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Turning Point USA

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Turning Point USA
AbbreviationTPUSA
Formation2012
TypeStudent Organization, 501(c)(3)
80-0835023
PurposeActivism
Region served
United States & Canada
Executive Director
Charlie Kirk
Websitewww.tpusa.com

Turning Point USA is an American conservative[1] or right-wing[2] nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to educate students about "true free market values."[3] It was founded on June 5, 2012, by conservative activist Charlie Kirk.[1] Its website says it has more than 350 chapters.

Since 2016 Turning Point USA has maintained a "Professor Watchlist" that lists college professors it alleges "discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom."[4] The organization has also secretly attempted to influence student government elections in an effort to combat liberalism on college and university campuses.[5]

In December 2017, former employees of the organization accused it of engaging in racist practices, as well as potentially illegal involvement in the 2016 presidential election.[6]

Background

Charlie Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012, when he was 18 years old. That year, when he was a high school senior, Kirk wrote an essay for Breitbart News about alleged liberal bias in high school textbooks that led to an appearance on the Fox Business Network. At a subsequent speaking engagement at Benedictine University's "Youth Empowerment Day," Kirk met Bill Montgomery, a retiree more than 50 years his senior, who was then a Tea Party-backed legislative candidate. Montgomery encouraged Kirk to get engaged in political activism full-time. He subsequently founded Turning Point USA as a "grass-roots organization to rival liberal groups such as MoveOn.org." At the 2012 Republican National Convention, Kirk met Foster Friess, a prominent Republican donor, and persuaded him to finance the organization.[7][8]

Friess also serves on the organization's advisory council, alongside Ginni Thomas, wife of US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.[9] Turning Point's non-profit board consists of Charlie Kirk (President), William Montgomery (Secretary/Treasurer), and George Hamstra (Director).[10]

Student activities

Turning Point USA claims to have more than 300 chapters in colleges and high schools[11] and a "presence" in over 1000.[12]

Turning Point holds several annual national conferences, including the Young Women's Leadership Summit (YWLS)[13] and the Young Latino Leadership Summit.[14] The National Rifle Association was the headline sponsor of the YWLS in 2017.[15] Turning Point also hosts an annual retreat; in West Palm Beach, Florida; in 2016 the event was sponsored by a dozen conservative groups, including FreedomWorks.[16]

Each of Turning Point's paid workers is supposed to meet a quota to make at least 1,500 student contacts per semester.[17][17] Student volunteers have several different themes for promoting conservative ideas, including "The Healthcare Games," "Game of Loans," and "iCapitalism."[18]

In 2017 several Turning Point student members at Kent State University conducted a protest against campus "safe space" culture, which involved members dressing up in diapers as babies.[19][20]

The organization started a news website called "Hypeline News" in 2016. It has since been renamed "Turning Point USA News" [21]

Finances

Turning Point's revenues were $78,890 in 2012, $443,859 in 2013, $2,052,060 in 2014, and $4,319,220 in 2015.[10] Charlie Kirk has stated that Turning Point received $5,000,000 in 2016.[22]

In addition to the seed money from billionaire Foster Friess, the family foundation of Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner donated $100,000 to Turning Point in 2014.[23]

In The New Yorker, Jane Mayer reported that Turning Point's budget was $8 million. [24]

Racism allegations

In December 2017, The New Yorker published an article by Jane Mayer showcasing interviews with former minority members of the organization. Former staff members said they witnessed widespread discrimination against minorities in the group, and stated "the organization was a difficult workplace and rife with tension, some of it racial."[6][25] One former employee, an African-American woman, said she was the only person of color working for the organization at the time she was hired in 2014; she then said that she was fired on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The article also revealed text messages sent by Crystal Clanton - who was a leading figure in the organization and served as the group’s national field director for five years - to another Turning Point employee saying "i hate black people. Like fuck them all . . . I hate blacks. End of story.” Kirk responded to the revelations by saying that "Turning Point assessed the situation and took decisive action within 72 hours of being made aware of the issue."[6] The article also noted that Kirk had explicitly praised Clanton in his book Time for a Turning Point, saying that she had been “the best hire we ever could have made,” and that “Turning Point needs more Crystals; so does America.”[6]

