American Issues Project

The American Issues Project (AIP) states on its website that it was "founded to champion the conservative values that have made the United States of America a blessed nation: smaller government, a strong and ready national defense, lower taxes, and a government that encourages entrepreneurship and new job creation in America."

On its website AIP lists its media contact as being Christian Pinkston from the Pinkston Group, a Virginia-based PR company.

The group has two GOP operatives as consultants who are connected to the most influential conservative groups of the 2004 presidential election, Chris LaCivita who worked with Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and Tony Feather who co-founded Progress for America.

Anti-Obama ad
In August 2008 AIP launched a televisions advertisement seeking to tie Barack Obama to William Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground. "Beyond the speeches, how much do you really know about Barack Obama?", the ad asked.

Associated Press reported that "the lone financier of the anti-Obama ad, Texas billionaire Harold Simmons, was also one of the main funders of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth who targeted Kerry. Simmons, a McCain fundraiser, contributed nearly $2.9 million to the American Issues Project, according to documents filed by the group with the Federal Election Commission."

Nuclear, oil and coal booster
On its website, AIP outlines measures that it claims would "release ourselves from the grip of foreign oil. We need to harness solar, wind and nuclear power and other emerging technologies and reward businesses that invest in these alternative energy sources. But this alone is not enough. We need to increase our domestic production by allowing exploration and drilling offshore and in ANWR. We also need to pursue oil shale and coal-to-liquid fuel, which could provide more than 100 years of energy."

Contact details
American Issues Project 301 West Platt Street Suite #353 Tampa, Florida 33606 Website: http://www.americanissuesproject.org

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Climate change
 * Harold Simmons

External articles

 * Jim Kuhnhenn, "Group to spend $2.8 million on anti-Obama ad", Associated Press, August 21, 2008.
 * Rick Hansen, "Is the American Issues Project Breaking Campaign Finance Law?", The Huffington Post, August 26, 2008.
 * Chris Cillizza, "Conservative Group Hammers Obama on AIG", The Washington Post, March 23, 2009.