FC: Microsoft allies reply to dead-people-writing-letters story

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Previous Politech article:
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02425.html

FYI, Citizens Against Government Waste and Citizens for a Sound Economy are 
groups that have been around since the 1980s and are Republican/free-market 
leaning. They receive money from Microsoft.

-Declan

**********

Subject: Microsoft letter.
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 21:44:25 -0400
From: srushton () cagw org

CITIZENS AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE
1301 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
202-467-5300

  CAGW Criticizes LA Times Story

Washington, D.C. - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released
the following letter to the Los Angeles Times.

                                        August 23, 2001

The Editor
The Los Angeles Times
Times Mirror Square
Los Angeles, CA 90053

Dear Editor,

Concerning the allegations made in your August 23rd article, "Lobbyists Tied
to Microsoft Wrote Citizens' Letters," about Citizens Against Government
Waste (CAGW):

CAGW's involvement in technology issues dates to its inception with
President Reagan's 1984 Grace Commission, which made dozens of
recommendations on government waste and technology issues.  Following that
tradition, CAGW has, since the beginning, viewed the government's case
against Microsoft with skepticism.  We strongly believe consumer interests
are better served by market competition than bureaucratic regulation and
lawsuits in all but the rarest of cases.  So far, the government has spent
more than $30 million on litigation, with endless months of further legal
wrangling ahead.   The states' attorneys general, anxious for headlines and
pay dirt, have spent more than $13 million on the case and are aggressively
pushing forward.

Your article relies more on innuendo than evidence and accurate accounting
of facts.  First, CAGW and Americans For Technology Leadership (ATL) are
separate entities and have conducted independent campaigns regarding
Microsoft.  The article does not make this distinction and does not specify
which quotes are attributable to which organization.  CAGW's criticism has
always been based on wasteful use of government resources and is consistent
with our core mission.

Further, CAGW activates its more-than one million members and supporters
nationwide with regular mailings on a wide variety of issues, of which
Microsoft is one.  Check our website (www.cagw.org) to find letters on waste
matters such as military base closures, prescription drug benefits, and
dairy subsidies.  We encourage citizens to forward these letters by e-mail
to their representatives in government if they wish.  Another technique is
to send supporters hardcopy letters for them to sign and forward, again, if
they wish.

Contrary to the article's implication, there is nothing insidious or unusual
about such practice.  Next time, instead of consulting the ivory tower, ask
a direct mail expert or political activist.  You will find this type of
grassroots campaign is not only standard in politics but quintessentially
American - organizing public participation in the political process as an
expression of freedom of speech.  And for what it's worth, the Microsoft
issue receives a particularly good response from CAGW's supporters.  These
letters reflect real concerns that thousands of our members have with the
government's action in the Microsoft case.  In fact, national surveys reveal
that two-thirds of Americans believe the case has been a waste of tax
dollars.

CAGW takes exception to the insinuation that the grassroot sentiment on the
Microsoft issue was somehow fabricated.  Had the authors called our office
for clarification, they would have heard that CAGW mailed 81,000 letters to
our supporters in the 19 states persevering in the Microsoft case.  Despite
their dismissals, the outcry from so many constituents clearly rattled the
state attorneys general.  If they choose to ignore their constituents'
views, they do so at their own peril.

                                        Sincerely,

                                        THOMAS A. SCHATZ
                                        President

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------
  Sean Rushton, Media Director
  Citizens Against Government Waste
  1301 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 400,
  Washington DC  20036-1838
  Phone:  202-467-5300  Fax:  202-467-4253
  http://www.cagw.org

**********

From: "Erick R. Gustafson" <egustafson () CSE org>
To: "'declan () well com'" <declan () well com>
Subject: RE: Dead people write pro-Microsoft letters to governors; ATL poll
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 13:40:17 -0400

Declan:

I'm more than a little concerned that this news media coverage
mis-characterizes the grassroots activism surrounding the antitrust issue.
CSE's activists care passionately about the issue and (bonus) they aren't
dead.  We feel that CSE's members are unimpeachable.  Take a look at the
attached document that covers a small portion of the grassroots work in
North Carolina.

Erick

[MSWD document converted. --DBM]

June 6, 2001    A     www.cse.org    A     888-Join-CSE

NC CSE Staff and Activists Meet with Attorney General Roy Cooper
Restate Their Opposition to the State's Antitrust Lawsuit Against Microsoft


Raleigh, NC - North Carolina Citizens for a Sound Economy (NC CSE) held its 
second annual North Carolina CSE Day at the Capitol in Raleigh on June 
5.  An eye-popping 475 dedicated NC CSE grassroots activists flooded the 
capitol to lobby their legislators on a number of core CSE issues.  As the 
activists made their way through the halls of the capitol, a select few of 
NC CSE's super-activists and CSE staff visited with Attorney General Roy 
Cooper to discuss their concerns with the state's antitrust lawsuit against 
Microsoft Corporation.

NC CSE Activists and Staff - Leading the charge into the AG's office were 
CSE's Super-Activist of the Year, Joyce Fernando, Joyce Krawiec, Jack and 
Mary Joe Gibson, Lib Rhodes, Margret Bumgarner, Judge Manning, Peter Hans, 
and Valarie Rechtin.  CSE staff including CSE President, Paul Beckner, 
Communications and Technology director, Kent Lassman and Vice President for 
Public Affairs, Charles Fuller, accompanied the activists.

During the 20 minute meeting with the Attorney General and his staff, the 
group expressed their concerns with government-sponsored lawsuit abuse and 
once again asked Cooper to drop the state from the U.S. Department of 
Justice's antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft Corp.  The activists 
reiterated that no consumer harm had occurred and that NC's economy has 
benefited greatly from the software maker.

Media - The event was covered by numerous print, radio and television media 
outlets including NC National Public Radio, the Raleigh News and Observer, 
Durham-Chapel Hill's Herald Sun, and Raleigh-Durham's WRAL-TV.  Coverage of 
NC CSE Day at the Capitol can be found at 
http://www.herald-sun.com/state/6-112347.html, 
http://www.newsobserver.com/tuesday/front/Story/503541p-502342c.html and 
http://www.wral.com/home/806240/index.html.

**********




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