Charlie Kirk has said Turning Point USA has no relationship with alt right groups.[26] Turning Point has been criticized[by whom] for supporting former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos,[27][28] including when the organization sponsored him at University of Colorado and Miami University (OH).[29]

"Professor Watchlist"

First appearing on November 21, 2016, Turning Point USA also operates a website called "Professor Watchlist" in order to "expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students, promote anti-American values, and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom."[4] The website lists academics who “promote anti-American, leftwing propaganda in the classroom” according to a blog post by Charlie Kirk, who was described as the "driving force" behind the website.[30] Tips are accepted from the public, and more than 250 professors are currently listed.[31]

The website has been criticized for using surveillance type propaganda to manipulate ideas of truth, equality, and freedom.[3][32][33] Critics have compared Professor Watchlist to the actions of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy, who tried to publicly identify American citizens as Communists and Communist sympathizers in the 1950s.[34][35] The New York Times wrote that it was "a threat to academic freedom,"[36] while Salon wrote that it was "a sign of the stupidity of the post truth era."[37]

In May 2017, Northern Arizona University criminology professor Luis Fernandez said Turning Point surveillance of him had led to multiple threats.[38] In the Harvard Crimson Harvard Professor Danielle Allen also said she had been threatened after being targeted by Charlie Kirk and Turning Point.[39]

Denial of recognition on campus

At Drake University, Turning Point was denied recognition as an official student organization based on student senate concerns that the organization has "a hateful record," "aggressive marketing" and "an unethical privacy concern."[40]

At Hagerstown Community College, a student's attempt to start a Turning Point group was initially blocked when the school said the organization duplicated an existing group. The student's lawsuit led to the school revising its policy on student organizations, clarifying that school funded groups will be denied if they duplicate existing groups while unfunded groups face no such restriction.[41]

In February 2017, Santa Clara University's student government voted to deny recognition for Turning Point as a campus organization.[42] As of March 2017, this decision was overturned by the Vice Provost for Student Life, and Turning Point has been recognized as a registered student organization.[43]

Wartburg College's student senate voted to deny Turning Point USA recognition in late November. The chapter was forced to make changes to its constitution after initially being denied approval.[44][dead link]

The Executive Board of the student union of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute also voted on January 18, 2018 to deny the Turning Point USA chapter status as an officially recognized student organization. [45]

Potentially illegal campaign activity

Turning Point USA has been secretly involved in influencing student government elections at a number of colleges and universities, raising questions about whether the organization's conduct violated its 501(c)(3) status.[2] Universities that have been targeted by this effort have included Ohio State University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Maryland. These revelations led to conservative candidates at the University of Maryland withdrawing from student elections after failing to report assistance from Turning Point.[46][47] A private brochure, handed out only to Turning Point donors, highlighted the organization's alleged strategy to take over student governments at universities across the country, and included a list of every Turning Point-supported student who was elected to student government positions in the year 2017.[6]

In addition, several former employees and student volunteers for Turning Point claimed that they had witnessed collusion between high-ranking Turning Point employees – including Kirk himself and top advisor Ginni Thomas - and the presidential campaigns of both Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. The interactions included Kirk coordinating via email with two officials at a pro-Cruz super PAC to send student volunteers to work for the PAC in South Carolina, as well as two students being requested by Thomas herself, via voicemail, to distribute over 200 Cruz placards in Wisconsin. A former employee for Turning Point, who had been based in Florida, alleged that Turning Point had given the personal information of over 700 student supporters to an employee with Rubio’s presidential campaign.[6]

