rssBrave New World for Campaign Spending
Thursday, August 12, 2010 at 10:41 am
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In case you haven’t read it already, Patrick Caldwell’s profile of the post-Citizens United landscape for campaign spending gets at a number of important trends. First, while 527 groups like MoveOn.org and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth told much of the story of spending during the last few election cycles, they’re quickly going out of fashion in this one:
For high profile companies who still wish to influence campaigns, there are other avenues available beyond independent expenditures that allow them to circumvent disclosure requirements. 527s have captured the imagination of reporters and voters alike over the past decade, but these groups will become more rare, as the groups need to file monthly reports with the FEC that reveal both their expenditures, and their sources of income.
Instead, there is a rising class of non-profits, 501(c)4s, that have taken their place. Unlike 527s, 501(c)4s are not required to provide the FEC with donor information. Conservatives have organized a network of 501(c)4s prepared to run ads before November.
Most states have held their primaries or will do so in the next few weeks, while the 60-day window does not begin until early September, creating a gap where organizations are free to air ads without reporting to the FEC as long as they do not directly advocate for candidates. This is one reason why some groups still produce issue-ads, a style of commercial that does not directly deal with upcoming elections, but instead describes a candidates’ stance in relation to specific policies, usually in a negative light.
The Chamber of Commerce, which has pledged to spend $75 million on the midterm elections, continues to produce issue ads attacking various candidates. Over the past month, the Chamber has aired ads against Democratic Senate candidates Alexi Giannoulias in Illinois and Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania that are not electioneering communications outside of the 60-day window. By ending each ad imploring the viewer to call the candidate rather than vote against him, the Chamber has skirted disclosure requirements.
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On Karl Rove’s Crossroads starts TV ads attacking Bennet
August 18, 2010, 1:15 am
Karl Rove’s Crossroads starts TV ads attacking BennetBy Michael Booth Denver Post Staff Writer
Share7Ken Buck benefited from major outside spending in defeating Jane Norton for the Republican U.S. Senate primary, and outside groups are now jumping in to help him against Sen. Michael Bennet.
The Karl Rove-constructed group Crossroads GPS launched an ad in Colorado markets attacking Bennet for voting to spend the average of billions of dollars every day since he took office 20 months ago. Though the outside groups can’t coordinate with the candidate campaigns, the ad creators didn’t need a secret handbook to load an anti-spending, anti-tax broadside against Bennet and Democrats.
Crossroads GPS, affiliated with American Crossroads, first started getting publicity back in the spring, when Republican organizers were looking for ways to gather major GOP donors for what they hoped would be a productive 2010 election fight. As The Spot has reported before, Buck made up for his own lack of fundraising with help against Norton from Americans for Job Security.
The Bennet campaign jumped on the sponsors of the ad initially, rather than the substance on the profligate spending issue.
“Ken Buck has received twice as much money from a secretive group of corporations and billionaires than he has raised from supporters,” said Bennet campaign spokesman Trevor Kincaid. “Ken Buck has claimed to be a man of principle but stays silent while Karl Rove and his secret allies flood the airwaves with misleading attack ads. Ken Buck should either support transparency or explain why he doesn’t.”
Later, though, the Bennet campaign hit back on the spending issues, noting that Bennet has said he would have voted against the controversial bailout fund (TARP) if he had been in the Senate at the time. The campaign also notes Bennet’s sponsoring the “Pay it Back” provision, which requires TARP paybacks from banks to go toward paying down the deficit.
IRS records show large donations to American Crossroads from various millionaires and smaller donors, including the billionaire chairman of Public Storage, B. Wayne Hughes. American Crossroads is a 527 group, while the affiliated Crossroads GPS is registered as a 501c(4) organization, further obscuring its sources of funding.
The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza writes that the American Crossroads arm is also launching Senate ads in Ohio, with a more positive message supporting Republican candidate Rob Portman.
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Pingback posted March 4, 2011 @ 12:26 pm
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