Michael Quinn Sullivan's Latest Stunt Aims to Undermine our Democracy

At a lanky six-foot-four, Michael Quinn Sullivan is hard to miss around the Capitol. And even when he’s not there, it can feel like the specter of him still is. As president and CEO of Empower Texans, he has been an organizational force among the tea party groups of Texas, feeding them misinformation about state politicians. The man is known as Mucus (a play on his initials, MQS) because he engages in yucky deceptive politics, with a win-at-any-cost philosophy. His methods, like those of the Russians who meddled in the 2016 election, foment distrust in government and diminish the desire of citizens to vote, which then primes the pump for abuse.

Sullivan’s latest political stunt is case in point. On January 28, Empower Texans, operating under the assumed name of the Texas Ethics Disclosure Board (there’s no such thing) sent postcards to voters in the Fort Worth district of Representative Charlie Geren. It read: “This notice from the Texas Ethics Disclosure Board is directed to voters in HOUSE DISTRICT 99 concerning a candidate for office who must disclose a relationship with a registered lobbyist pursuant to Tex. Gov’t Code 572.0531.” It then lists the clients of lobbyist Mindy R. Ellmer, who, it just so happens, is Geren’s wife.

The clear intent of this mailer was to mislead voters into believing that Geren had done something wrong, or at least suspect. Because Empower Texans is a 501c4 under federal tax law, it can do “political education” without disclosing its donors—also known as dark money. Sending the mailing under an assumed name was intended to make voters believe they were receiving an official government document.

If the mailing had been sent and paid for by the Empower Texans Political Action Committee, I probably wouldn’t be writing this column. That Geren is married to a lobbyist is fair game in an election. But the method and means of this criticism was characteristically deceptive. It also does not point out that Empower Texans has had a long-running battle with Geren, because he was an ally of House Speaker (and Empower Texans bugaboo) Joe Straus and, in 2013, carried legislation to require the organization to reveal the sources of its dark money.

Read more: https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/michael-quinn-sullivans-latest-stunt-aims-undermine-democracy/