Independent groups
Pro Publica: How Nonprofits Spend Millions on Elections and Call it Public Welfare
By Kim BarkerMatt Brooks describes the mission of the Republican Jewish Coalition as educating the Jewish community about critical domestic and foreign policy issues.
CBS: Non-profits outspending Super PACs
By Alicia Budich, Robert HendinThe ad, “Tried,” mimics the look, feel and sound of super PAC ads getting so much publicity for dominating the airwaves. But this one isn’t from a super PAC. It was paid for by the non-profit Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies. The IRS classifies Crossroads GPS as a 501(c)(4), a “social welfare nonprofit.” ProPublica’s Kim Barker calls these c4s the “cousins” of the much-hyped super PACs, but they aren’t the younger, smaller cousins. Barker reports that, overall, nonprofits have spent over $71 million so far on this election. Two conservative nonprofits, Crossroads GPS and Americans for Prosperity have poured almost $60 million into television ads to date, outspending all super PACs put together (according to CMAG, Super PACs have spent an estimated $55.7 million on TV ads to date).
Politico: ‘Campaign’ inspired by John Cain, Sarah Palin
By PATRICK GAVINWhat is most easily mocked about the current political system, according to Roach, is “the way the billions of dollars that are flowing into the political races today — particularly after Citizens United — are changing the way it feels, that campaign ads are even more negative, the stakes are even higher and the candidates are tempted to sort of mold themselves more precisely to a specific partisan model for what works.”
The Hill: Romney adviser: Ad on leaks, bin Laden raises ‘important point’
By Carlo MunozA top adviser to GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Sunday refused to disavow a new super-PAC video from former U.S. military officers attacking President Barack Obama’s national security record, and questioned whether the White House had made the country safer.
Candidates and parties
NY Times: Romney Gains Huge Cash Advantage Over Obama
By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and DEREK WILLISMitt Romney’s cash advantage over President Obama and the Democrats more than doubled in July, as intense Republican fund-raising and heavy spending by Mr. Obama and his allies left Mr. Romney and the Republican National Committee with $62 million more in the bank than the Democrats at the end of last month.
Foster’s Daily Democrat: It’s a campaign contribution
EditorialThe Durham event Jean refers to is Obama’s visit earlier this summer that racked up nearly $13,000 in security costs. Unlike Rochester, Durham town officials asked for payment to cover the visit because it came as a campaign trip, not as a presidential stopover.
Associated Press: Obama Denies Any Role In Ad On Steelworker’s Wife
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama tried Monday to distance himself from an advertisement run by a supportive outside group suggesting there was a link between the death of a laid-off steelworker’s wife and Republican Mitt Romney’s former company. But Obama said he intends to keep raising sharp contrasts between himself and the GOP challenger.
Huffington Post: Jon Tester Campaign Questions Coordination Between Denny Rehberg, Karl Rove
By Michael McAuliffWASHINGTON — Sen. Jon Tester’s (D-Mont.) reelection campaign charged that his opponent’s attendance at a fundraiser with Karl Rove raises questions over illegal coordination with the Rove-linked super PAC that’s spending millions to take down Tester.
Baltimore Sun: Gambling law’s donation curbs may not limit much
By Annie Linskey and Michael DresserAs introduced, the bill would have prevented everyone from a casino owner to a blackjack pit boss from giving money to Maryland politicians. Also barred: casino holding companies, their intermediaries and subsidiaries.
