GOP group crowdsources Obama administration info

Karl Rove, Former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush.

/ CBS

Crossroads GPS, the cash-rich Republican outside group planning to spend $120 million on the 2012 election in conjunction with its sister organization American Crossroads, announced Wednesday the launch of a website called www.Wikicountability.org "designed to crowd-source information gleaned from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and other public documents by organizations, individuals and journalists."

The site is meant to "facilitate efficient sharing of public information about the Obama Administration" and highlight FOIA requests that have gone unfulfilled. It has been set up to look like Wikipedia.

Among the documents uploaded so far is one showing that three Medicare advertisements featuring Andy Griffith cost the government $404,000 to produce and a total of $2.78 million to air. (This had been previously reported.) Others show meetings between two administration officials - Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau head Elizabeth Warren - and liberal journalists and union officials. (One of those journalists, David Corn, denies the meeting, and Crossroads did not immediately point him to the document on the site suggesting it took place.)

President Obama vowed that his would be the most transparent ever, and among the steps it has taken is disclosing the names of those who have come to the White House for meetings. Yet even some administration allies, like John Podesta, who led Mr. Obama's transition team, say the administration has done a poor job in responding to information requests. The Associated Press found earlier this month that the administration refused to release information for more than one in three requests, and responded to fewer requests last year despite an increase in requests.

"Two years after Obama pledged to reverse the Bush administration's penchant for secrecy and comply more closely with the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, The Associated Press grapples with many of the same frustrating roadblocks and head-scratching inconsistencies," the AP said. "...Exasperating delays and denials also affect ordinary citizens, researchers and businesses, and they frustrate the administration's goal to be the most transparent in history."

Last week the White House announced a website of its own, foia.gov, designed to make it easier to file Freedom of Information Act requests.

Crossroads GPS also announced Wednesday that it is suing the Obama administration for "repeated failure to comply with the Freedom of Information Act by providing information about the [Health and Human Services] department's granting of waivers from the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Act, also known as Obamacare."  The lawsuit seeks all documentation related to waivers of annual limit requirements in the health care law, which Republicans are seeking to repeal.

It's worth noting that Crossroads GPS, which is affiliated with Bush administration official Karl Rove, is not exactly a hallmark of transparency: The group refuses to disclose its donors, who have been reported to largely be "Wall Street hedge fund moguls and other wealthy donors."

[Multi-Basking]

I know George won't even know it's missing, but what is Bushes Brain doing in the photo disguised as that loser?

[bobnjersey]

[Crossroads GPS, which is affiliated with Bush administration official Karl Rove, is not exactly a hallmark of transparency: The group refuses to disclose its donors, who have been reported to largely be "Wall Street hedge fund moguls and other wealthy donors."]
----------------------------------------
excellent ... let's create another wiki site that argues it's mission is transparency ... have it analyze everything the 'bushes brain' site publishes ... then not disclose anything about it's agenda ... or who is pushing it.

[jessytell]

As long as they defeat the worst president in history the hypocrite lieing retarded Obama then I am all in.

[technocoffee]

God, MORON-you misspelled "lying" again!! You'll be lucky if you every get smart enough to reach "retard" status!! Your brain is at the same level of garden slug....

[esq777]

Rove is the ultimate political hack and sleaze bag.
Nothing this jerk does is surprising. This corporate tool will stop at nothing to make sure that the middle class is broken once and for all, and his shady big business cronies are further enriched.

[technocoffee]

Karl Rove---the Love child of Adolph Hitler's DNA grown inside a test tube with a near-sighted female leach...

[retiredgustav]

You may be on to something. Rove always reminds me of that bespectacled Nazi in the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark"

[al_barger]

Why would you presume that this Crossroads group SHOULD disclose their donor list? The gub'ment is supposed to tell us what they are doing with our money and on our authority. A private advocacy group doesn't necessarily need to justify what they're doing with their own money or who gave it to them. Why is that your business?

[AmericanVeteran]

Who is funding this, it could be Arab's right?
They are more then an advocacy group, they are seriously anti-
President of the USA, regardless of who is president, no Foreign Country
should have rights to information concerning our Country.
can you see now the problem with non disclosure?

[newsancethegadfly]

I get it, private groups are to be transparent and the government doesn't need to be! I suppose we could also file FOIA requests to find out who is quoted as funding Crossroads instead of linking to an MSNBC article.

You should understand by now that this is not a transparent administration and in fact are meeting off government grounds to prevent the press and the people from finding out who is pulling the strings on this administration.

[AmericanVeteran]

What? their are spys in the White house? OMG this is the most serious breach of National Security in decades.
We need to clean house if the President can not have private meetings and has to go, ummm what do they meet in a back alley and that's more secure,
My god listen to yourself. Please while there is time turn the channel, they have you so programmed you think the president has to go OUT of the White House to have private meetings and there is some place more secure then the White House?

