Americans for Job Security
Encyclopedia
Americans for Job Security (AJS) is a Virginia-based 501(c)(6) group that OpenSecrets.org describes as "a pro-Republican, pro-business organization" headed by David Carney. The American Insurance Association launched the group with $1 million in seed funding in 1997. AJS runs "issue ads" that attack liberal and moderate candidates nationwide, but is not required to disclose its political contributions or expenditures.
In 2002, for example, AJS ran over $1 million in ads attacking Democrat Jeanne Shaheen
, who was running for the US Senate from NH in opposition to Republican John Sununu
. In the 2008 rematch between Shaheen and Sununu, AJS again funded ads attacking Shaheen.
Complaints have been filed with the FEC stating that AJS should lose its 501(c)(6) status, which is reserved for "business leagues and trade associations" rather than groups that seek to influence elections.
According to the organization's own website, "For more than ten years Americans for Job Security (AJS) has been at the forefront of an explosion of the marketplace of ideas. During this time AJS has put forth a pro-growth, pro-jobs message to the American people. From the beginning our message has been a simple one: free markets and pro-paycheck public policy are fundamental to building a strong economy and creating more and better paying jobs."
Americans for Job Security avoids disclosure by reporting all its revenue
as membership dues, although DeMaura claims there is no set membership fee and that members are not required to pay annually, which is why no dues were collected in 2007.
, and Dubke was the first executive director and then president of Americans for Job Security until April 2008, when Stephen DeMaura, recruited by Carney, took over. The group's public address is a drop box at a United Parcel Service
store in Alexandria, Virginia
, but DeMaura works out of space shared with Crossroads Media and at least three other political consulting firms, including the Black Rock Group. DeMaura, a 25-year-old former executive director of the New Hampshire Republican Party who earlier started an anti-Hillary Clinton Facebook
page, is the sole employee of Americans for Job Security. Dubke remains a consultant and has authority to countersign its checks. Crossroads Media also places many of the group’s ads.
Crossroads Media is run by Dubke and Carney, and is a Republican consulting shop whose other clients include the National Republican Party, the Republican Governors Association
and American Crossroads
, a Karl Rove-backed group raising millions to support Republican candidates.
Black Rock Group is run by Dubke with Carl Forti, a longtime Republican operative who is political director for American Crossroads
.
proposal was opposed for endangering commercial fishing, and supported for creating jobs. Alaskan financier Robert Gillam paid $2 million to join AJS, as encouraged to by Dubke, expecting the money to be used to oppose the mine. Instead, AJS passed almost all of it onto another nonprofit, Alaskans for Clean Water, set up to push a ballot initiative, Alaska Clean Water Initiative, 2008
, aimed at imposing clean-water restrictions on the mine, by a group that included Art Hackney, a local Republican consultant and board member of AJS. The Alaska Public Offices Commission investigated, and AJS paid a $20,000 settlement without admitting guilt, agreeing not to help anyone make anonymous contributions in future which involved Alaska elections, but with the caveat the agreement did not apply to other states.
In 2002, for example, AJS ran over $1 million in ads attacking Democrat Jeanne Shaheen
Jeanne Shaheen
Jeanne Shaheen is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and the Senior United States Senator from New Hampshire. The first woman in U.S. history to be elected as both a Governor and U.S. Senator, she was the first woman to be elected Governor of New Hampshire, serving from...
, who was running for the US Senate from NH in opposition to Republican John Sununu
John E. Sununu
John Edward Sununu is a former Republican United States Senator from New Hampshire, of Lebanese and Palestinian Christian ancestry. Sununu was the youngest member of the Senate for his entire six year term. He is the son of former New Hampshire Governor John H...
. In the 2008 rematch between Shaheen and Sununu, AJS again funded ads attacking Shaheen.
Complaints have been filed with the FEC stating that AJS should lose its 501(c)(6) status, which is reserved for "business leagues and trade associations" rather than groups that seek to influence elections.
According to the organization's own website, "For more than ten years Americans for Job Security (AJS) has been at the forefront of an explosion of the marketplace of ideas. During this time AJS has put forth a pro-growth, pro-jobs message to the American people. From the beginning our message has been a simple one: free markets and pro-paycheck public policy are fundamental to building a strong economy and creating more and better paying jobs."
Americans for Job Security avoids disclosure by reporting all its revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
as membership dues, although DeMaura claims there is no set membership fee and that members are not required to pay annually, which is why no dues were collected in 2007.
History and related organizations
Michael Dubke, David Carney, and several business groups helped start Americans for Job Security in 1997. Carney was political director for President George H. W. BushGeorge H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, and Dubke was the first executive director and then president of Americans for Job Security until April 2008, when Stephen DeMaura, recruited by Carney, took over. The group's public address is a drop box at a United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
store in Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, but DeMaura works out of space shared with Crossroads Media and at least three other political consulting firms, including the Black Rock Group. DeMaura, a 25-year-old former executive director of the New Hampshire Republican Party who earlier started an anti-Hillary Clinton Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page, is the sole employee of Americans for Job Security. Dubke remains a consultant and has authority to countersign its checks. Crossroads Media also places many of the group’s ads.
Crossroads Media is run by Dubke and Carney, and is a Republican consulting shop whose other clients include the National Republican Party, the Republican Governors Association
Republican Governors Association
The Republican Governors Association is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1963, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Republican Party.Its Democratic Party counterpart is the Democratic Governors Association...
and American Crossroads
American Crossroads
American Crossroads is a 527 organization that has raised and spent tens of millions of dollars to defend and elect Republican candidates to federal office, and was very active in the 2010 U.S. midterm elections. Its president is Steven J. Law, a former United States Deputy Secretary of Labor for...
, a Karl Rove-backed group raising millions to support Republican candidates.
Black Rock Group is run by Dubke with Carl Forti, a longtime Republican operative who is political director for American Crossroads
American Crossroads
American Crossroads is a 527 organization that has raised and spent tens of millions of dollars to defend and elect Republican candidates to federal office, and was very active in the 2010 U.S. midterm elections. Its president is Steven J. Law, a former United States Deputy Secretary of Labor for...
.
Operation Trenchcoat
In Alaska, the Pebble MinePebble Mine
Pebble Mine is the common name of an advanced mineral exploration project investigating a very large porphyry copper, gold, and molybdenum mineral deposit in the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska, near Lake Iliamna and Lake Clark. The proposal to mine the ore deposit, using large-scale...
proposal was opposed for endangering commercial fishing, and supported for creating jobs. Alaskan financier Robert Gillam paid $2 million to join AJS, as encouraged to by Dubke, expecting the money to be used to oppose the mine. Instead, AJS passed almost all of it onto another nonprofit, Alaskans for Clean Water, set up to push a ballot initiative, Alaska Clean Water Initiative, 2008
Alaska Clean Water Initiative, 2008
The Alaska Clean Water Initiative of 2008 was a citizens-initiative ballot measure. In Alaska, such measures become state law, if a majority of voters vote in favor of the measure. The ACWI contained regulatory language limiting the release and distribution of "sulfide mining" effluents and...
, aimed at imposing clean-water restrictions on the mine, by a group that included Art Hackney, a local Republican consultant and board member of AJS. The Alaska Public Offices Commission investigated, and AJS paid a $20,000 settlement without admitting guilt, agreeing not to help anyone make anonymous contributions in future which involved Alaska elections, but with the caveat the agreement did not apply to other states.
External links
- Americans for Job Security official site
- Americans for Job Security, 2004 Election Cycle at OpenSecrets.org