The "Committee for Truth in Politics"?

Printer-friendly versionSend by email

A group called the Committee for Truth in Politics (CTP) is running ads in selected states opposing the "Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act," which would overhaul the country's financial sector, more tightly regulate consumer financial products like home mortgages, car loans and credit cards, and help prevent another Wall Street meltdown. CTP has no Web site and refuses to disclose any information about its spending to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The organization was created by a North Carolina Republican operative named William L. "Bill" Peaslee, and it is represented by attorney James Bopp, Jr., who has sued the FEC saying the group shouldn't have to file any spending reports with the government. Bopp is the same person who drafted the Republican National Committee's "Purity Resolution," which threatens to cut off funding for any Republican who fails to support a list of far-right conservative values and beliefs. CTP is running its ads in Arkansas, Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. The ads are aimed at confusing people by portraying the financial reform bill as a "new $4 trillion bailout for banks" -- language that was suggested by discredited GOP pollster and wordsmith Frank Luntz, who recently urged Republicans to stoke opposition to the consumer-friendly legislation by portraying it as filled with bank bailouts, lobbyist loopholes and additional layers of complicated government bureaucracy.