Democrats used a nonprofit to engage in a partisan, multi-state campaign to flip states blue during the 2020 election, including Arizona, and plan to do so again in 2024.
Details of the effort — the Everybody Votes campaign by the Voter Registration Project (VRP) — were revealed in a new report by the Capital Research Center. According to a leaked secret draft plan, the campaign funded voter registration drives in eight swing states — Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, and Nevada — over five years beginning in 2016, seeking to register more non-white and other “underrepresented” (unmarried women, young) voters to bring registration parity to white voters.
John Podesta commissioned Everybody Votes while serving as Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign chairman. Podesta, a key player in Russiagate, formerly served as the Clinton White House Chief of Staff and counselor to President Obama; he co-founded and presided over Center for American Progress.
Everybody Votes succeeded in raising $190 million and registering 5.1 million people by 2022, which turned out around 1-2.7 million votes across the eight swing states for President Joe Biden in 2020. The Capital Research Center report estimated that the campaign generated over 198,600 votes in the 2020 election. Biden won in 2020 by over 10,400 votes.
“[T]he Everybody Votes campaign was blatantly partisan, developed by Democratic consultants and pushed by Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager,” stated the report.
Everybody Votes received its millions from progressive billionaires. Barbara Fried — mother of Sam Bankman-Fried, the corrupt cryptocurrency giant under investigation for fraud — co-wrote a 2020 memo for her super PAC led by fellow Stanford Law professors, Mind the Gap, advising donors to give 90 percent of their political cash to three nonprofits engaged in voter registration campaigns “most effective” for getting “additional Democratic votes,” naming Everybody Votes as one of them. Donors receive tax deductions for their contributions.
As AZ Free News reported last November, Bankman-Fried gave $27 million to a Phoenix-based PAC to turn out for Democratic candidates. The PAC’s treasurer, Dacey Montoya, is a key figure in many Democratic dark money network organizations, and received over $1 million from committees for Gov. Katie Hobbs and Sen. Mark Kelly.
NEW: My biggest story EVER, exposing a corrupt voter registration charity that may have decided the 2020 election by using $120+ million to target millions of Democratic voters in AZ, CO, FL, GA, OH, NC, VA, NV
Among the billionaires to donate to VRP were Warren Buffet ($5 million), George Soros ($10.4 million), Chuck Feeney ($2 million), the foundation of the deceased Wallace Coulter ($5 million), Barbara Picower ($4 million), Jeffrey Skoll ($1 million), and Pierre Omidyar ($500,000). Prominent dark money groups Proteus Fund, New Venture Fund, Hopewell Fund, Tides Foundation, ImpactAssets, and Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund accounted for around $453 million in funds to VRP.
Arizona organizations tied into the dark money network benefited over $19.16 million from VRP: $7.46 million to Mi Familia Vota Education Fund, $1.73 million for Mi Familia Vota, $5.43 million to One Arizona, $1.82 million for Central Arizonans for a Sustainable Economy (CASE), $1.73 million for Arizona Center for Empowerment, $941,000 for Arizona Coalition for Change, and $51,900 for Rural Arizona Engagement.
Everybody Votes appears to have originated in early 2015 from a plan emailed to Podesta by the Wyss Foundation, a leftist nonprofit with a history of illegal election interference. That plan originated from Bill Roberts, board member of leftist dark money group League of Conservation Voters, within Corridor Partners, a Democratic consulting firm. In November 2015, Podesta received a copy of a similar, retitled plan originating from Robert Richman, CEO of the Democratic campaign strategy group Grassroots Solutions. VRP and Grassroots Solutions shared a D.C. address from 2016 to 2018 according to tax filings, with VRP continuing to pay consulting fees to Grassroots Solutions.
VRP picked up the Everybody Votes campaign. Formerly known as “Voting For America,” VRP was an outgrowth of Obama’s Project Vote. Project Vote was an affiliate of ACORN: the bankrupted activist network guilty of violating election laws repeatedly.
