Uncovered: The Main Donors to SuperPAC, “Make America Awesome”

Red State ^ | 03/26/2016

[BlackAdderess]

Ted! Is making a mistake in trying to be establishment. He started out trying to do that and got a ton of abuse for his efforts. Rather than learning his lesson, though, he’s still at it. He’s taken on Bushies, he’s played dirty tricks on both the electorate and other candidates, enough is enough, he needs to understand who his friends are while he still has them. Throwing them away on establishment types is only going to get him scapegoated in the end, because you can bet that he’s not going to a member of the club.

[marron]

WHERE AND WHEN DID GQ CONFIRM THIS?

I by and large don't get into the back and forth on this kind of thing, but this does interest me. Did GQ confirm that they sold the photo to Jeff Roe?

I did a search and all I find are Tweets and FR posts. Nothing I can hang my hat on.

[VerySadAmerican]

I don’t think Cruz “became” establishment. I think he does what he’s told. Remember the surprise when Reagan selected George H.W. (Voodoo Economics) Bush for veep? When the establishment owns you, you do what you’re told.

[BlackAdderess]

I feel like Ted! Is like the unpopular kid and the Washington clique has decided to set him up.

[caww]

More like they see the danger and are trying to fight off a Trump win.........I suspect more will support Cruz for that reason rather then because they like Cruz. A known is better for them than an unknown as Trump would be as he knows nothing about how washington works or doesn’t work.

[reaganaut]

Some are still ignoring that the ad was PRO-Ted Cruz. They may be good at money laundering, but it was still approved by someone in the campaign

[reaganaut]

yes they did

[marron]

They may be good at money laundering, but it was still approved by someone in the campaign

Maybe, but technically it would be illegal if someone in the campaign was in the loop on what the PAC was doing.

[BlackAdderess]

Cruz hit some serious headwinds after irritating George II. He won a following, probably largely due to the horrendous treatment. If he went with that, instead of trying to “earn” the approval of people who are never going to accept him, he’d be better off IMO.

That comment about Reagan/Bush is a disturbing thought.

[BlackAdderess]

Controllable, not known.

Sometimes the ability of elites to “control” falls short of their opinions about their abilities in that regard. That’s when very bad things happen.

[reaganaut]

Officially, but reality is different. I have worked several campaigns and there is a lot of talk between the campaign and PACs

[marron]

Officially, but reality is different. I have worked several campaigns and there is a lot of talk between the campaign and PACs

I believe you. I always thought it was a bit incredible that these people weren't joined at the hip.

[VerySadAmerican]

That comment about Reagan/Bush is a disturbing thought.

It’s certainly true. I remember Cokie Roberts on the floor at the convention going nuts and yelling into the microphone “It’s Bush! It’s Bush!” No one could believe it. All the pundits were asking “Why did he pick Bush?” I’ve been asking that question since 1980.

[sockmonkey]

Was this at RedState? Link doesn’t work now.

The link, a search of diary posts for the last several days, and the attribution shows nothing at Redstate for this diary/blog post. I searched all over Redstate.

[Ozark Tom]

Need better source than twitter postings.

[jennychase]

Live long facial for Carly.

[norton]

You are stepping in with a rational thought.
Pretty gutsy move ‘round these parts.

[GOP Congress]

I am the author of this piece on RedState.com I have modified it.

The original piece had only been a draft, but I mistook the "draft" for "publish." I decided to republish it as follows, as I decided to refrain from divulging the donors' names directly, as it was their business associations that more aptly described the issue:

Check the actions of donors of SuperPAC, "Make America Awesome"

The entire despicable affair regarding the absolutely destructive behavior of Donald Trump has, in my opinion, been orchestrated to maximize the sleaze affect in order to suppress the Cruz vote. Since Trump is maxxed out on being able to get new voters, he is now trying to prevent Cruz from amassing enough votes to win at a contested convention.

Keep in mind my contention that the entire focus of this sequence of events is based upon the fact that the biggest enemy in the GOP primary is not Trump, but Ted Cruz. So let's take a look at the start of the sequence.

The SuperPAC called "Make America Awesome" is a corny-sounding spoof of Donald Trump's slogan (stolen from Reagan, by the way) "Make America Great Again." It features a nude picture of Trump's wife, Melania, lying on a mink rug (hello, PETA?). The picture is contemporarily tasteful for GQ, and I have no qualms about it in that sense.

The ad was ostensibly supposed to repel Mormon voters from Donald Trump. It may have worked to a small degree, though I believe the vast majority of Utah voters have other issues with Mr. Trump. But the first thing that made me suspicious, as any rational constitutional conservative, is the message on the ad: MEET MELANIA TRUMP. YOUR NEXT FIRST LADY. OR, YOU COULD SUPPORT TED CRUZ ON TUESDAY.

Just like clockwork, Trump reacted and started the entire sequence of events in which he accused Cruz of putting out the ad, and you know the rest of the sordid story. But back to "Make America Awesome."