Let me guess, Glen Beck, maybe limbeck LOL
I am embarrassed for many of you who have allowed yourselves to be so totally Brainwashed.
Please just think about what you contend and heal yourself.

[clonewolf]

The quoted comment below COMPLETELY reveals the liberal authorship of this Democrat Propaganda piece:

"It's worth noting that Crossroads GPS, which is affiliated
with Bush administration official Karl Rove, is not exactly
a hallmark of transparency: The group refuses to disclose its
donors, who have been reported to largely be "Wall Street hedge
fund moguls and other wealthy donors."

Brian Montopoli and CBSNews have zero credibility as "journalists" this is basically an editorial piece attempting to pass itself off as 'news'.

No mention of the filthy rich hypocrites in George Soros, Michael Moore, or the ever-corrupt moveon.org, no no, just the evil rich Republicans are mentioned. I like the attempted hatchet job on the Wall Street Journal at the end while extolling the "reporting" of Politico - a liberal blog sheet! Awesome hilarity!

With one-sided editorialism, is there any wonder why this company is LAST in the ratings!?

[AmericanVeteran]

Last in ratings, that begs me to ask, does the network with the most viewers win, are they the best?
I will answer my own question with the obvious answer.
I am sure the Fox crowd will say of course the network with the most viewers is not only the best but the most real news program, if thats the case,,,,
NBC nightly news with Brian Williams wins with 9.4 million viewers in Billy O's time slot and billy only pulls 2 million something.
NANER, NANER, NANER BOO, BOO.
Hows that for a good fit...

[rlbaker0000]

What does this mean - "The group refuses to disclose its donors, who have been reported to largely be "Wall Street hedge fund moguls and other wealthy donors"? Really? Reported by whom? And on what evidence?

I think most people get that Rove and his organization are partisan, but does that mean they are necessarily wrong? Does CBS believe that only disinterested parties can present "facts" or maybe CBS prefers self-reporting by partisan parties, in lieu of reporting by the opposition?

Memo to CBS: whistleblowers usually ARE partisan in their interests. That is not a disqualifier for serious consideration of their information. If the evidence is credible, it should make no difference what their interests are. If they cannot or will not substantiate their claims, a la "The group refuses to disclose its donors, who have been reported to largely be "Wall Street hedge fund moguls and other wealthy donors" they should be dismissed for the hacks they are.

[PMul44]

Karl Rove has a history of lying in campaigns. As evidence look at what George Bush's campaign did under Karl Rove in the Republican primary versus John McCain. Lied and lied to win the nomination. Same thing versus John Kerry. It actually caused a slang term to be created for lying about candidates. "Swiftboating" which came from the people Rove hired to lie and say Kerry never was a Swift boat Captain. Rove didn't even hire veterans to say that - they were just random people with no military experience who pretended to be veterans.

I think the point was to detract credibility from a Karl Rove organization that is likely very loose with any type of intrinsic truth. Rove really has no credibility with America. He polls lower than Michelle Bachmann does across all demographics except the vastly wealthy and that's saying something. The woman is stupid, but stupid is better than lying.

[bbae]

Great now every CANDIDATE will have a site on them

Wonder if this helps or hurts when you talk about politicians

Which sound bites of every candidate are the most damning?

Will opponents have a link to this site on their site?

[jimbom121]

Makes no difference when you can't see who is campaigning against you.

[AmericanVeteran]

"Try again."
Okay little feller, I'll bite.
You see Pres Obama has that title of President in front of his name, proof of just about anyone being able to run for President is just look at the many Republican hopefuls for proof of that.
The President is THE PRESIDENT Not just running for office and he will let Rove see what ever he wants him to see, Rove has been the worst thing to ever come along since Lee Atwater, the person who taught Rove BUT the huge difference in Lee Atwater and karl Rove, Atwater renounced what he had done for a living on his death bed and asked America to forgive him.
I think if the president wants to ask Rove to "open" his closet it is because of the many things Rove has done in his past, I believe our great President can say to Rove open yours and I'll open mine.
I cant even believe you think Rove should be more powerful then the President of the United States and the Rather analogy is a bad one, Rove is the one who was able to spin Bushs early departure from the National Guard and the General in charge of bush even stated Rather was correct.
Just imagine any Fox reporter being fired for sketchy reporting, OMG are you for real, they make stuff up as they go and yet fox bashes the other networks? Thank you for reminding me about roves part in a good journalist losing his entire career to hide Bush not wanting to take a drug test.Rove is slime of the earth.
Look at what Rove put together;
http://www.huliq.com/1/73072/dan-rather-proving-gop-influence-firing