Thread by @ExposingALEC

The Council for National Policy #CNP, "The Secret Society"
web.archive.org/web/2012102019…
"the heart of a great conservative movement that helped to make America strong and prosperous in the 20th century – now helping to ensure she remains free and secure in the 21st century,"

Some CNP members - Mike Pence comes quickly to mind - in the context of bolstering their conservative credentials, have proudly revealed their CNP membership, even though CNP's policy is to keep membership a secret. Here is it's 2014 Membership, the latest splcenter.org/sites/default/…

#CNP's tentacles include well-connected activists who advocate for the imposition of fundamentalist Christian ideology in public life and have succeeded in forcing their agenda in republican administrations. A list of organizations working with CNP web.archive.org/web/2012020417…

Who is the Council for National Policy and What Are They Up To? web.archive.org/web/2008111605… #CNP Members all share something in common: They are powerful figures, drawn from both the Religious Right and the anti-government, anti-tax wing of the ultra-conservative movement.

From the beginning, the #CNP sought to merge two strains of far-right thought: the Religious Right with the low-tax, anti-government wing of the GOP. The theory was that the Religious Right would provide the grass roots activism and muscle. The other would put up the money

While many involved in the #CNP have denied political activity in their respective organizations, the role of the CNP appears to be that of a policy and funding conduit for the Religious Right projects, both political and religious web.archive.org/web/2012020423…

“Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another,” The question is: Whose soul? #CNP prepared an #Education Reform Plan based on four assumptions and one pledge: 👇files.rightwingwatch.org/uploads/CNP-Ed…

Under #CNP member Betsy #DeVos, CNP members "to recruit other movement conservatives, conservative and Christian media leaders, and pastors - engaging support from the #HeritageFoundation - to join the campaign to dismantle Dept of #Education", and this👇

The Council for National Policy Wants Betsy DeVos to Christianize Public Schools – CNP “Education Reform Report”. Report files.rightwingwatch.org/uploads/CNP-Ed… proposes return of all educational oversight to the states - the #CNP and the Christian Right equate #education as social engineering👇

Paul Weyrich set up the Council for National Policy #CNP to mimic The Council on Foreign Relations. CFR promoted Common Core federal standards for #education. CNP called for a gradual, voluntary return at all levels to free-market private schools, church schools and home schools

#CNP rules state that “Council meetings are closed to the media and the general public,”...“Our membership list is strictly confidential and should not be shared outside the Council.” watch.pair.com/charter.html Why did Mike #Pence announce his membership? Courting 2024 supporters?

How the Big Brother controls “alternative” media web.archive.org/web/2011010101… Pictured👇are just a few of the more popular names — especially among followers of the “alternative” #media — who are members of the ultra-secret Council for National Policy #CNP

#CNP is powerful in it's control over the so-called #conservative movement in this country, which ties in closely with the “patriot” movement and alternative #media, which many people rely on to deliver them what they believe is “the truth.” Anything else is #FakeNews

#CNP's strategy is to propagate the idea of transforming the United States back to it's 'godly' heritage...its actions appear to be pushing a raw #capitalist and expansionist policy coupled with an aggressive #authoritarian approach to governance web.archive.org/web/2007020808…

#CNP members include corporate executives, television evangelists, legislators, former military or government officers, think tanks dedicated to molding society and those who many view as "Christian" leadership. Who made some of the grants made to CNP?web.archive.org/web/2007012509…

Before it was unexpectedly shut down, I had started working on this associations chart on Muckety. You can see the core from which the rest of the associations (people and organizations) are related.👇

If you want to be in the know about the real scoop, that you don't read about in the newspapers, this is the organization to be part of. #FakeNews #CNP

— Pat Robertson, Christian Coalition

publiceye.org/ifas/cnp/membe…

When the executive director of an organization with the stale-as-old-bread name of the Council for National Policy, boasts that "WE CONTROL EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD," he is only half-kidding. web.archive.org/web/2007040907… #CNP

Paul Weyrich took responsibility for bringing together the best minds of conservatism, and his imprint on #CNP's mission is unmistakable: It provided a forum for religiously engaged conservative Christians to influence the geography of American political power.

Inside Nikki Haley’s Shocking Speech to Secretive Far-Right Group therealnews.com/stories/inside… Just days before she resigned as UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley delivered a private speech to the Council for National Policy #CNP, a secretive group of influential right-wing figures

Council for National Policy #CNP...Total #KochBrothers Foundations grants 1997-2011: $50,000, $25K each in 2010 and 2011 web.archive.org/web/2015090514

I have reviewed all of the Form 990 for these #KochBrothers foundations at @KOCHdocs -
( kochdocs.org/the-koch-empir…) and there are no subsequent donations after 2011. Looks like they tried to buy influence, didn't get what they wanted, and cut bait.