Other controversies

In 2016, Turning Point at Grand Valley State University filed a lawsuit against the trustees of the school. The complainants asked the court to prohibit enforcement of GVSU's Speech Zone policy and declare it a violation of the students’ 1st and 14th Amendment freedoms. They have since reached a settlement.[48][49]

In December 2016, Turning Point falsely quoted Nancy Pelosi.[50]

Also in May 2017, DePaul University refused to allow Turning Point to post "Gay Lives Matter" posters on campus. Matt Lamb, a spokesperson for Turning Point, said that the action by DePaul was an infringement of free speech rights.[51]

In September 2017, a University of Nebraska lecturer was reassigned after she received threats stemming from a video posted online that showed her confronting a student recruiting for TPUSA.[52]

At Turning Point’s annual Student Action Summit in December 2017, one of the featured speakers was Fox News contributor Tomi Lahren. During Lahren's question-and-answer session, several students shouted at Lahren asking about her changing her stance on abortion, which had led to her being fired from TheBlaze. Lahren yelled back at the audience “You need to simmer down! You don’t even want to start with me!” Later that day students accused Turning Point USA of trying to prevent students from posing questions to Lahren about abortion, as well as those about Colin Kaepernick. Kirk apologized shortly thereafter. [53]

Charlie Kirk, founder

Charlie Kirk
Kirk at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 2017
Born (1993-10-14) October 14, 1993 (age 30)
Arlington Heights, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)political activist, writer
Years active2012–present
OrganizationTurning Point USA
TitleFounder and Executive Director of Turning Point USA
Political partyRepublican

Early life

Born in Arlington Heights, Illinois, Kirk was raised in nearby Prospect Heights.[54] Kirk attended Wheeling High School in Wheeling, Illinois, where he was captain of the varsity men's basketball team and an Eagle Scout.[55]

Kirk became politically active during high school. In his junior year of school in 2010, Kirk volunteered for the successful U.S. Senate campaign of Illinois Republican Mark Kirk (to whom his family bears no relation).[56] In 2012, as a high school senior, Kirk launched the political student organization "SOS Liberty," which he described as an "international distress call for help" related to "Washington's massive debts and deficits."[57] On May 21, 2012, Kirk and his fellow leaders at SOS Liberty appeared on Fox & Friends.[58]

Kirk was accepted to Baylor University but instead chose to enroll in general education classes at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois as he founded Turning Point USA.[56]

Political activism

In 2012 when he was a high school senior, Kirk wrote an essay for Breitbart News about alleged liberal bias in high school textbooks that led to an appearance on the Fox Business Network. At a subsequent speaking engagement at Benedictine University's "Youth Empowerment Day," Kirk met Bill Montgomery, a retiree more than 50 years his senior, who was then a Tea Party-backed legislative candidate. Montgomery encouraged Kirk to get engaged in political activism full-time. He subsequently founded Turning Point USA, a "grass-roots organization to rival liberal groups such as MoveOn.org." At the 2012 Republican National Convention, Kirk met Foster Friess, a prominent Republican donor, and persuaded him to finance the organization.[7][8]

Kirk addressed the 2016 Republican National Convention. In an interview with Wired during the convention, Kirk said that while he "was not the world's biggest Donald Trump fan," he would vote for him, and that Trump's candidacy made Turning Point's mission to "spread the conservative message in high schools and college campuses" more difficult.[59]

70 days before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, "Kirk was asked to join the inner circle of the Trump campaign," where "he worked directly with Eric [Trump], Ivanka [Trump], and Donald Trump Jr. to attract the millennial vote."[60][61] The Dallas Morning News described Kirk as leading the "millennial assault" for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.[62]

Kirk is the co-author of Time For a Turning Point: Setting a Course Toward Free Markets and Limited Government for Future Generations, published by Simon & Schuster in 2016.[63]

On December 22, 2017, President Donald Trump tweeted in praise of Kirk and Turning Point USA amid controversy surrounding the organization.[64]

In 2018, the conservative website NewsMax ranked Charlie Kirk as the seventh most influential Republican under 30 years of age.[65]

