National Anti-Obama Group Backs Down After Lawsuit From Chicago's BGA

An activist group formed to combat the Obama administration's economic and health care agenda has agreed to change its name and forfeit its web address after it was sued by a non-partisan government watchdog whose name it ripped off.

The Chicago-based Better Government Association, founded in 1923 as a check on Al Capone's political influence, filed for a temporary restraining order in federal court Monday against a newly-formed and decidedly partisan Akron, Ohio group operating under the same name. A hearing scheduled for Thursday in Chicago was canceled at the last minute after attorneys for the new BGA agreed to a permanent injunction.

By Thursday evening, the Akron BGA's web site announced that the group had re-branded itself the U.S. Citizens Association and directs visitors to its new site.

"The actions of the New BGA are creating present, irreparable harm to the BGA, and will continue to do so unless and until the New BGA is enjoined," the original BGA's motion read. "The BGA simply cannot wait and let its valuable trademarks be eroded by the confusion that the New BGA is sowing, especially in the face of such sudden, stunning evidence of actual confusion."

In a press release touting a "massive ad campaign," the new BGA listed four central points of its mission:

1. To inform the public on the fallacies of the information being spread by the liberal socialist organizations and the facts on capitalism versus socialism; 2. To promote conservative capitalist candidates for public office at all levels; 3. To file lawsuits against unconstitutional laws and actions by government and counter-lawsuits to those lawsuits filed by the liberal socialist organizations; and 4. To form grassroots organizations to compete with ACORN.

The BGA's lawsuit sought to halt any planned advertising or other publicity efforts by the new organization as long as it operated under the BGA name. The Akron BGA already ran a full-page in USA Today claiming, "Barack Obama and the Democrats ... want to bankrupt the nation with socialized medicine and socialism energy taxes" (Scroll down to see the full ad).

"Our reputation as a nonpartisan organization is critical to our mission," said Dave Lundy, president of the BGA board of directors, "and so it is extremely troubling that we have already received e-mails, phone calls and attempted donations from people who have confused us with the very partisan Akron group. That is why we have filed suit."

Lundy told the Huffington Post the group's lawyers tried to contact to the new BGA for days before the suit but got no response.

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There is no listed number for the Akron-based group. Calls to the 1-800 number on its web site route to a call center run by a third-party, Infocision, that offers callers free membership in the BGA.

Call center supervisor Shuree Eldridge said she had no number for the BGA headquarters but listed the members of the board of directors.

When reached by phone Tuesday, board member Rev. Herschel Gammill of Cathedral of Life Ministries in Canton declined to comment and instead referred questions to Ed Rollins, the Republican strategist who was Mike Huckabee's national campaign chairman in 2008 presidential election. Rollins, Gamill said, is chairman of the new BGA's board.

A secretary for Rollins' Washington-based New Strategies group told the Huffington Post Rollins was recovering from surgery and unavailable to comment. She could not confirm whether he was affiliated with the new BGA.

Calls to the new BGA's executive director Lance Davis were not returned.

The 86-year-old BGA retained high-powered law firms Wildman Harrold Allen & Dixon LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP to bring suit.

"I think once they realized who they were going to be fighting against [they complied]" Lundy told the Huffington Post Thursday. "I'm not sure any lawyer in the country would spend time defending this."

Though pleased with the agreement, Lundy said he's not yet satisfied. One potential sticking point could be the Akron group's new url. Despite the new name, the address for the U.S. Citizens Association is webbga.com.

"There are agreements," Lundy said, "and then there's execution."

The ad the Akron BGA ran in USA Today on July 31:

BGA Ad -

Comments

[Whatshop]

I was watching CNN morning show today and they ran one of this group's commercial. It is the most lie packed sack of bull I have ever seen. Complete with scary music. Guess they're going for the Willie Horton effect. Ed Rollins aught to be ashamed of himself for participating in this campaign. Guess they pay him pretty good.

Any network that plays that commercial or lets Ed Rollins be a part of their pundit personalities needs to be called out for propagating this kind of low life garbage.

This is just disgusting.

[gizmo64]

Thnose of us who think for our selves already have read and know that hte full page ad byus citizesn association is a lie and a frarce. Any thinklng person who listens to some one other than Rush L,Palin Hannity and their ilk know where the lies are coming from and it is not the left it is from all the politicians who take money from the insurance industry.

[KarateKid]

Increase property taxes??? The Democrats??? I used to live in Judy Biggert's district, Republican all the way down to the aldermen, and they raised my property taxes by almost 100% in 9 years, from $5,200 in 1999 to $9800 in 2009.

The tax and spend Republicans can't say squat about the Democrats.

[tacevad]

someone check the numbers... the deficit when Obama was sworn in compared to the surplus when Bush took office minus those wonderful Bush tax cuts for the top 1%, coinky dink? I think not!