Paul Weyrich tribute video Tributes from conservative christian leaders for Paul Weyrich, often considered the Father of the Conservative Movement. Groups that Weyrich founded, including the #CNP and #ALEC are👇

Donald Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway and campaign CEO Stephen Bannon were members of the Council for National Policy, "a shadowy and intensely secretive group" of powerful conservative thought leaders, politicians, and donors.

#CNP membership is notable for its mixture of Republican financiers, Tea Party operatives, and stalwarts of the religious right with many anti-LGBT, Islamophobic, and white supremacist extremists.

The Southern Poverty Law Center first revealed Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon's membership in the #CNP in August 2016, when they were the manager and CEO respectively of Donald Trump's Presidential campaign. SPLC lists Conway as an executive committee member.

Secretary of Education Betsy #DeVos and her brother, mercenary leader Erik Prince are both tied to the CNP through their parents Edgar Prince and Elsa Prince Broekhuizen, who have both served on the #CNP executive committee in the past

The Princes fund the CNP through their family charity, the Edgar & Elsa Prince Foundation, where Betsy DeVos, Erik Prince, and Elsa Prince Broekhuizen are all directors.

Betsy and Dick DeVos have also funded the CNP through their charity the Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation

Robert #Mercer and his family have donated to the Council for National Policy through their foundation, the Mercer Family Foundation. Robert Mercer also contributed $15.5 million to Make America Number 1, the pro-Trump super PAC chaired by Rebekah Mercer. #CNP

At least five members of Trump's transition team appear in the 2014 #CNP membership director obtained by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Three members of Trump's transition team have ties to both the Council for National Policy and the right-wing think thank the #HeritageFoundation, where Rebekah #Mercer is a board member. #CNP

Since 2006, Robert #Mercer has contributed large sums to Republican candidates, #PACs and #SuperPACS. His foundation has also contributed millions to #RightWing #thinktanks including the Heartland Institute, the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, and the #FederalistSociety

This visualization was created from the Council for National Policy’s (#CNP) membership directory. It illustrates the issues that concern individual members splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016…

Media & the CNP

What follows is a list of leading officials of right-wing or conservative #media organizations who are also members of the Council for National Policy (#CNP). 👇

Higher Education & the CNP

This list of 20 college and university officials at 16 schools who are also members of the Council for National Policy (#CNP) gives a sense of how far the group has reached into conservative academia, particularly religious institutions #HigherEd

This graphic (h/t @lovetogive2) further shows the relationship between the tRump Campaign and the christian conservative Council for National Policy (#CNP)👇 When you look at the chart of Issues Important to CNP Members (earlier in this thread) you can see it's influence on him.

@lovetogive2 The concoction of federalism, economic growth, social traditionalism, religious activism and anti-secularism goes down well among members because it is spiced with disdain for a common enemy: the creeping influence of political and philosophical liberalism

It is significant that Nelson Bunker Hunt, the founder and main funder of the Wycliffe Bible Associates and Council for National Policy, is, like many founding #CNP members, a Knight of the Order of Malta watch.pairsite.com/cnp.html

Ginni Thomas, conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, issued a dark warning at a Council for National Policy #CNP meeting--referencing the disarray and electoral losses suffered by conservatives in the Trump era theintercept.com/2019/06/04/gin…

Thomas' presentation to the #CNP lists efforts to “Build Robust Infrastructure,” led by Bill Meierling, chief marketing officer of #ALEC, and “Brand the Left: You’ve Been Lied To!” led by conservative publisher and direct-mail consultant Richard Viguerie.

Less than a week before her resignation, Nikki Haley made a speech before the Council for National Policy. Haley’s appearance before the #CNP was structured like a campaign fund-raiser, opening with a prepared stump-style speech harpers.org/blog/2018/10/n…

#CNP member Schlafly has a simple message.

"I remind people we are a two party system. If you like a third party or some other way, you can move to Europe — You have got to pick one. The fight is in the Republican Party."
cnn.com/2016/05/17/pol…
Hey #Democrats - Pay Attention❗️

The Council for National Policy #CNP is a rogues gallery of the political #rightwing as shown in this chart👇which shows some key CNP members and the movements with which they've been associated.

