Very good read on the recent history of campaign finance by Craig Unger Not long ago, Karl Rove seemed toxic: the brains of a disastrous presidency, tarred by scandal. Today, as the mastermind of a billion-dollar war chest—and with surrogates in place in the Romney campaign—he’s the de facto leader of the Republican Party. But in Rove’s long game, 2012 may be just the beginning. Read more on Vanity fair
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Very good read on the recent history of campaign finance by Craig Unger

Not long ago, Karl Rove seemed toxic: the brains of a disastrous presidency, tarred by scandal. Today, as the mastermind of a billion-dollar war chest—and with surrogates in place in the Romney campaign—he’s the de facto leader of the Republican Party. But in Rove’s long game, 2012 may be just the beginning.

Read more on Vanity fair

Because of the Citizens United decision, Karl Rove and the Republicans are looking forward to a breakfast the day after the election. They are going to assemble 17 angry old white men for breakfast, some of them will slobber in their food, some will have scrambled eggs, some will have oatmeal, their teeth are gone. But these 17 angry old white men will say, ‘Hey, we just bought America. Wasn’t so bad. We still have a whole lot of money left.’
Sen. Harry Reid (via bostonreview)

Karl Rove's Catch-22 | Mother Jones

justinspoliticalcorner:

For all the headlines and hand-wringing about super-PACs, it is dark-money nonprofits like Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS and Americans for Prosperity that dominate the political money wars. These politically oriented groups, which keep their donors secret, outspent super-PACs 3-to-2 in the 2010 elections. Through the spring of 2012, 91 percent of advertising by independent groups came from nonprofits and big business trade groups. And a growing pile of evidence suggests that it’s these nonprofits, notsuper-PACs, hauling in the bulk of corporate political cash.

But come Saturday, the dark-money nonprofits face a dilemma. A high-profile court case known asVan Hollen v. FEC threatens to shine an unwelcome beam of sunlight on donors bankrolling these organizations. Nothing’s stopping Crossroads GPS or AFP from running more “issue” ads hitting Obama and other Democrats (that is, ads that don’t explicitly say “vote for” or “vote against”). Except now nonprofits will have to reveal who funded those spots.

ark-money nonprofits don’t want to name names. Their pitch to donors includes the promise of anonymity and a shield from public scrutiny. This means that Crossroads GPS and other politically active nonprofits—which aren’t supposed to make politicking their primary purpose—have to rethink their ad strategy, election experts say. Do they shift money to super-PACs? Go dark in the months before the election? Find another loophole to run ads and keep their donors secret?

Tax and election law experts say that, short of shutting down, any new strategy carries significant risks. Run-ins with the Internal Revenue Service or the Federal Election Commission, the federal elections watchdog, could be on the horizon. “It’s a tough strategic choice for these groups,” says Joseph Birkenstock, an election law attorney and former chief counsel at the Democratic National Committee.

Here’s the quick-and-dirty version of how nonprofits including Crossroads GPS, Americans for Prosperity, and pro-Obama Priorities USA, among others, ended up in this bind. Until recently, nonprofits had exploited a federal loophole allowing them to run issue ads without disclosing the sources of their funding. These so-called social welfare organizations may also run ads directly backing or opposing candidates, but can’t run too many of them at the risk of running afoul of the IRS for being too political.

In 2011, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and pro-reform advocacy groups sued the Federal Election Commission to close that loophole. This March, a federal district court judge agreed with Van Hollen, and a second federal judge refused to stay that decision. The loophole was gone. (The case is currently on appeal.)

In other words, the rule book has changed mid-election for politically active nonprofits, and the first effects will be felt Saturday. Now, if AFP or Priorities USA runs a TV or radio ad mentioning Obama or Romney without endorsing or opposing a candidate, the group’s donors must be named. Starting in early September, if they mention any federal candidate, donors must be named.

One dark-money heavyweight, the US Chamber of Commerce, has already said it will change its game plan. As Chamber president Tom Donohue explained in May, the Chamber will no longer run the thinly veiled “issue” ads mentioning a candidate that it did in 2010 and 2011. Instead, the group—which says it’ll spend $50 million during the 2012 cycle—will run ads outright urging voters to oppose or support a candidate. The Chamber can get away with this because, after decades of conservatives and libertarians chipping away at the law, a loophole opened letting donors escape disclosure for “vote for” and “vote against” ads by nonprofit groups.

