Leftist group targets conservative donors for intimidation

Get a load of these guys:

Nearly 10,000 of the biggest donors to Republican candidates and causes across the country will probably receive a foreboding “warning” letter in the mail next week.
…
Led by Tom Matzzie, a liberal political operative who has been involved with some prominent left-wing efforts in recent years, the newly formed nonprofit group, Accountable America, is planning to confront donors to conservative groups, hoping to create a chilling effect that will dry up contributions.
“We want to stop the Swift Boating before it gets off the ground,” said Mr. Matzzie, who described his effort as “going for the jugular.”
The warning letter is intended as a first step, alerting donors who might be considering giving to right-wing groups to a variety of potential dangers, including legal trouble, public exposure and watchdog groups digging through their lives.

Free speech is cool with these guys, see, just as long as they approve of what you’re saying. Otherwise, they’re going to attempt to shut you up. They’re especially interested in strongarming Republican donor Sheldon Adelson (of Freedom’s Watch) , but as I mentioned back here, they won’t be the first leftist group to try to shut him down.

Accountable America would be far more alarming, by the way, if they were smarter:

…anonymity is a potential obstacle to the group’s efforts. Outside political groups organized as 501(c)4 entities, including Accountable America, do not have to disclose the names of their donors.

Oopsie. Think about that: by sending intimidating letters to potential donors, Accountable America has actually discouraged direct contributions to conservative candidates (which are on the public record) and created an incentive for donors to give anonymously to groups like Freedom’s Watch, which can legally protect their donor list from the likes of Accountable America!

It wouldn’t be the first counterproductive leftist campaign in recent memory, would it?
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UPDATE: Speaking of counterproductive political efforts, Commenter WilliePeter reminds me that Matzzie was also behind the attacks on General Petraeus. And those worked out so well for the Left, didn’t they?

Hmm…I get the feeling I’ve just outed one of the Right’s top secret infiltrators within the Left’s establishment. Sorry, Karl Rove!

Judicial Watch: Threat Letters by Liberal Group May Violate Ku Klux Klan Act

Judicial Watch Launches Investigation of Effort to Intimidate Conservatives
Threat Letters by Liberal Group May Violate Ku Klux Klan Act
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it is launching an investigation into a nationwide effort by a liberal activist group to intimidate supporters of Republican and conservative causes. According the August 8 edition of The New York Times, Accountable America, a liberal group, plans to send a letter “to confront donors to conservative groups, hoping to create a chilling effect that will dry up contributions…The warning letter is intended as a first step, alerting donors who might be considering giving to right-wing groups to a variety of potential dangers, including legal trouble, public exposure and watchdog groups digging through their lives.
"The group is also hoping to be able to respond if an outside conservative group broadcasts a television advertisement attacking Senator Barack Obama, or another Democratic candidate, by running commercials exposing the donors behind the advertisements.”
Attempts to intimidate individuals from participating in the presidential campaign can be a violation of federal law. A key federal civil rights law (42 U.S.C. § 1985(3)), popularly known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, may be applicable if “two or more persons conspire to prevent by force, intimidation, or threat, any citizen who is lawfully entitled to vote, from giving his support or advocacy in a legal manner, toward or in favor of the election of any lawfully qualified person as an elector for President or Vice President, or as a Member of Congress of the United States; or to injure any citizen in person or property on account of such support or advocacy.”

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