Our Country Deserves Better PAC
Encyclopedia
Our Country Deserves Better PAC (OCDB) is a political action committee
(PAC) formed in August 2008 to oppose the election of Democratic Party
presidential candidate Barack Obama
. The organization, based in Sacramento, California
, is one of the largest conservative PACs in the United States
. Its current mission is to challenge President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress for their stance on raising taxes on the wealthy, health care
, national defense
, energy policy
, immigration
, and judicial appointments, as well as defeat the election of liberal Democratic candidates.
The organization stands for lowering taxes, opposing bailouts, a strong national defense, secure borders, sound energy policy, and judges who respect the constitution and is committed to defeating the candidates backed by liberal Democratic
Senate and House leaders, Harry Reid
and Nancy Pelosi
, in the 2010 congressional elections
.
From end of August to mid-September 2009, the PAC held the "Tea Party Express" national bus tour from Sacramento, CA to Washington, D.C.
The tour was focused around the "tea party" movement who opposes the out-of-control spending, socialized health care, and bailouts, they blame on President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress but were actually enacted by the previous Bush administration ( there may be some confusion with the corporate bailouts of the Bush administration and Obama administration's large economic stimulus package). The organization released a television ad, which ran on Fox News, to help promote the tour to conservative Americans.
Organizing for America
, an organization run by the Democratic National Committee
, deployed a bus tour called "Reform Now: Let’s Get It Done" in early September in response to the Tea Party Express tour.
against the Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
. The PAC gave the 2010 congressional election season
an early start by targeting vulnerable Democrat members of Congress.
On Tuesday, May 26, 2009, the PAC organized a rally-protest outside of Caesars Palace
in Las Vegas, Nevada, during a fundraiser for Harry Reid's re-election campaign in which the keynote speaker was President Barack Obama. About 100 protesters stood outside the fundraising event to rally against Reid's "tax-and-spend" and "big government" ways.
, a Republican, for Congress in New York's 20th Congressional District
Special Election. The seat became open when then-Representative Kirsten Gillibrand
was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Governor David Paterson
. Tedisco ran against businessman Scott Murphy
, a Democrat, in a highly-contested race that resulting in Murphy winning by 1% of the vote.
The PAC ran ads in upstate New York in support of James Tedisco and against Scott Murphy. Our Country Deserves Better PAC accused Murphy of being anti-military, a tax cheat, and being a supporter of the stimulus plan. Kelly S. Eustis, the PAC's former Political Director, told the Legislative Gazette, "There's a reason the National Tax Limitation Committee PAC endorsed Jim Tedisco and not Scott Murphy. Taxpayer groups know they can trust Tedisco. Scott Murphy's record on tax issues amounts to his trying to argue that he wasn't responsible for paying taxes on the corporation he founded because he sold the company before the IRS got on his case."
In mid-November, the PAC announced plans to run television ads thanking former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin
, around Thanksgiving. "Over the past few days, about 1,000 people have donated tens of thousands of dollars to Our Country Deserves Better," reported the New York Times election blog on November 11. The PAC's Coordinator, Joe Wierzbicki, told the Times that his group felt "there has been 'an absence of a pro-Palin cohort.... This woman’s reputation is going to be so damaged that she can never be a national political figure,' he added. So the goal of the ad is to 'preserve her options.'"
A local CBS report on the Palin Thanksgiving ad said one of the spot's aims was "to urge her to run for President" in 2012.
filings, Our Country Deserves Better directed almost two thirds of its spending during July through November 2009 back to the Republican consulting firm that created the PAC in the first place. Of $1.33 million, a total of $857,122 went to Sacramento-based GOP political consulting firm Russo Marsh + Rogers, or people associated with it.
.
Here are the current board and staff members of the PAC:
Former staff members:
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
(PAC) formed in August 2008 to oppose the election of Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
presidential candidate Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. The organization, based in Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, is one of the largest conservative PACs in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its current mission is to challenge President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress for their stance on raising taxes on the wealthy, health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
, national defense
Defense (military)
Defense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...
