Who's behind CI-97? Connect the dots
Montana's CI-97 "SOS" initiative (see page
1), is hardly a homegrown Montana idea. It's part of a
national movement to gut public services.
Montanans In Action, the front group for CI-97
in Montana, refuses to say where it got the hundreds of thousands
of dollars it has reported spending on out-of-state paid signature
gatherers. But it's not hard to connect the dots...
Similar initiatives also called "SOS" are being
pushed and funded in Oklahoma, Missouri,
Oregon, and Michigan by the same national group that appears
to be pushing Montana's SOS—Americans for Limited
Government (ALG).
ALG, based in Chicago, Illinois, is headed
by a New York City real estate tycoon aptly named Howard
Rich. Rich has admitted giving $200,000 to
push CI-97 (SOS), and two other initiatives in Montana.
Montana State Senator Joe
Balyeat recently admitted that Rich is the key bankroller
of Montanans In Action.
Rich's ALG and Washington DC-based Americans
for Tax Reform have spent millions to get measures like CI-97
on state ballots. In some states they call it "TABOR"
(Arizona, Maine, Ohio, Nevada, and Wisconsin).
Anti-government activist Grover Norquist of
Washington, DC, president of Americans for Tax Reform, has
called TABOR the "holy grail" of tax policy.
Norquist's stated goal is to starve government
to the point "where we can drown it in the bathtub." Norquist
has been accused of laundering money for his friend, indicted
lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
This is a well-coordinated effort by out-of-state
groups to starve government, not make it more efficient.
Who's against CI-97?
A coalition of Montana groups and individuals called Not
In Montana: Citizens Against CI-97 is working to fight
CI-97.
It includes business groups, firefighters, teachers, agriculture,
senior citizens, healthcare groups, concerned citizens, and
many others.
Home: Not
in Montana
Who's behind CI-97
Why
CI-97 doesn't work
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