A ‘family values’ politician has been accused of sexual assault on a teen boy lgbtqnation.com/2017/11/family…
18-yr-old boy was sexually assaulted by Ohio state representative Goodman when he was attending a conference organized by Tony Perkins of the Council for National Policy (#CNP)

Like #ALEC, #CNP Action has Standing Committees where members work to influence crucial public policy decisions. No writing model bills but they 'formulate strategies and execute plans to make a difference on the issues where we can have a real impact.' talk2action.org/story/2006/7/3…

Also like #ALEC, #CNP meetings are held behind closed doors, away from any scrutiny. It meets 3 times a year. Members are strongly discouraged from speaking to the press about issues covered at the events or that they even attended a CNP meeting.

Old research into the Council for National Policy reviewed membership lists and created this listing of Selected member Biographies web.archive.org/web/2012020417… Many Trumpists were not important enough 20 years ago, but the bios of other notable members are illuminating...

Ironic how after years of posturing how #democrats were weak on #nationalsecurity it's conservatives who got suckered by #Russia. @RonWyden noted how the #NRA gave Russians access to the National Prayer Breakfast and the secretive right-wing Council for National Policy #CNP

The bond between America’s #Christo-fascists and the government of #Russia goes back a long way, long before anyone conceived of the possibility of a tRump administration nytimes.com/2018/07/18/opi…
The door was opened by #CNP founder Paul Weyrich👇

#DeVos Slams ‘Union Bullies’ for Opposing Her Plan to Send Federal Tax Dollars to Private and Religious Schools rightwingwatch.org/post/devos-sla…

When DeVos was confirmed, the secretive right-wing Council for National Policy #CNP had its own ambitious policy agenda for her: “a gradual, voluntary return at all levels to free-market #privateschools, #churchschools and #homeschools as the normative American practice.”

I previously noted how the the links between the #KochBrothers and the Council for National Policy (#CNP) show no real relationship, many members of the #KochNetwork are CNP Members. Two very important members are Michael Grebe of the #BradleyFoundation and Tim Phillips of #AFP

Linking the #KochBrothers and #CNP is Thomas A. Roe. Beginning in the 60s he helped spawn a nationwide group of state-based research institutes to promote conservative values among state policy-makers watch-unto-prayer.org/charter.html. The group=State Policy Network stinktanks.org

The @Heritage Foundation has a history of key membership in the Council for National Policy (#CNP) including such as Reagan A.G. Ed Meese, and ex-congressman Jim DeMint.

How @Heritage Foundation-led conservative groups inc #ALEC along with Religious-right members of #CNP led supporters to rally behind #CharterSchools. Behind the Conservative Curtain: Pseudo Grassroots Organizations Front for Corporate/Government Takeover watch-unto-prayer.org/charter.html

This site gives invaluable insight as to just what the @Heritage-linked orgs were in each state and how they worked behind the scenes. Detailed profiles on #CharterSchools/#SchoolChoice are are given for each state. Heritage Foundation For School Choice web.archive.org/web/2002021121…

Of historical interest in the #CNP is this invitation it sent to #Reagan's CIA Director William Casey, of note for his role in #IranContra. CNP member Oliver North was convicted for his role, without disclosing anything to investigators...A role model for today's tRumpists?

A Handful of Conservative Billionaires, Christian Leaders, and Media Barons Are Holding Democracy in the U.S. Hostage washingtonspectator.org/nelson-shadow-… facing a future in which minorities, women, gays...were gaining in number, rights, political influence, the #CNP changed the rules.

As local and regional #newspapers went out of business during the early 2000s, media owned by #CNP members rushed to fill the vacuum. Three key players dominate this landscape: Salem Media Group, Bott Radio Network, and the American Family Radio networks

#CNP strategists showed an astute grasp of electoral politics, finding hidden pockets of evangelical voters and identifying the issues that could drive them to the polls, spending years building #grassroots party machines at the state level.

The #CNP originated in the “Conservative Resurgence” of the Southern Baptist Convention in the 1970s and early ’80s, which reversed a trend toward liberalization and purged moderates from church institutions.

The CNP set its sights on the Republican Party, conducting a decades-long crusade to promote right-wing extremists and drive moderates out of office.

in the lexicon of Betsy #DeVos, crown princess of the movement, “educational reform” means redirecting public school funding to #religious schools, #CharterSchools, and #homeschooling. All of these euphemisms promote policies that victimize low-income and minority populations

#CNP understood its roots lie in the oil-producing states of Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. One outcome has been the sudden prominence of individuals from those states under the Trump administration, in federal agencies, advisory bodies, and the Cabinet.