From Open Secrets:

Official PAC Name: MAKE AMERICA AWESOME Location: ALEXANDRIA, VA 22313 Industry: Unknown Treasurer: MARSTON, CHRIS FEC Committee ID: C00594176 (Look up actual documents filed at the FEC)

	$20,752
	$5,940
Begin Cash on Hand	$0
End Cash on Hand	$14,812
Debts	$12,491
Independent Expenditures	$18,800
Date of last report	February 29, 2016

From the FEC filing documents, the PAC was formed on December 7, 2015, an ironic date to file.

For the record, there were a total of seven donors shown as to giving more than $200. The donors listed are a matter of public record, and their contact information can be ascertained for the most part, as well as their place of business. In addition, it doesn't take a convicted felon computer hacker to find out any more information on them.

However, I decided not to show their names here, for the point is not shaming anyone. Indeed, they may be dupes in the entire matter, and in fact may be horrified at the seqence of events that may have started.

The REAL point of this post is to utterly disprove ANY assertion that Make America Awesome is an organization that consists mainly of rabid Ted Cruz supporters. Indeed, Cruz is correct in that Trump has his hands in this entire affair.

I will make one exception at not naming names, and that is the treasurer of the PAC, Chris Marston. From his website:

Election CFO provides a full-range of campaign finance services, providing only the services you need. We recognize every organization is different and customize our offerings accordingly. You only pay for the services you use.

From straight compliance reviews and response to FEC inquiries to managing the full range of banking services - merchant accounts, website credit card acceptance, remote deposit, debit cards - to budget development and monitoring, Election CFO is ready to help.

His life experience? He ran for clerk of Alexandria County (unsuccessfully), he clerked for Rob Portman in congress, and he's done a lot of consultin' for the Establishment. As such, he's an INTEGRAL part of K Street...not exactly a Ted Cruz supporter.

Now for the donors. There were only seven listed donors who gave over $200 who account for only $2,000 collectively, or less than 10% of the entire $20,752 raised to date. All the donors gave in January (with the exeception of one who gave Dec 29). So what employment or activities are these people associated with? Obviously, according to Trump and the media, they all have to be in bed with Cruz or his campaign, right? Let's see.

Donor #1 is a philanthropist of the Arts from Westport, Connecticut (though late of Palm Springs, California. This donor once worked for Bill Clinton. The Westport News reported that the donor has been a leading advocate for arts funding on the local, state, and national levels, according to the Westport Arts Center board member, and co-chairwoman of the 2014 Westport Arts gala. The donor had served on the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities under President Bill Clinton and was instrumental in the creation of the Westport Arts Advisory Committee. Finally, the donor currently serves on the Connecticut Advisory Committee for Culture and the Westport Country Playhouse board of trustees.

Not exactly someone who cavorts with conservatives, let alone Ted Cruz and associates.

Donor #2 has been described as a "consummate political insider" by the New York Times. From the donor's website:

(The donor) advises major corporate clients with high-stakes public and governmental affairs challenges in a myriad and diverse range of issue areas. (The donor) has decades of experience working on some of the most important government policy debates, high profile political campaigns and corporate controversies in the U.S. and abroad. The New York Times cited (the donor) as a “consummate political insider”, and in September 2012, Bloomberg news profiled (the donor) stating: “(The donor) brings Washington power players together in a way others can’t match. If you’re looking for the right introduction in D.C., you need to know (the donor).” (The donor) is regularly included in publications’ lists of the most influential and powerful people in the nation’s capital.

I wonder if this donor has ever had a steak dinner with Ted and Heidi? Something tells me...no.

Donor #3 is a character of amusing repute. The donor is ostensibly a "conservative bundler" but his real thoughts come out via twitter. It should be noted that this donor has switched his account to private, but to hominize an old saying, "cache is king."

Ted Cruz is not like Reagan. Marco Rubio is not like Reagan. Reagan 2016 would be different than Reagan 1980. Stop looking for Reagan.

A few months back Rubio defended (Ted Cruz). Now, Ted Cruz says nothing (to defend Rubio). This is why people don't like Ted Cruz. Admire his intellect, but...

Responding to a story about Rafael Cruz's activies in Cuba:

Basing a story on decades-old eyewitness testimony is garbage. You can't possibly know what's true.

However, in fairness this donor has denounced Trump, on CNN no less, for not being a true Israel supporter. But the bottom line is that this donor has proven that the donor does NOT support Ted Cruz.

The other donors I researched have not had such public activities as the donors listed, but their employment coincides with K street. None of the donors, as I could tell, have started any business that relies on individual freedoms more than government cronyism. If you want to match the donors with names, google can make quick work of it, but to be blunt, that's not the point.

Conclusion: "Make America Awesome" has nothing to do with promoting Ted Cruz for president, and in fact is a PAC that fits the mold of a squishy, schizophrenic Establishment type or a Trump Troll PAC than a bonafide Ted Cruz supporting PAC. So Donald J. Trump is (purposely) lying that this is a Ted Cruz PAC.

[SeekAndFind]

Well, this explains at least why the link suddenly did not work for a while ....