, energy policy
Energy policy
Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity has decided to address issues of energy development including energy production, distribution and consumption...
, immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
, and judicial appointments, as well as defeat the election of liberal Democratic candidates.
Mission
According to its website, Our Country Deserves Better PAC is "leading the fight to champion the Reaganesque conservatism of lower taxes, smaller government, strong national defense, and respect for the strength of the family as the core of a strong America".The organization stands for lowering taxes, opposing bailouts, a strong national defense, secure borders, sound energy policy, and judges who respect the constitution and is committed to defeating the candidates backed by liberal Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Senate and House leaders, Harry Reid
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
and Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
, in the 2010 congressional elections
United States House of Representatives elections, 2010
The 2010 United States House of Representatives elections, also known as the 2010 midterm elections, were held on November 2, 2010, at the midpoint of President Barack Obama's first term in office. Voters of the 50 U.S. states chose 435 U.S. Representatives. Voters of the U.S...
.
Bus tours
In October 2008, leading up to the presidential election, Our Country Deserves Better PAC held a national bus tour called the "Stop Obama Tour." The tour held over 30 rally stops across the United States to campaign against Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. The organization's name, "Our Country Deserves Better," was their rallying cry.From end of August to mid-September 2009, the PAC held the "Tea Party Express" national bus tour from Sacramento, CA to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The tour was focused around the "tea party" movement who opposes the out-of-control spending, socialized health care, and bailouts, they blame on President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress but were actually enacted by the previous Bush administration ( there may be some confusion with the corporate bailouts of the Bush administration and Obama administration's large economic stimulus package). The organization released a television ad, which ran on Fox News, to help promote the tour to conservative Americans.
Organizing for America
Organizing for America
Organizing for America is a community organizing project of the Democratic National Committee. Founded after the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, the group seeks to mobilize supporters in favor of Obama's legislative priorities.-History:...
, an organization run by the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
, deployed a bus tour called "Reform Now: Let’s Get It Done" in early September in response to the Tea Party Express tour.
"Defeat Harry Reid" campaign
Our Country Deserves Better PAC launched the "Defeat Harry Reid" campaign in spring 2009, in which the organization aired television and radio ads in NevadaNevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
against the Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
. The PAC gave the 2010 congressional election season
United States House of Representatives elections, 2010
The 2010 United States House of Representatives elections, also known as the 2010 midterm elections, were held on November 2, 2010, at the midpoint of President Barack Obama's first term in office. Voters of the 50 U.S. states chose 435 U.S. Representatives. Voters of the U.S...
an early start by targeting vulnerable Democrat members of Congress.
On Tuesday, May 26, 2009, the PAC organized a rally-protest outside of Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an unincorporated township in Clark County, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp....
in Las Vegas, Nevada, during a fundraiser for Harry Reid's re-election campaign in which the keynote speaker was President Barack Obama. About 100 protesters stood outside the fundraising event to rally against Reid's "tax-and-spend" and "big government" ways.
"Stop Cap & Trade" campaign
In June 2009, Our Country Deserves Better PAC launched a campaign called "Stop Cap & Trade." The organization claimed that the Waxman-Markey Climate Bill "will saddle Americans with thousands of dollars in new taxes, fees, and costs each year."New York's 20th Congressional District Special Election, March 2009
In March 2009, Our Country Deserves Better PAC endorsed New York State Assemblyman James TediscoJames Tedisco
James Nicholas "Jim" Tedisco is an American politician. He is the Republican New York State assemblyman from the 110th District, and was the Assembly's Minority Leader from November 2005 until April 2009. He has served in the Assembly since 1983...
, a Republican, for Congress in New York's 20th Congressional District
New York's 20th congressional district
The 20th Congressional District of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in eastern New York. It includes all or parts of Columbia, Dutchess, Delaware, Essex, Greene, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties. It includes the...