We must ask ourselves whether the country the #CNP has planned for us is one we can accept for ourselves and our children...the myriad ways that money, media, and mobilization have been synchronized in the pursuit of power and profit washingtonspectator.org/nelson-shadow-…

The Council for National Policy (#CNP) has played the long game in Washington, using its ability to activate evangelical voting blocs as its political capital, building up influence in the statehouses and pushing the GOP ever farther to the right

The Council for National Policy (#CNP) is a well-oiled machine, in which big money, regional broadcasters and ground troops advanced its interests in ways often neglected by the national news media - it has trained some 200,000 conservative candidates and political activists

While Charles and David #Koch were not members of the #CNP, the donor networks of the CNP, fueled by the #DeVos family, converged with those of the #KochBrothers. #AFP Americans for Prosperity and the #TeaParty Patriots joined the CNP and CNP donors funded Koch initiatives.

Radio broadcasts from #CNP partner networks, in #church sanctuaries from partner “ministries” and on #socialmedia, complemented by #grassroots canvassing run by CNP members, including the #NRA, the Susan B. Anthony List and #AFP--targeted 17 million #evangelicals in swing states

In return for #CNP leader Tony Perkins hosting some 1,000 #fundamentalist leaders to allow Trump to make his case, CNP members were given a leading role in writing the social planks of the #Republican platform, and a decisive say in federal judicial nominations. #judges

In #Election2020, #CNP may be hoping for a repeat: wagering that the #impeachment furor in Washington will play out in the national media without moving the swing states — and that the #Democrats will be too distracted by the drama to notice.

#ShadowNetwork Offers A Lesson On The American Right's Mastery Of Politics npr.org/2019/10/29/774…
Unless you breathe #politics like it's oxygen, you're unlikely to have heard of a conservative organization called the Council for National Policy (#CNP)

Driving the success of the CNP was anxiety brought about by demographic changes. In the past century, more Americans have moved to cities, and fewer citizens are white and Protestant. "The mores of the new America created an unbearable tension," @anelsona writes.

These same tensions, these demographic trends — and the anxiety they provoked — contributed to the forces that brought Trump to power."

❗️Warning❗️👇👇👇

Media mentions re the Council for National Policy (#CNP)

Washington Post reports👉Influential conservative group: Trump, #DeVos should dismantle #Education Department and bring God into classrooms web.archive.org/web/2019021219…

The Council for National Policy (#CNP) calls for a “restoration of #education in America” that would minimize the federal role, promote #religious schools and #homeschooling and enshrine “historic Judeo-Christian principles” as a basis for instruction.

After this WAPO report was published, the #CNP scrubbed the plan from it's site. WAPO noted it could still be found on the Internet Archive, but I checked and it's been scrubbed there too❗️But PFAW's RightWingWatch posted it for all to see👉 files.rightwingwatch.org/uploads/CNP-Ed…

E. Ray Moore Jr., a member of the #CNP's Education Committee, said “You don’t hear Republicans and free-market people talking about fixing Obamacare. They talk about repeal and replace. We think the same argument should apply to #education.”

You might have noted in the photo (preceding link) that Moore is the founder of the Exodus Mandate Project, which encourages Christian families to pull their children out of public schools. After all, as the #CNP Education Report notes👇

It’s Time to Start Calling #Evangelicals What They Are: The American Taliban medium.com/@jcweatherby_4…

Activist Ginni Thomas (wife of Clarence Thomas) plans new conservative supergroup to “protect President tRump” interc.pt/2XtCD4s by @lhfang
, @nicksurgey announced the suite of projects at an invite-only gathering hosted by the Council for National Policy (#CNP)

@lhfang @NickSurgey Thomas covered a range of topics, including the “mob tactics” used by leftists against those wearing “Make America Great Again” hats and how the “hard left” has co-opted “the corporate community” to support a ban on housing and employment discrimination against LGBTQ people.

Thomas’s Crowdsourcers initiative lists efforts to “Build Robust Infrastructure,” led by Bill Meierling, chief marketing officer of #ALEC, and “Brand the Left: You’ve Been Lied To!” led by #CNP Senior Executive Committee Member Richard Viguerie.

Last October, the #CNP held a meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, at which Thomas warned that the “fascist left” had encouraged violence over the hearings to confirm Judge Brett #Kavanaugh to the #SCOTUS and would continue waging a cultural war against conservatives
👇‼️

#CNP meetings are held in secret. This year, Tony Perkins announced that unauthorized video and audio recording were forbidden, joking that “If you’re caught, you will be taken to a room and be forced to watch Rachel @maddow.”

