Pro-TPP "270 Strategies" Also Supports Rahm for Mayor, by @Gaius_Publius

Pro-TPP "270 Strategies" Also Supports Rahm for Mayor

by Gaius Publius

There are two points in this piece. To skip to the second, about the existence of this so-called "Coalition," click here.

If you've been following along, you know I've been following the Obama alumni–led, pro-TPP media shop "270 Strategies" and their work with the pro-TPP (and apparently non-existent) "Progressive Coalition for American Jobs" (PCAJ):

Obama Campaign Alumni–Led “270 Strategies” Form Astroturf Group to Promote TPP

More on “270 Strategies” — Paid to Play the Insider Game

Thanks to an email correspondent, we now learn that 270 Strategies is also trying to re-elect Rahm Emanuel as Mayor of Chicago:

Chicago for Rahm Emanuel
D-2 Quarterly Report
10/1/2014 to 12/31/2014
This report has 329 itemized Expenditures totaling $4,556,898.56.
 
Received ByAddressAmountExpended ByPurpose / Beneficiary
270 Strategies401 W. Superior
Floor 3
Chicago, IL 60654 		$52,012.58
10/1/2014		Expenditure
Chicago for Rahm Emanuel		Consulting Fees/Digital Media Chicago for Rahm Emanuel
270 Strategies401 W. Superior
Floor 3
Chicago, IL 60654 		$30,759.04
11/24/2014		Expenditure
Chicago for Rahm Emanuel		Consulting Fees/Digital Media Chicago for Rahm Emanuel
270 Strategies401 W. Superior
Floor 3
Chicago, IL 60654 		$15,000.00
12/8/2014		Expenditure
Chicago for Rahm Emanuel		Consulting Fees/Digital Media Chicago for Rahm Emanuel

Way to go, 270 Strategies. Not surprising, given your record:

270 Strategies, working to defeat progressive Rep. Mike Honda (source)

but still, perhaps not the best way to sell yourself to progressives. On the other hand, $97,000 in three months from one client is not nothing, and must have its own set of comforts.

Does the "Progressive Coalition for American Jobs" Exist as an Organization?

While we're at it, I've had it in mind to talk with the officers of the pro-TPP organization "Progressive Coalition for American Jobs." They are, it seems, a client of 270 Strategies. Here's their website, but I can't find much else about them. They have "offices" in a building on 15th and K Street (yes, that K Street) in DC. But so do a lot of others. Notice, if you click, that all of these organizations are listed for one suite in that building — not separate suites; one suite. (Who rents that suite?)

Dave Johnson has been asking, "Who's in this 'Coalition'?" — i.e., what organizations are affiliated with them? I have a different question: "Who is this 'Coalition'?" — who answers their mail, who keeps their books? Do they even have books, or employees? Or mail? Do they even exist?

Here's the WhoIs info on the PCAJ.org website. Set up in mid-February 2015, set to expire in a year (unless renewed), and identity-protected by an apparently anonymizing Canadian registrant (my bolding for readability):

<name>Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0139377831</name>
<organization>Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0139377831</organization>
<street1>96 Mowat Ave</street1>
<city>Toronto</city>
<state>ON</state>
<postalCode>M6K 3M1</postalCode>
<country>CANADA</country>
<email>pcaj.org@contactprivacy.com</email>
<telephone>14165385457</telephone>

I'm sure the email and telephone listed above are anonymizing as well. And note, nothing shows that K Street address.

So the questions — If PCAJ exists, who are they? If they don't exist, where's the money for the website and left-washing PR campaign coming from? One can guess, of course — my guess is the (also fictional) "Neoliberal Coalition for CEO Compensation & Enrichment" (NCCCE) — but it would be nice to know for sure.

Is there a Jimmy Olsen in the house, or a Clark Kent? This is as far as I can take it for now.

GP


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