Special Election. The seat became open when then-Representative Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Elizabeth Rutnik Gillibrand is an attorney and the junior United States Senator from the state of New York and a member of the Democratic Party...
was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Governor David Paterson
David Paterson
David Alexander Paterson is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of New York, from 2008 to 2010. During his tenure he was the first governor of New York of African American heritage and also the second legally blind governor of any U.S. state after Bob C. Riley, who was Acting...
. Tedisco ran against businessman Scott Murphy
Scott Murphy
Matthew Scott Murphy is an entrepreneur and the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, a Democrat, in a highly-contested race that resulting in Murphy winning by 1% of the vote.
The PAC ran ads in upstate New York in support of James Tedisco and against Scott Murphy. Our Country Deserves Better PAC accused Murphy of being anti-military, a tax cheat, and being a supporter of the stimulus plan. Kelly S. Eustis, the PAC's former Political Director, told the Legislative Gazette, "There's a reason the National Tax Limitation Committee PAC endorsed Jim Tedisco and not Scott Murphy. Taxpayer groups know they can trust Tedisco. Scott Murphy's record on tax issues amounts to his trying to argue that he wasn't responsible for paying taxes on the corporation he founded because he sold the company before the IRS got on his case."
Promoting Governor Sarah Palin
During the 2008 election, Our Country Deserves Better PAC debuted an ad called, "Sarah's a Fighter," about her standing up for conservative values, America's armed forces, and the American dreamIn mid-November, the PAC announced plans to run television ads thanking former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
, around Thanksgiving. "Over the past few days, about 1,000 people have donated tens of thousands of dollars to Our Country Deserves Better," reported the New York Times election blog on November 11. The PAC's Coordinator, Joe Wierzbicki, told the Times that his group felt "there has been 'an absence of a pro-Palin cohort.... This woman’s reputation is going to be so damaged that she can never be a national political figure,' he added. So the goal of the ad is to 'preserve her options.'"
A local CBS report on the Palin Thanksgiving ad said one of the spot's aims was "to urge her to run for President" in 2012.
Funding
According to FECFEC
FEC is an acronym which may refer to:*Foreign exchange certificate, a type of currency*Forward error correction, a system of error control for data transmission*Family entertainment center, a small amusement park or indoor equivalent intended for family fun...
filings, Our Country Deserves Better directed almost two thirds of its spending during July through November 2009 back to the Republican consulting firm that created the PAC in the first place. Of $1.33 million, a total of $857,122 went to Sacramento-based GOP political consulting firm Russo Marsh + Rogers, or people associated with it.
Legal status and personnel
Our Country Deserves Better PAC is a registered political action committee with the Federal Election CommissionFederal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
.
Here are the current board and staff members of the PAC:
- Howard KaloogianHoward KaloogianHoward J. Kaloogian is an American politician and a former member of the California State Assembly. A Republican, he failed in 2004 to be elected to the United States Senate and in 2006 to be elected to the House.-Biography:...
, Chairman - Sal Russo, Chief Strategist
- Lloyd Marcus, Spokesperson
- Joe Wierzbicki, PAC Coordinator
- Tiffiny Ruegner, Director, Field Operations
- Levi Russell, Communications Director
- Betty Presley, Treasurer
Former staff members:
- Kelly S. Eustis, Political Director / eCampaign Coordinator
- Deborah Johns, Vice Chairman
- Mark WilliamsMark Williams (radio host)Mark Williams is an American conservative activist and author based in Sacramento, California. He is the author of It's Not Right Versus Left, It's Right Versus Wrong; Exposing the Socialist Agenda and Taking Back America One Tea Party at a Time....
, Vice Chairman
External links
- Our Country Deserves Better PAC :: Welcome official site
- TeaPartyExpress.org | Official Site of the Tea Party Express Tea Party Express tour website
- "Howard Kaloogian" on SourceWatch
- "Sal Russo" on SourceWatch
- "Joe Wierzbicki" on SourceWatch
- "Kelly S. Eustis" on SourceWatch