East TN Conservative

Huckabee donor gives to company behind attack calls By BILL THEOBALD • Tennessean Washington Bureau • January 17, 2008 COLUMBIA, S.C. - An organizer for Mike Huckabee supporters in southern Tennessee and northern Georgia made a large donation to the group that has been sending out hundreds of thousands of automated telephone calls to voters in South Carolina attacking Huckabee's opponents for the Republican nomination for president. Common Sense Issues Inc. portrays itself as an independent political organization and Huckabee's campaign denied any involvement with the group and disavowed its tactics, which have included millions of phone calls in Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan and Nevada. Advertisement Mark West of Ooltewah, Tenn., near Chattanooga, gave a total of $48,500 to Common Sense Issues Inc., according to Federal Election Commission records. West and his wife, Lori, also gave the maximum of $2,300 each to Huckabee's presidential primary campaign. And West is the organizer of the Chattanooga Mike Huckabee supporters meet-up group and the northern Georgia meet-up group as well. Huckabee has no formal state organizations in either state, according to his campaign Web site, but supporters are encouraged to click on a link that takes them to the online meet-up groups in their community, including West’s two groups. Two telephone messages left at West's home Thursday were not immediately returned. The Huckabee campaign had no immediate response either. Attempts to talk with Alice Stewart, a spokeswoman for Huckabee, were unsuccessful. Supporters of former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney have all reported to their campaigns the contents of the attack calls, many of which have been recorded. When the recipient of such a call says they support one of those candidates they are told several negative things, often misstatements, about their candidate, while supportive statements are made about Huckabee. Thompson backers report that the recording says he supported a late-term abortion procedure opponents refer to as “partial-birth” abortion. Thompson voted against the practice numerous times while in the Senate. And he won the endorsement of the National Right to Life Committee. One person reported to the Thompson campaign that the Romney response states that he wanted to "give babies to homosexuals." Thompson, speaking to a crowd at a restaurant in Prosperity on Thursday, ripped Huckabee for the calls after many people at the event raised their hands when asked if they had received them. "I confronted him man to man, person to person at the debate (on the issues and), this is his response," Thompson said. He called on Huckabee to do more than offer "lip service" condemning the calls. "I think the governor knows now what his duty is." Under federal election law, these independent groups are allowed to conduct campaign activities as long as they are not connected to or directed by a candidate. Henry McMaster, attorney general of South Carolina and a McCain supporter, said he was investigating the group. Common Sense Issues is run by Patrick Davis of Colorado Springs, Colo., a former national Republican Party operative. He has been open in describing the group's efforts and says they are legal. On campaign records, West is listed as the chief operating officer of the Wellington Group. The company's Web site states he co-founded it in 1996 to develop assisted living facilities throughout the country "based on Christian values." West has given money recently to the National Republican Party, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and the leadership campaign committee of former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee. West organized the Chattanooga Mike Huckabee Meet-Up Group on Oct. 19 and donated $40,000 to Common Sense Issues Inc. on Oct. 24. An additional $8,500 on Jan. 2