Despite having an outsized impact on the 2020 election, it wasn’t until last year that VRP publicized the Everybody Votes campaign.
VRP plans to use the Everybody Votes campaign plan again for 2024, with hiring targeted in Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin in addition to Arizona.
The IRS prohibits 501(c)(3) nonprofits from engaging in partisan activity, especially that which influences election outcomes. AZ Free News documented in February how leftist nonprofits in Arizona manipulate the tax code to do just that.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
This week, Danielle Jordan made her second appearance before the Laveen School District Governing Board to call for action in her son’s case from earlier this spring. Jordan spoke for approximately thirty minutes after a member on the Board first indicated that she was only going to be allowed to give two minutes of public comments to address the circumstances surrounding her son – then reversed course after a private conversation with an attorney.
On April 25, Danielle’s ten-year-old son was allegedly confronted by a school official at Vista Del Sur Accelerated Academy in the Laveen Elementary School District. Video captured in a school office – and highlighted by other media reports – appears to show the school official on top of the young boy, holding him down. The footage purportedly shows at least one other person in the room with the boy and the school official, standing off to the side. The police were called to the school after the incident, and according to reports, the investigation may be ongoing.
According to reports, the alleged (and videoed) interaction between the boy and the school official happened after he was apparently told he was suspended from the school. Few details are publicly known about the catalyst for this suspension, and Danielle claims she had no advance notice of the disciplinary action against her son.
The Laveen School District has released a lengthy statement for this situation, calling what occurred on the fateful April day, an “improper restraint.” The District added, “In late April, a district-level administrator was asked to come to Vista Del Sur Accelerated Academy to help with a student. While the student was being escorted to the in-school detention room, the administrator perceived the student was trying to exit the campus. While trying to stop the student from leaving campus, the administrator applied an improper restraint technique by grabbing hold of the student’s arm and shoulder to prevent the student from doing so. The student struggled to pull away from the administrator and the two fell to the ground. While on the ground, the administrator leaned over the student for approximately 40 seconds in an effort to calm the student. When the student stood up, the student asked and was permitted to call the student’s mother.”
While Jordan was attempting to handle things diplomatically, she and her lawyer have escalated matters in the court of public opinion – and with local law enforcement. This week’s appearance before the Governing Board was Jordan’s second, and she also held a press conference to share her grievances with the perceived lack of action. Additionally, it was revealed that Jordan’s team sent a letter to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, requesting that her office step in for a potential criminal investigation.
Both sides have pointed blame at the other for a perceived lack of communication to remedy the wrong.
In the District’s statement and during the Governing Board meeting, the school official at the center of this controversy was cryptically referred to in past tense, but little information was shared by members as to why this individual suddenly became a “former” administrator. This lack of clarity and transparency was not lost on Jordan and her team.
The boy’s mother noted that her son was removed from the school where the altercation took place. He appears to now attend a different school. Many questions remain on all sides as to what happened, what is now taking place, and how to make this situation right for the future.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The Scottsdale-based Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) secured a federal court ruling that effectively halts mail-order abortions.
On Wednesday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must reinstate its safety restrictions for mifepristone use. In effect, the ruling limits mifepristone’s use to the first seven weeks of pregnancy, as well as requires an in-person visit with a provider prior to prescription.
This is the Texas court’s second ruling against mifepristone access. In April, the court issued an injunction against the abortion drug. The same hour of that injunction, a Washington federal court ruled that the FDA must continue providing mifepristone. Several weeks after those conflicting orders, the Supreme Court halted the Texas court’s injunction until all litigation had concluded.
BREAKING🚨 The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled the FDA must do its job and restore crucial safeguards around chemical abortion drugs, including ending illegal mail-order abortions. It's a significant victory for the doctors we represent, and for women's health and safety.
ADF sued the FDA last November on behalf of four pro-life medical groups, who argued that mifepristone shouldn’t have been approved by the FDA over 20 years ago and should be removed from the market.
