Political-Infrastructure

Citizens for a Sound Economy Splits into FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity

| Importance: 8/10

Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE), the Koch brothers-funded lobbying organization founded in 1984, officially splits into two separate entities following internal strategic disagreements. The 501(c)(4) advocacy activities continue under FreedomWorks (formed through a merger with Empower America), …

David Koch Charles Koch Dick Armey Ron Paul Tim Phillips +4 more regulatory-capture corporate-influence astroturf-organizing koch-network political-infrastructure +2 more
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Corporate Lobbying Presence Quintuples in Washington, D.C.

| Importance: 8/10

By the end of the 1970s, corporate public affairs offices in Washington dramatically expanded from 100 in 1968 to over 500, with registered corporate lobbyists increasing from 175 in 1971 to nearly 2,500. This unprecedented mobilization, influenced by the Powell Memo, represented a systematic …

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Corporate Lobbying Industry Lewis Powell Fortune 500 Leadership capture-cascade corporate-lobbying washington-dc institutional-capture political-infrastructure +1 more
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Eagle Forum Founded as Permanent Conservative Infrastructure for 'Pro-Family' Organizing

| Importance: 9/10

Phyllis Schlafly founds Eagle Forum in Alton, Illinois, creating permanent institutional infrastructure for conservative social activism that will last for decades. Initially created to coordinate the STOP ERA campaign, Eagle Forum quickly grows into a comprehensive conservative advocacy …

Phyllis Schlafly Eagle Forum New Right conservative-movement religious-right institutional-capture anti-feminism political-infrastructure
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Phyllis Schlafly Launches Monthly Newsletter, Building Conservative Communications Network

| Importance: 7/10

After losing a divisive fight for the presidency of the National Federation of Republican Women (for which she had served as first vice president since 1965), Phyllis Schlafly begins publishing The Phyllis Schlafly Report, a monthly newsletter intended to mobilize her supporters and inform them …

Phyllis Schlafly Eagle Forum National Federation of Republican Women conservative-movement political-infrastructure grassroots-organizing media-influence
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Phyllis Schlafly Publishes 'A Choice Not an Echo,' Launching Conservative Movement Infrastructure

| Importance: 8/10

Phyllis Schlafly self-publishes ‘A Choice Not an Echo,’ a 128-page polemic attacking the Republican establishment and supporting Barry Goldwater’s presidential campaign. The book becomes an instant phenomenon, selling over three million copies by summer 1964 and bringing Schlafly …

Phyllis Schlafly Barry Goldwater John Birch Society Republican Party conservative-movement institutional-capture political-infrastructure grassroots-organizing
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