
• 12/6/2016 – Will Tesla Burn Through Its Remaining Cash?
• 12/5/2016 – Tesla’s December To Remember, And More Model 3 Problems
• 12/3/2016 – Tesla Stock Target Cuts Due To SolarCity Deal Starting To Come In
• 11/30/2016 – SEC Rips Tesla’s Sketchy Accounting Practices
• 11/29/2016 – SEC slaps Tesla’s wrist over accounting practices
• 11/28/2016 – Stop Elon Musk’s Tax Money Gravy Train
• 11/27/2016 – Elon Musk Picks Up Fifth Multi-Million Dollar Property in Bel Air (EXCLUSIVE)
• 11/26/2016 – Tesla’s Earnings Potential For Solar Roof Shingles Is Actually Pretty Small

Related Organizations

• Shirley & Banister Public Affairs

Craig Shirley, Chairman of Citizens for the Republic, is also President and CEO of Shirley & Panister Public Affairs. Clients of the group have included the Heritage Foundation, Manhattan Institute, National Rifle Association, National Taxpayers Union, Nuclear Energy Institute, Washington Times Foundation, and others. [21] 

Diana Banister, Executive Director of CFTR, is President of the firm. She was promoted from Vice President and then named a partner in 2001. [15]

Contact & Address

Citizens for the Republic PAC – FEC Identification Number C00436675)

Based on the most recent available FEC Data (October, 2016), Citizens for the Republic PAC listed the following address:

122 South Patrick Street
Alexandria, VA 22314

Citizens for the Republic Foundation – EIN 26-4617515

According to the 2014 990 form for Citizens for the Republic Foundation, it shared the physical address of Citizens for the Republic, Inc.:

919 Prince St. 
Alexandria, VA 22314
780-739-5920

Citizens for the Republic Inc. – EIN 32-0234718

According to their 2014 990 form Citizens for the Republic Inc. had the following address & contact:

919 Prince St. 
Alexandria, VA 22314
CFTR.org
780-739-5920

The website, CFTR.org, lists their copyright owner as “Citizens for the Republic, Inc.” and maintains the same address as above. [22]

Social Media

• @CFTR on Twitter.
• “Citizens for the Republic” on Facebook.

Resources

1. “OUR HISTORY,” Citizens for the Republic. Archived December 17, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/YrjT3
2. “Nominations & Appointments, May 8, 1984.” Reagan Library. Archived December 16, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/NGyNw
3. Marjorie Hunter and Warren Weaver Jr. “BRIEFING,” The New York Times, March 23, 1985. Archived December 16, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ve88u
4. “Buchanan Inc.: How Pat and Bay Built an Empire on Our Money,” The Nation, November 4, 1999. Archived October 6, 2013. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
5. “Citizens for the Republic PAC,” OpenSecrets. Accessed December 16, 2016.
6. “CITIZENS FOR THE REPUBLIC INC,” Economic Research Institute. Accessed December 16, 2016.
7. “CITIZENS FOR THE REPUBLIC FOUNDATION INC,” Economic Research Institute. Accessed December 16, 2016.
8. Rick Moran. “GOP To Go ‘Back to the Future?’” American Thinker, October 6, 2007. Archived December 16, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/sUhq5
9. “THE SUNLIGHT PROJECT,” Citizens for the Republic. Archived December 16, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/E8SGt
10. “About,” Stop Elon Musk from Failing Again. Archived December 16, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/44Wab
11. Lorraine Chow. “Anti-Elon Musk Campaign Has Big Ties to Big Energy,” EcoWatch, November 25, 2016. Archived December 17, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/dh9tB
12. “Elon Musk’s growing empire is fueled by $4.9 billion in government subsidies,” Los Angeles Times, May 30, 2015. Archived December 16, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/qQKCC
13. John Siciliano. “Tesla CEO becomes target after Trump election,” Washington Examiner, November 18, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/mxCMd
14. Paul Barrett. “Elon Musk vs. the Trolls,” Bloomberg, November 22, 2016. Archived December 16, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/fohxZ
15. “About Us,” Shirley & Banister. Archived December 17, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/FPqnJ
16. “NEWS,” Citizens for the Republic. Archived December 16, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/emcFI
17. “SOLAR SUBSIDIES,” Citizens for the Republic. Archived December 16, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/XvndT
18. “Citizens for the Republic,” Conservative Transparency. Accessed December 16, 2016.
19. “Board of Directors,” Citizens for the Republic. Archived December 17, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/clWs3
20. “Board of Directors,” Citizens for the Republic. Archived June 11, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/9Adrw 
21. “Clients,” Shirley & Banister Public Affairs. Archived February 11, 2004. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/3FYIZ
22. “Contact Us,” Citizens for the Republic. Archived December 17, 2016. Archive.is URL:  https://archive.is/XVg7V
23. Jamie Doward. “The trolling of Elon Musk: how US conservatives are attacking green tech,” The Guardian, December 4, 2016. Archived December 27, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Fq3me
24. Viveca Novak and Peter Stone. “The JCN Story: Building a Secretive GOP Judicial Machine,” Centre for Responsive Politics, March 23, 2015. Archived December 18, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/IoM7A
25. “Citizens for the republic: Receipts reported to IRS by Contributing Organizations,” Centre for Responsive Politics. Accessed December 17, 2016.

Other Resources

• “Citizens for the Republic,” SourceWatch. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/IXZye
• Marc Ambinger. “Reagan’s Disciples Plan Relaunch Of Conservative Movement,” The Atlantic. Republished (partial article) by ARRA News Service. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/5n2wd