rssDonors Unknown, Americans For Prosperity Targets Democrats for ‘Pork Barrel Spending’
Monday, August 16, 2010 at 4:09 pm
- 27 Comments
The rhetoric on earmarks and “pork barrel spending“ keeps paying dividends for conservative advocacy groups looking to undermine House Democrats in swing districts. Today the beneficiary is the Americans For Prosperity Foundation, which says it’s “committed to educating citizens about economic policy and a return of the federal government to its Constitutional limits.” The group is launching a $4.1 million ad buy in 11 states that’s designed to target two dozen Democrats for “wasteful federal spending.”
The ad, which highlights a $1.1 million paving project on the Sunset Strip, describes the federal stimulus as one big boondoggle and doesn’t mention the Democratic Party, let alone any individual candidates. It thereby qualifies as “issue advocacy” — as distinct from electioneering communications (broadcasts which advocate for or against a specific federal candidate) — and it’s being described by Democrats as a biggest single ad buy of an already free-spending summer.
Donors to the 501(c)(4) group remain a complete mystery, but they are presumed to include David Koch, the founding chairman of the foundation and co-owner of Koch Industries, an oil conglomerate (which also does business in cattle, paper, and chemicals) that’s now the second-largest private company in the U.S.
Democrats have been handily out-raising Republicans through traditional avenues like individual and party-level campaign donations, but groups like Americans for Prosperity are the “x factor” that everyone is talking about. President Obama even mentioned Americans for Prosperity last week at a fundraiser in Austin, Texas, in which he argued, “You don’t know if it’s a big oil company or a big bank. You don’t know if it’s an insurance company that wants to see some of the provisions in health reform repealed because it’s good for their bottom line.”
These groups, depending on how much they lay out, might tip the spending balance in the GOP’s favor, but that won’t stop Obama and the Dems from trying to win as many political points off the issue as possible. The president knows he has a winning hand in railing against the unchecked power of corporations to influence elections, so expect him and fellow Democrats to keep singling out shadowy groups like Americans For Prosperity whenever he can.
Follow Jesse Zwick on Twitter27 Comments
Pingback posted August 16, 2010 @ 5:00 pm
[...] View full post on The Washington Independent [...]
Pingback posted August 16, 2010 @ 7:37 pm
[...] Donors Unknown, Americans For Prosperity Targets Democrats for ‘Pork Barrel Spending’ &l… [...]
Pingback posted August 16, 2010 @ 8:25 pm
[...] Donors Unknown, Americans For Prosperity Targets Democrats for ‘Pork Barrel Spending’ &l… [...]
Comment posted August 16, 2010 @ 9:38 pm
This is from Patrick Caldwell's article in TWI 8-12-2010.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.
Once again corporations are trying to beat the people and our politicians know this. A 501-c4 is a tax status only, they are accepting funds and using them to sway votes, this will have a direct effect for citizens of the United States. Enough is enough, tell the Republicans we know what is going on…Give it a rest, ans stop thinking that the voters are idiots, it's pissing me off.
Comment posted August 16, 2010 @ 10:30 pm
Let's just all remember that Social Security isn't expressly authorized by the Constitution, and it would be one of things that David Koch wants to get rid of. This is nothing but pure, unadulterated greed tainting politics with issues that are dead and buried.
Pingback posted August 16, 2010 @ 11:38 pm
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Pingback posted August 17, 2010 @ 9:41 am
[...] Donors Unknown, Americans For Prosperity Targets Democrats for ‘Pork Barrel Spending’ &l… [...]
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Pingback posted August 17, 2010 @ 9:37 pm
[...] Donors Unknown, Americans For Prosperity Targets Democrats for ‘Pork Barrel Spending’ &l… [...]
Pingback posted August 18, 2010 @ 9:43 am
[...] you place the word “American” in your group’s name somewhere. So far this week, Americans for Prosperity, American Crossroads, and Americans for Job Security have all taken to the airwaves to support [...]
Pingback posted August 18, 2010 @ 10:18 am
[...] Donors Unknown, Americans For Prosperity Targets Democrats for ‘Pork Barrel Spending’ &l… [...]
Pingback posted August 18, 2010 @ 11:22 am
[...] organizations and candidates are starting to strike back against Americans for Prosperity’s $4.1 million ad buy attacking nearly two dozen Dems in 11 states. Although the ads would likely have been permitted [...]
Comment posted August 19, 2010 @ 8:42 am
unadulterated greed tainting politics with issues that are dead and buried.
Pingback posted August 21, 2010 @ 5:31 pm
[...] Donors Unknown, Americans For Prosperity Targets Democrats for ‘Pork Barrel Spending’ &l… [...]
Pingback posted August 22, 2010 @ 5:47 pm
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Pingback posted August 23, 2010 @ 7:14 am
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Pingback posted August 30, 2010 @ 11:50 am
[...] in lobbying and advocacy activities that make it ineligible for exemption under 501(c)3 and that its recent ad campaign decrying the stimulus in battleground states constitutes a prohibited intervention on behalf of candidates that are [...]
Pingback posted October 14, 2010 @ 5:50 pm
[...] for Prosperity, co-founded by billionaire oil and gas magnate David Koch, is presumably funded by him and his billionaire brother, Charles Koch. The Koch brothers have outspent industry [...]
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