During a session of member introductions, one #CNP member announced there would be a private reception the following evening to “toast a glass of beer” for the Bud Light-loving belligerent #Kavanaugh who the evangelicals devoutly believe will enact their agenda on the court.

We can learn a lot by looking at an organizations financials. Courtesy of Pro-Publica here is a link to #CNP's tax filings from 2001-2018. projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/org…

You can see #CNP's 2018 tax filing at projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/org…
Included on the Council for National Policy's Form 990 Taxes, there is information re the #CNP Officers and Directors. Got a lot of familiar names there...👇

Robert Mercer is a #CNP member and a lifetime member of the #NRA. Cambridge Analytica worked with a DC consulting firm on the #NRA's Trigger the Vote campaign. Also involved in the campaign was the #Koch i360 data. Wayne LaPierre and Foster Friess were both CNP and NRA.

This excerpt from #ShadowNetwork, by @anelsona
, tells the story of how Cambridge Analytica, i360, and the #CNP network work together. Please read it, it can't be done in bunches of 280 characters, and it is CRUCIAL for all to understand as we get into #Election2020.
‼️

@anelsona In resurrecting this thread, I just found this... Council for National Policy (#CNP) Vision Statement, as noted in it's 2014 Membership Directory

It's 2020. How well did the CNP measure up to it's goal?

#ShadowNetwork

@anelsona Thomas Fitton - President, Board Member, Officer of Judicial Watch - is a member of the extreme religious, conservative Council for National Policy #CNP. It is funded by conservative foundations that have funded anti-environmental, pro-business, and legal advocacy organizations.

When it started in 1983, the Council for National Policy (#CNP) was set on influencing the #media (newspapers still existed in 1983). To that end it started a Journalism Awards Competion to find writers and outlets to promote its agenda. Check this out👇#ShadowNetwork

Here's an example of how the Council for National Policy (#CNP) worked to influence White House decision making by opposing efforts for a negotiated settlement in El Salvador in February 1983. It wanted to stop #communism in Central America #ForeignPolicy #ShadowNetwork

President Reagan expressed his appreciation to the Council for National Policy (#CNP) in 1983 with this wire to Woody Jenkins at the opening of it's Third National Meeting. #ShadowNetwork

At the Council for National Policy's (#CNP) Annual Board of Governors meeting in May 1983, Jesse Helms was the master of ceremonies. The headline speaker was Jerry Falwell. hmm... #ShadowNetwork

But why hold a meeting in a luxury hotel or resort if you can hold it at Blair House? In this letter from Council for National Policy's (#CNP) Executive Director Woody Jenkins is enlisting the help of Elizabeth Dole, Assistant to the President, to get this perk.👇#ShadowNetwork

For the September 1981 meeting of the Council for National Policy's Board of Governors, #CNP Executive Director Woody Jenkins wrote to presidential assistant Morton Blackwell to arrange a reception with President Reagan with it's 56 BOD members👇Interesting list #ShadowNetwork

For that September 1981 meeting, #CNP Executive Director Woody Jenkins initiated a news media blackout keeping it's agenda and speakers secret. This was a first for the Council for National Policy #ShadowNetwork

I find this particularly fascinating given today's red states/blue states split. Check out the states that were targeted for Council for National Policy (#CNP) "intensive" membership recruitment efforts because their states' membership was still "quite small"👇#ShadowNetwork

Here is an early, reliable list of the Council for National Policy Board of Directors - January 1983. It was culled from documents at the Reagan Library archive.org/details/cnpjan… @splcenter @anelsona @kathsstewart @JeffSharlet @jennycohn1 @Nasty_Woman1 @lovetogive2 @Cruellaisdevine

@splcenter @anelsona @kathsstewart @JeffSharlet @jennycohn1 @Nasty_Woman1 @lovetogive2 @Cruellaisdevine Also from newly culled documents, Selected members of the Council for National Policy (#CNP) from Septemeber 1982, with short biographies. archive.org/details/cnpsep…

@splcenter @anelsona @kathsstewart @JeffSharlet @jennycohn1 @Nasty_Woman1 @lovetogive2 @Cruellaisdevine Early listing of key Council for National Policy (#CNP) members' select biographies, culled from documents at the Reagan Library. archive.org/details/cnpsep… Includes Buz Lukens, then Chairman of #ALEC...

@splcenter @anelsona @kathsstewart @JeffSharlet @jennycohn1 @Nasty_Woman1 @lovetogive2 @Cruellaisdevine Here is the August 1981 Announcement of 12 new members of the Council for National Policy's (#CNP) Board of Governors. Culled from documents in the Reagan Library. archive.org/details/cnpaug…