Jun 15, 2007 - 04:07:05 CDT
Anybody without a sturdy rock to hide under over the last six months has probably heard at least passing mention of a group called Americans for Prosperity.Whenever there's an issue involving taxes or government spending, this group seems to pop up. Recently, the group made headlines by proposing a ballot initiative that would allow North Dakota voters to halve their property taxes in next fall's election.
But just who are these people and what do they stand for?
The name surely doesn't answer that question. We're all Americans. And, after all, who doesn't believe in prosperity?
But behind this seemingly bland name, Americans for Prosperity is busy promoting a sometimes provocative agenda of strict fiscal conservatism. Translation: Less government spending, lower taxes and elimination of programs that necessitate increased government spending.
A nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C., Americans for Prosperity has affiliates in 17 states. It started its North Dakota affiliate in June 2006.
Annie Patnaude, a spokeswoman for the group in D.C., said Americans for Prosperity targeted states that otherwise lacked taxpayer advocacy groups. States including Georgia, Wisconsin and Missouri have chapters, while Minnesota doesn't because it already has homegrown groups advocating anti-tax positions.
Duane Sand, a former Republican House and Senate candidate who heads the group in North and South Dakota, said he took the job because he strongly believed in the group's platform.
Sand said groups like his are necessary because politicians of both parties have abandoned fiscally conservative principles and run up a record federal debt.
"We're growing because we're a solution to the Republicans in Congress that bellied up to the all-you-can-eat pork buffet," Sand said, using a common Washington term for wasteful spending on legislators' pet projects.
The national group's own pet project as of late seems to be railing against the system of Congressional earmarks, a way for lawmakers to add spending to bills. Its blog on www.americansforprosperity.org is currently devoted to many less-than-flattering statements about the House Appropriations Chairman, Rep. David Obey, D-Wisconsin.
In North Dakota, its main mission is the ballot measure, which would lower personal state income taxes by 50 percent and corporate income taxes by 15 percent. North Dakota is ranked 39th in state and local tax burden, according to the Tax Foundation, a D.C.-based tax research group.
Sand said the effort grew out of concerns he heard while on a tour of the state last year with former Gov. Ed Schafer. He also said it comes after a state legislative session where lawmakers did not use enough of a $540 million surplus to lower taxes.
"It's disappointing that so many legislators want to let the extra revenue keep coming in so they can decide to spend it, instead of giving people their money back," Sand said.
This approach has angered many in the political establishment. A day after it was announced, it was summarily rejected by Gov. John Hoeven, House Majority Leader Rick Berg, R-Fargo, and House Minority Leader Merle Boucher, D-Rolette.
Americans for Prosperity is officially non-partisan. But its agenda lines up with a traditional Republican platform, and a picture of former President Ronald Reagan is pictured prominently on the group's Web site.
"You could argue that we're more aligned with Republicans, but we really can't align ourselves with either party because we have to be the vibrant voice of opposition on fiscal issues," said Patnaude, the D.C. spokeswoman.
Sand jokes that his efforts have upset some members of both parties.
But on the "upset with Americans for Prosperity" scale, the Democrats seem to have a decided edge. Last weekend, when the group invited national conservative advocate Grover Norquist to Bismarck to speak to a dinner gathering, Democrats set up a rare weekend press conference to denounce him as "out of step with North Dakota's interests."
Rick Gion, a spokesman for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, said the group's stance on everything from taxes to Social Security rankles Democrats. Still, he acknowledged that the group has made an effort to involve his party.
"I guess we don't agree with them on a range of issues, but we appreciate that they engage our legislators," Gion said.
(Reach reporter Jonathan Rivoli at 223-8482 or jonathan.rivoli@;bismarcktribune.)
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