The American Action Network is supposedly a nice "center-right" organization run by "moderate" Republicans whom we can all agree are not among the crazies. It's run by Fred Malek (who yes, has a little blackmark on his record but nobody's perfect) and that nice Norm Coleman. Other nice moderate Republicans like Vin Weber and Mel Martinez along with some nice staffers from the Republican establishment are involved. They have a lot of money.
And this is an ad these nice moderates are showing during tonight's GOP debate:
Nothing remotely dishonest or propagandistic about that. Certainly you'd never call them "wacko-birds" right?
The American Action Network, the sponsor of the advertisement, is led by a team of lobbyists employed to beat back consumer protection regulations on behalf of industry clients. American Action Network board member Vin Weber is a lobbyist at Mercury LLC, where he is registered to work as a Navient lobbyist. On his registration forms, Weber says he specifically works on matters related to the CFPB.
Weber’s colleague on the board, Tom Reynolds, is also a registered lobbyist for Navient through the law firm Nixon Peabody. And another American Action Network board member, Barry Jackson, works with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Shreck, a lobbying firm that serves a number of student loan and payday lending firms on issues relating to the CFPB.
Navient processes federal student loans and works to collect on student debt. Formerly known as Sallie Mae, Navient spun off as a separate company in 2014. The company says it is responsible for managing $300 billion in student loans.
In August, Navient informed investors that the CFPB, after a multi-year investigation of the firm, had found evidence that Navient is in violation of consumer protection laws and may soon face a lawsuit from the agency. Separate investigations have faulted Navient for misleading borrowers on a range of issues, while seeking to maximize penalties and late fees.
The American Action Network has long served as a tool for corporate interests seeking to pursue political goals while minimizing scrutiny. The group is organized as a 501(c)(4) and is thus not required to disclose any donor information. In 2010, the health insurance company Aetna inadvertently revealed that it had given $3 million to the American Action Network as the group launched an unprecedented series of election advertisements against congressional Democrats.