The FDA approved mifepristone in 2000, during the Clinton administration, using a fast-tracked approval process. The FDA justified approval by reclassifying abortion as a “serious or life-threatening illness” and mifepristone as a “meaningful therapeutic benefit.” In a 2008 report, the Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) noted the medical community’s widespread criticism of the basis for mifepristone’s approval.
“Critics have argued that unwanted pregnancy should not be considered a serious or life-threatening illness,” stated the GAO report.
Mifepristone’s efficacy and safety are dubious. The drug’s usage has been linked to hundreds of cases of infections and death, if not more. Government studies have estimated adverse effects of the drug occurring in as many as one in five women. The FDA also failed to convince the New Orleans court of the drug’s safety.
“[I]n loosening mifepristone’s safety restrictions, [the] FDA failed to address several important concerns about whether the drug would be safe for the women who use it,” read the majority opinion.
Yet, state leaders have advocated for access to the abortion drug. Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office claims the drug is “incredibly safe” and that restrictions on it are “unnecessary.”
In June, Hobbs issued an executive order usurping county attorneys’ authority over prosecuting abortion law violations.
In March, Mayes encouraged pharmacies to give out abortion pills. In May, Mayes joined an amicus brief to advocate for the upholding of mifepristone’s FDA approval.
Hours after the circuit court ruling, Mayes’ new Reproductive Rights Unit issued guidance on how individuals can hide their data, such as internet history and communications, when seeking abortions. The new unit is headed by deputy solicitor general Hayleigh Crawford.
The attorney general didn’t issue a direct response to this week’s ruling, but the data privacy guidance and corresponding meeting appeared to be an indirect response of sorts.
Arizona stands by its reproductive health providers and those seeking care. Thank you to these stellar advocates for joining us yesterday to discuss our new data privacy guidance. Ft. @BreThomas68, @LegallyLove, Sheena Chiang, @JodiLiggett, Dr. @CadeyHarrel and Tonya Irick. pic.twitter.com/Ek8TsVDjTq
— AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) August 17, 2023
Featured guests at the meeting included:
Chris Love, board member and senior advisor for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, and attorney at Kewenvoyouma Law;
Sheena Chiang, co-chair of the Planned Parenthood Arizona Board of Directors, and attorney for the Maricopa County Legal Defender’s office;
Jodi Liggett, founder of the progressive think tank and advocacy group Arizona Center for Women’s Advancement, former deputy chief of staff for Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, former vice president of external affairs and executive director for Planned Parenthood of Arizona, former senior policy advisor for Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, former CEO of Arizona Foundation for Women, and former policy advisor for former Gov. Jane Hull;
Bré Thomas, CEO of Affirm Sexual and Reproductive Health For All, former Arizona Department of Health Services manager and senior policy advisor, former Arizona Department of Economic Security executive assistant to the deputy director, and former women’s health policy advisor for former Gov. Janet Napolitano;
Cadey Harrel, doctor and founder of Agave Community Health and Wellness;
Tonya Irick, director of abortion clinic Family Planning Associates Medical Group
We brought together health care providers, advocates & community leaders to discuss @arizonaago's new data privacy guidance for those seeking reproductive health care. In a world in which we do everything online, we leave a trail in web and app data. Privacy should be the default pic.twitter.com/pFcbpcxzJ2
— AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) August 17, 2023
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
A new course from Arizona State University (ASU) will examine the psychology of mega pop star Taylor Swift: the singer, her life, and especially her lyricism. The ASU course has one prerequisite requirement: PSY 290: Research Methods. The instructor for the course is a graduate teaching assistant, Alexandra Wormley, who also teaches at Glendale Community College.
In the ASU press release highlighting the course, Wormley stated that this course sets a positive example because it makes use of topical relatability’s correlation to student comprehension and retention. Wormley also disclosed that finding relevant connections between psychology and Swift would present a challenge.
“As educators, we should be taking advantage of this little quirk in our brains to foster learning,” said Wormely. “If that takes a little extra work on my part to think through how to connect social psychology to Taylor Swift, then it is well worth it. It makes the learning — and the teaching — more fun.”
