http://www.sptimes.com/2005/01/18/State/Veiled_sect_hails_Bus.shtmlVeiled sect hails Bush, Martinez
By LUCY MORGAN, Times Tallahassee Bureau ChiefTALLAHASSEE - A mysterious committee backed by members of a secretive religious group whose members are forbidden to vote spent more than $500,000 on newspaper ads last year supporting President Bush and U.S. Senate candidate Mel Martinez.
The Thanksgiving 2004 Committee raised the money from residents of 18 states, plus $377,262 from Bruce Hazell of London, England. None of the money was raised in Florida, according to a report filed with the Federal Elections Commission.
The group of men who formed the committee belong to the Exclusive Brethren, a reclusive religious group with roots in England and Australia. The group includes members from Knoxville, Tenn., Omaha, Neb., and other U.S. cities. Members of the Exclusive Brethren do not vote, read newspapers, watch television or participate in the outside world, according to published reports. So why would they care who gets elected in the United States?
That's hard to say and members contacted by the St. Petersburg Times wouldn't say anything except to praise President Bush and say they wanted to see him re-elected.