References

  1. ^ a b "Columbia professor targeted on 'watchlist' published by conservative group - Columbia Daily Spectator". columbiaspectator.com. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  2. ^ a b Vasquez, Michael (2017-05-07). "Inside a Stealth Plan for Political Influence". The Chronicle of Higher Education. ISSN 0009-5982. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  3. ^ a b Mele, Christopher (28 November 2016), Professor Watchlist Is Seen as Threat to Academic Freedom, The New York Times, retrieved 28 November 2016 {{citation}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ a b "New conservative 'watch list' targets professors for advancing 'leftist propaganda'". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
  5. ^ Vasquez, Michael (2017-05-07). "Inside a Stealth Plan for Political Influence". The Chronicle of Higher Education. ISSN 0009-5982. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Mayer, Jane. "Allegations of Racial Bias and Illegal Campaign Activity at a Conservative Nonprofit That Seeks to Transform College Campuses". Retrieved 2017-12-23.
  7. ^ a b "This Boy Wonder Is Building the Conservative MoveOn.org in an Illinois Garage". Bloomberg News. May 7, 2015.
  8. ^ a b "The 21-Year-Old Becoming a Major Player in Conservative Politics". The Atlantic. March 25, 2015.
  9. ^ "Advisory Council - Turning Point USA". tpusa.com. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  10. ^ a b http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2015/800/835/2015-800835023-0c9e9986-9.pdf
  11. ^ "About Turning Point USA". Turning Point USA. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  12. ^ "Chapters". Turning Point USA. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  13. ^ "young women's leadership summit".
  14. ^ "Young Latino Leadership Summit". Turning Point USA.
  15. ^ "A New Generation Of Freedom Fighters". www.americas1stfreedom.org.
  16. ^ "FreedomWorks Participates in Turning Point, USA's "Winter in West Palm Beach" | FreedomWorks". www.freedomworks.org. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  17. ^ a b "This Boy Wonder Is Building the Conservative MoveOn.org in an Illinois Garage". Bloomberg.com. 2015-05-07. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
  18. ^ "Turning Point: Is the Youth Vote Really All That Liberal?". CBN.com (beta). Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  19. ^ "Conservative group dons diapers to protest safe spaces at Kent State". The Daily Dot. 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  20. ^ "A Bunch of Conservative Students Dressed Up as Babies to Protest Safe Spaces – The Ticker - Blogs - The Chronicle of Higher Education". www.chronicle.com. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  21. ^ "About Us". www.turningpoint.news. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  22. ^ Mariotti, Steve (2017-03-17). "How Millennials Mastered The Art Of Political Movement". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  23. ^ "Bernard Schoenburg: Rauner's foundation gave $100,000 to group developing conservative activists - The State Journal-Register". sj-r.com. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
  24. ^ Mayer, Jane (21 December 2017). "Allegations of Racial Bias and Illegal Campaign Activity at a Conservative Nonprofit That Seeks to Transform College Campuses" – via www.newyorker.com.
  25. ^ "Conservative Campus Org Turning Point USA 'Rife' With Racism, Probably Illegal Campaign Activity". The Daily Beast. December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  26. ^ Schuman, Rebecca (November 23, 2016). "Oh Good, a "Professor Watch List"". Slate.
  27. ^ "$2,000 in student fees going toward Milo Yiannopoulos visit to CU Boulder". Retrieved 2017-02-19.
  28. ^ CUIndependent (2017-01-26). "Turning Point USA defends decision to invite Milo Yiannopoulos to CU Boulder". CU Independent. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
  29. ^ "Boiling Point Over Turning Point". The Santa Clara. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
  30. ^ Kirk, Charlie (2016-11-21). "It's time we expose professors pushing agendas in their classroom". Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  31. ^ Sidahmed, Mazin (2016-12-02). "Professor Watchlist website elicits both fear and ridicule in US universities". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  32. ^ Schuman, Rebecca (23 November 2016), Oh Good, a "Professor Watch List", Slate, retrieved 28 November 2016 {{citation}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  33. ^ Flaherty, Colleen (22 November 2016), Being Watched, Inside Higher Ed, retrieved 28 November 2016