[KarateKid]

You have to remember that FACTS never stood in the way of the Republicans accusations and excuses.

[TruthnPolitics]

Those who are here reading this story should pay attention. Democrats did cause the financial meltdown. National health care will result in rationed medical care. It will also cause your taxes to jump sky high to pay for it. Let's not forget about Cap and Trade. Not only will this bill cost you a bundle everytime your switch on a light switch, it will also drive jobs to foreign countries. Hello unemployment....big time. Now for those who can read, all this information is easily verified.
Do your own research and stop listening to Obama's propaganda.
visit: www.stop-obama.info.

[cuardai]

seriously who needs to do more research, its you!

[deckard70]

The word written across your forehead is "dupe". Which at least is better than being a shill -- you actually believe what the insurance companies want you to believe.

[kryss]

Puppet.

[Whatshop]

"Let's not forget about Cap and Trade. Not only will this bill cost you a bundle everytime your switch on a light switch, it will also drive jobs to foreign countries"

You mean like the jobs in foreign countries to produce all the oil we consume? True, our present system supplies the jobs in the health care industy due to human consumption of mass quantities of pollution. It's for the good of our Capitalist society that we must all get cancer.

And the fact that we spend 50% of all our tax revenue to support the military to defend the oil fields in those foreign countries ... that doesn't cost us each time we turn on a light?
Or how about the fact that we are ruining the planet with our carbon emmissions and we haven't even begun to pay that bill.

[lovetolast]

Ok...this is all just so bass-ackwards! Don't they know that their followers DON'T READ??? And then they go and cram all KINDS of nonsense on that one page.

I don't think we have anything to worry about.

[Ivanjam]

Create your very own Kenyan birth certificate:

http://kenyanbirthcertificategenerator.com/

[lovetolast]

Now, that is FUNNY! And it's Birther-approved, no less...

[lagumbo]

The republicans and right wingnuts are so very pathetic. They have no health plan. Just like the stimulus, when they were fightthat, remember a budget with no numbers? This is who we have that's been elected to run our country. Pathetic.

[me again]

The GOP should be ashamed they have spawned an organization such as this.......McCain/Feingold has turned out to be horrible legislation.

[jozzie]

Why are there people willing to disseminate garrbbage?

Because there are people who believe it.

Supply and demand. Yay, capitalism!

[VagabondSaint]

Because some people will always ignorance over doing research?

Because some people can be fooled all of the time?

Because stupid people were put on other for smart people without morals to take advantage of?

I could answer this question all day *s*

[rektruax]

Why does it always seem the vaguer the name (i.e. "Concerned Citizens Group" or "Citizens for America") the more ridiculous the agenda?

[cyndeewi]

Obama destroyed the economy in 7 months. I cannot believe these people.

[bobo5]

If you look at the ad more closely you see Janet Reno. She started all this by giving Elian to the Communists.

[Gidster]

The Clinton Administration made two HUGE gaffes, both involved Reno.......Hmmmmm.

[johnnynyc]

They want to compete with ACORN?

Huh?

[Gidster]

They have no real idea what ACORN does beyond Limbaugh's characterization of the organization, nor are they willing to educate themselves.

This organization ignored the Reagan recession, the Bush 1 recession, and the Bush 2 depression and blamed all of America's financial trouble on Democrats.

Ignorance is simply Republican bliss.....

[Skyhawk]

Wingnuts love ACORN.

[jsgaetano]

It seems very appropriate that a group which took on Al Capone is now taking on the GOP.

[cuardai]

Oh goodness you are right lol!

[KathrinOutLoud]

Nope it is not the Better Government Association. US Citizens Association just ripped their name off. BGA sued them and forced them into a name change.

[ThreeCrows]

It is perhaps interesting to see the level of new hate groups masquerading and stealing other organizations names to foster their myopic points of view. Any sense of having a shot of normalcy following eight years of fear and terror has been lost to these groups who have the sheep's as followers to their cause and who are told what to do blindly. Why is there a need to shout down a member of congress when they are attempting to explain what is needed to secure health care? The idiots who shout that they don't want the government touching their Medicare or VA benefits are so dumb that they do not know what they already have, government health care. It is sad that from the greatest generation ever that we have some of the dumbest generation ever. And it seems like it's the same types of faces, middle aged white people who are doing the shouting. The Palin cultist are a loyal bunch of segregationist who can read Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and interpret is as Seven illegal immigrants taking advantage of the system and an innocent white girl who was forced to move in with them because the Democrats forced her to move in with them because her health benefits would be cut if she didn't show any dependents. And don't get me started of Palin's cultist and the Republican party's interpretation of The Wizard of Oz.