The course will focus on studying psychological phenomena such as gossip, relationships, and revenge, and then applying that knowledge to the themes of Swift’s songs.
Wormley said the idea for the course came after her research assistants attended Swift’s March concert in Glendale. The municipality renamed itself “Swift City” for two days in honor of the concert, the first in a series of performances in the singer’s acclaimed “Eras Tour.”
It appears that Swift picked Arizona as a play on the name of her tour: “Era”-zona. The tour is projected to gross up to $2.2 billion, jolting the tourism industry in host cities with infusions of tens of millions of dollars; the Federal Reserve reported earlier this summer that Swift’s tour has boosted the economy.
I miss you like it was the very first night. Good thing we’re about to go onstage and do the whole thing again tonight. See you 🔜 Glendale, Erazona☺️
Apart from her recent, outsized impact on spurring economic growth, Swift has influenced American culture for nearly two decades.
Since topping the charts in 2006, Swift’s public relationships with at least 14 famous men — Joe Jonas, Lucas Till, Taylor Lautner, John Mayor, Cory Monteith, Jake Gyllenhaal, Chord Overstreet, Eddie Redmayne, Conor Kennedy, Harry Styles, Calvin Harris, Tom Hiddleston, Joe Alwyn, and (currently) Matt Healy — inspired a good portion of the 10 albums that have decidedly made her a household name.
Swift, soon to be 34 in December, has never been married.
ASU isn’t the only one that considers Swift worthy of course-long study. Berklee College of Music in Boston, New York University, Rice University, Stanford University, University of Missouri, and University of Texas at Austin have all offered courses on the singer.
New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music was the first to offer a course on Swift last year, sparking a chain reaction of other universities offering courses on the singer.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Inflation is forcing Americans to spend more of their hard-earned dollars over the past two years.
The rate of inflation has become a common refrain the past couple of years. While experts are hopeful that skyrocketing inflation may be a thing of the past, data shows that men and women around the nation continue to dig deeper into their wallets than they did before.
Mark Zandi, the Chief Economist for Moody’s Analytics Economics, recently tweeted that “the high inflation of the past 2+ years has done lots of economic damage. Due to the high inflation, the typical household spent $202 more in a July than they did a year ago to buy the same goods and services. And they spent $709 more than they did 2 years ago.”
To be sure, the high inflation of the past 2+ years has done lots of economic damage. Due to the high inflation, the typical household spent $202 more in a July than they did a year ago to buy the same goods and services. And they spent $709 more than they did 2 years ago.
Even with this analysis, Zandi expressed optimism with the future of inflation and the American economy, writing, “The trend lines look good, and suggest inflation is set to moderate further. Vehicle prices will decline more, so too will electricity prices, and the growth in the cost of housing will slow further.” However, he warned that his “biggest worry is the jump in oil prices, which bears close watching.”
The news about the current state of inflation comes as President Joe Biden heralds the anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, which was executed in an attempt to address the runaway inflation that has, at times, crippled certain sectors of the American economy. Biden posted, “One year ago, I signed into law one of the most significant laws ever enacted: the Inflation Reduction Act. Emerging from a deadly pandemic and doubts about America’s future – we delivered. Looking forward, not back. Taking on the special interests and winning.”
One year ago, I signed into law one of the most significant laws ever enacted: the Inflation Reduction Act.
Emerging from a deadly pandemic and doubts about America’s future — we delivered.
Arizona officials also weighed in on the significance of the law’s passage, sharing their perspectives on the progress (or lack thereof) since its execution. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego wrote, “Clean-energy jobs, a more secure water supply, and lower utility bills. These are just a few ways the Inflation reduction Act is delivering for Phoenix families since it became law one year ago today.”
Clean-energy jobs, a more secure water supply, and lower utility bills.