  34. ^ Musto, Pete. "Conservative US Website Targets Professors". VOA. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
  35. ^ "The New Blacklist". Pasadena Weekly. 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
  36. ^ Mele, Christopher (November 27, 2016). "Professor Watchlist Is Seen as Threat to Academic Freedom". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  37. ^ McClennan, Sofia A. (December 4, 2016). "Academic witch hunts are back: The new McCarthyism, a sign of the stupidity of the post-truth era". Salon. Salon. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  38. ^ "Conservative Website Targets NAU Professors Over Student Complaints". Fronteras Desk. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  39. ^ "A Report From the Frontlines of the Free Speech Wars | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  40. ^ "Conservative students at Drake challenge denial as an organization". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  41. ^ Baker, Tamela. Herald-Mail Media, May 12, 2016. "Hagerstown Community College settles suit over political club". Accessed August 13, 2016.
  42. ^ "Boiling Point Over Turning Point". The Santa Clara. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
  43. ^ University, Santa Clara. "Information on Turning Point USA - Vice Provost for Student Life - Santa Clara University". www.scu.edu. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
  44. ^ http://wartburgtrumpet.com/turning-point-usa-student-organization-denied/[dead link]
  45. ^ Burns, Darby (2018-01-24). "Turning Point denied". The Rensselaer Polytechnic.
  46. ^ Snurr, Carrie (2017-04-16). "Conservative nonprofit linked to Unity Party has chapters at more than 1,000 universities". The Diamondback. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  47. ^ Vogel, Pam (2017-03-17). "The Conservative Dark-Money Groups Infiltrating Campus Politics". mediamatters. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  48. ^ "Grand Valley State agrees to settle lawsuit over free speech". Detroit Free Press. Associated Press. March 2, 2017.
  49. ^ "GVSU reaches settlement with student group alleging it restricted free speech". MLive.com. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
  50. ^ "Group spreads fake quote from Pelosi about working hours". @politifact. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
  51. ^ "University rejects Gay Lives Matter poster promoting guest speaker • The DePaulia". The DePaulia. 2017-05-22. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017.
  52. ^ "Nebraska lecturer reassigned after student confrontation | KSL.com". Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  53. ^ Poff, Jeremiah (December 22, 2017). "Pro-life students accuse Tomi Lahren of dodging questions about abortion". Washington Examiner. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  54. ^ Kirk, Charlie, and Hamachek, Brent (2016). Time for a Turning Point: Setting a Course Toward Free Markets and Limited Government for Future Generations. Simon and Schuster. p. 4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  55. ^ "Wheeling High graduate behind conservative 'Professor Watchlist'". Daily Herald. November 30, 2016.
  56. ^ a b "Perfect storm launches 19-year-old Wheeling native into political punditry". Daily Herald. April 29, 2013.
  57. ^ "A high school student's message for Washington". Fox News. June 1, 2012.
  58. ^ "SOS Liberty on Fox & Friends". YouTube. May 21, 2012.
  59. ^ "At the Republican Convention, Millennials Search for Signs of the Future". Wired. July 20, 2016.
  60. ^ "Kirk, Hamachek of Turning Point USA Sell Out Heartland Institute for Talk". The Heartland Institute. February 2, 2017.
  61. ^ "60 days with Don Trump Jr". Turning Point USA. November 16, 2016.
  62. ^ "How two Dallas young guns helped deliver the White House to Trump". Dallas Morning News. November 11, 2016.
  63. ^ "Time for A Turning Point". Simon & Schuster.
  64. ^ "Trump praises conservative group one day after report alleging racial bias". The Hill. December 22, 2017.
  65. ^ https://www.newsmax.com/bestlists/30-under-30-influential-republicans/2018/01/30/id/840225/
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