h/t: Andy Kroll at Mother Jones

In this new series, we will attempt to explore the main characters evolving around the 2010 Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court decision. Each “card” will represent a character who symbolize one aspect of the Citizen United case. These characters in fact are either directly linked to the case or are acting against or in favor of it. The full consequences of that decision still have to be determined as the 2012 Presidential campaign is still very much in its beginning. Yet, we can already evaluate the tremendous impact that Super PACs have on campaigns and political communication. KARL ROVE | Political Consultant, Founder of American Crossroads The former Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Bush administration is a long time conservative figure. He’s currently adviser and board member of American Crossroads, a 527 organization that has raised and spent tens of millions of dollars to defend and elect Republican candidates to federal office. According to Opensecret.org,  American Crossroads is a conservative group spearheaded by top Republican operatives. Karl Rove, the former top strategist for President George W. Bush, and former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie encouraged the group’s formation and solicited donors for funds. Formed in 2010, American Crossroads initially reported its activities to the Internal Revenue Service as a so-called 527 organization. After the SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission federal court rule, which allowed outside groups that expressly advocate for or against federal candidates to raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions and individuals, American Crossroads registered with the FEC as an independent expenditure-only committee, better than as a super PAC. Steven Law — who previously worked in Bush’s Labor Department, served as Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell’s chief of staff, was the executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and served as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s general counsel — heads the group. It regularly disclosed its donors, but Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, a spin-off registered with the IRS as a 501(c)4 nonprofit group, does not.  See the numbers here American Crossroads is very active during this Presidential Campaign and since the Republican Primaries are over, the organization starts to attack Mitt Romney’s opponent, Barack Obama.  According to Politico reporter Robin Bravender,  The Karl Rove-backed super PAC American Crossroads picked up steam in fundraising last month, raking in $4.6 million and stockpiling nearly $30 million to use against President Barack Obama and other Democrats. American Crossroads raised more in May than it has in any month since January after raising less than $2 million in both March and April. But despite the slight dropoff in recent months, the super PAC has continued to grow its cash reserves by spending relatively little. Read more on politico.com Part of the Rove’s organization, Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies (Crossroads GPS) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation that works in conjunction with American Crossroads. As a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, Crossroads GPS’s primary purpose is the advancement of social welfare including public policy advocacy, although it is permitted to engage in political spending as well. Crossroads GPS is required to report what it spends, but it is not required to publicly disclose any donor information. Mid june 2012, in a letter to Crossroads — and a complaint to the Federal Elections Commission — the president’s lawyer, Robert F. Bauer, demanded that Crossroads divulge its donors because it is a political committee and not, as it calls itself, a “social welfare” organization. The GOP-aligned group Crossroads GPS has spent $7 million to air a new ad attacking President Barack Obama for “growing our debt faster than our economy.” The ad, called “Stopwatch,” begins airing in 10 states on Tuesday night. It is part of a $25 million effort to focus national attention on jobs, the economy, taxes and debt. (Read more on the Huffington Post) Next Post: Stephen Colbert
View Separately

In this new series, we will attempt to explore the main characters evolving around the 2010 Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court decision. Each “card” will represent a character who symbolize one aspect of the Citizen United case.

These characters in fact are either directly linked to the case or are acting against or in favor of it. The full consequences of that decision still have to be determined as the 2012 Presidential campaign is still very much in its beginning. Yet, we can already evaluate the tremendous impact that Super PACs have on campaigns and political communication.

KARL ROVE | Political Consultant, Founder of American Crossroads

The former Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Bush administration is a long time conservative figure. He’s currently adviser and board member of American Crossroads, a 527 organization that has raised and spent tens of millions of dollars to defend and elect Republican candidates to federal office.

According to Opensecret.org, 

American Crossroads is a conservative group spearheaded by top Republican operatives. Karl Rove, the former top strategist for President George W. Bush, and former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie encouraged the group’s formation and solicited donors for funds. Formed in 2010, American Crossroads initially reported its activities to the Internal Revenue Service as a so-called 527 organization. After the SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission federal court rule, which allowed outside groups that expressly advocate for or against federal candidates to raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions and individuals, American Crossroads registered with the FEC as an independent expenditure-only committee, better than as a super PAC. Steven Law — who previously worked in Bush’s Labor Department, served as Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell’s chief of staff, was the executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and served as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s general counsel — heads the group. It regularly disclosed its donors, but Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, a spin-off registered with the IRS as a 501(c)4 nonprofit group, does not. 

See the numbers here

American Crossroads is very active during this Presidential Campaign and since the Republican Primaries are over, the organization starts to attack Mitt Romney’s opponent, Barack Obama. 

According to Politico reporter Robin Bravender, 

The Karl Rove-backed super PAC American Crossroads picked up steam in fundraising last month, raking in $4.6 million and stockpiling nearly $30 million to use against President Barack Obama and other Democrats. American Crossroads raised more in May than it has in any month since January after raising less than $2 million in both March and April. But despite the slight dropoff in recent months, the super PAC has continued to grow its cash reserves by spending relatively little. 
Read more on politico.com

Part of the Rove’s organization, Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies (Crossroads GPS) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation that works in conjunction with American Crossroads. As a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, Crossroads GPS’s primary purpose is the advancement of social welfare including public policy advocacy, although it is permitted to engage in political spending as well. Crossroads GPS is required to report what it spends, but it is not required to publicly disclose any donor information.

Mid june 2012, in a letter to Crossroads — and a complaint to the Federal Elections Commission — the president’s lawyer, Robert F. Bauer, demanded that Crossroads divulge its donors because it is a political committee and not, as it calls itself, a “social welfare” organization.

The GOP-aligned group Crossroads GPS has spent $7 million to air a new ad attacking President Barack Obama for “growing our debt faster than our economy.”

The ad, called “Stopwatch,” begins airing in 10 states on Tuesday night. It is part of a $25 million effort to focus national attention on jobs, the economy, taxes and debt. (Read more on the Huffington Post)

Next Post: Stephen Colbert