These are just a few ways the Inflation Reduction Act is delivering for Phoenix families since it became law one year ago today. Thank you, @SenMarkKelly, for your work to get it across the finish line! pic.twitter.com/ekiNtefi7z
Republican Senator Anthony Kern responded to Gallego, saying, “More left political lies. Has anyone’s electric bills, water bills, gas bills, and food bills been lowered??”
More left political lies.
Has anyone's electric bills, water bills, gas bills, and food bills been lowered??
Arizona Superintendent Tom Horne advised the K-12 community that Title IX doesn’t have any language forcing schools to obey gender ideology concerning policy on restroom, locker room, and shower facility usage.
The superintendent issued the remarks on Thursday in a brief guidance memo from the Arizona Department of Education (ADE). Horne explained that the current Title IX law only prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, not gender identity. The Biden administration proposed a rule change to Title IX in 2021 that would expand the longstanding 1972 definition to include gender identity and sexual orientation, followed by a formal proposal by the Education Department last year, but that rule change has not yet been put into effect.
“Under the current Title IX, there is no language that compels schools to permit biological boys to use girls’ bathrooms, locker rooms or shower areas,” stated Horne. “The Biden administration has proposed changes to Title IX that might allow for this, but this proposal has no force of law until it is ruled on by the courts, which has not occurred.”
Superintendent Horne encourages all schools to enact policies that don't allow biological boys in girls' restrooms, locker rooms, or showers. pic.twitter.com/BLTTF1wwPV
— Arizona Department of Education (@azedschools) August 17, 2023
The Biden administration announced it would publish the final Title IX rule in October.
ADE advised schools to not implement policy allowing gender identity to dictate restroom, locker room, or shower facility access, mainly referring to the ability for males to access traditionally female spaces. ADE warned that males could still be held accountable for impropriety, regardless of ideology.
“Biological boys who expose themselves to girls could be violating indecent exposure laws and subject to arrest,” said ADE. “Schools can provide separate facilities — even small ones that are open to either gender — that meet the needs of transgender students without compromising the dignity of others.”
Horne explained further that he’s received numerous complaints from parents about schools permitting biological males to use private facilities intended originally and exclusively for females. Upset parents have reportedly told Horne they may leave schools permissive of gender ideologies. Rather than dissuade this type of thinking, Horne encouraged parents to exercise their right of school choice, possible through the universalized Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program.
“[T]hey are considering removing their daughter from schools that allow this,” said Horne. “In Arizona, they certainly have multiple school options from which to choose.”
Superintendent Horne encourages all schools to enact policies that don't allow biological boys in girls' restrooms, locker rooms, or showers. pic.twitter.com/BLTTF1wwPV
— Arizona Department of Education (@azedschools) August 17, 2023
State Rep. Nancy Gutierrez (D-LD18), minority whip, said the guidance was “dangerous” and violates federal law.
This is not ok. In fact, it’s very dangerous that our Superintendent of Public Instruction is pushing an agenda that is discriminatory and against the law. Students need to feel safe. Targeting certain students and using inflammatory language is dangerous. @ld18dems@AZHouseDemspic.twitter.com/ML4ZGZ6W1l
— Representative Nancy Gutierrez (@nancygforAZ) August 17, 2023
In June, the Ninth District Circuit Court ruled that discrimination based on perceived sexual orientation qualifies as sex-based discrimination under Title IX.
Title IX affects more than just bathroom, locker room, and shower area usage. It also applies to sports, something which progressive activists are also fighting to reform. Two families sued the state over its law banning biological boys from competing in girls’ sports.
New lawsuit challenging Arizona's ban on transgender athletes in K-12 sports claims that transgenderism is a trait, not a state of mind. pic.twitter.com/E7NgDgh01W
Despite the legal battles over Title IX not yet settled, Arizona’s K-12 public school boards have been taking initiative by adopting policy that would align with the expanded Biden administration version of Title IX. Last September, for example, one of the state’s top charter school chains, Legacy Traditional Schools, permitted gender identity to dictate bathroom usage.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
