Nancy Pelosi

Democrats Gleeful At Prospect Of Running Against Gingrich

Brian Beutler | December 5, 2011, 5:05AM

Newt Gingrich

There's no better illustration of how ecstatic Democrats are about Newt Gingrich leading the GOP primary pack than Nancy Pelosi's strategic silence.

Pelosi knows more about Gingrich than perhaps any other major national political figure. She was a senior Democrat when Gingrich was House Speaker, served on the ethics committee that investigated Gingrich for tax cheating and campaign finance violations, and even cut a 2008 ad with him on the importance of addressing global climate change.

But when TPM asked her to talk a bit about his recent ascent and the possibility that he'll be the GOP nominee, she mostly demurred.

Read more »

2012 elections

Labor Gets In The Big Money Game -- AFL-CIO To Launch Super PAC

Eric Kleefeld | August 22, 2011, 5:10PM

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

The AFL-CIO is gearing up to revamp organized labor's political operation, the Associated Press reports, by establishing a new "super PAC" that could raise unlimited amounts of money, just as business groups have also done.

Forming a so-called "super labor PAC" would allow the labor federation to raise money from sympathetic donors both inside and outside union membership and mobilize support beyond its traditional base, instead of ramping up political activities each election cycle.

Read more »

2012

Mystery Romney Donor Revealed As Bain Executive

Benjy Sarlin | August 6, 2011, 3:09PM

Mitt Romney Holds Campaign Event In Front Of Valley Plaza Mall in Los Angeles, July 20, 2011

Mystery solved! The person who donated $1 million to a pro-Romney group through a barely existent company, W Spann LLC, has outed himself after campaign watchdogs demanded a federal investigation.

Ed Conard, a former executive at Bain Capital, which Romney co-founded, told Politico on Friday that he had funneled the money to Super PAC Restore Our Future on the advice of his lawyers.

"I am the individual who formed and funded W Spann LLC," he said in a statement. "I authorized W Spann LLC's contribution to Restore Our Future PAC. I did so after consulting prominent legal counsel regarding the transaction, and based on my understanding that the contribution would comply with applicable laws. To address questions raised by the media concerning the contribution, I will request that Restore Our Future PAC amend its public reports to disclose me as the donor associated with this contribution."

Watchdog groups like the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 asked federal and state officials to look into the matter, claiming that the use of shell companies to conceal contributors violated laws prohibiting donors from giving money indirectly through another person. Democratic officials, as well as presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, condemned the donation in recent days.

2012

DNC, Huntsman Condemn Shadowy $1 Million Pro-Romney Donation

Benjy Sarlin | August 5, 2011, 6:05PM

Mitt Romney Holds Campaign Event In Front Of Valley Plaza Mall in Los Angeles, July 20, 2011

A mysterious corporate donor to a Super PAC supporting Mitt Romney has already drawn the full attention of campaign finance watchdogs, who suspect the barely-existent firm, W Spann LLC, was created to conceal the origins of a giant $1 million contribution. Now Romney's political opponents are taking notice as well.

Read more »

Campaign Finance

Watchdogs Demand Investigation Into 'Brazen' $1 Million Pro-Romney Donation

Benjy Sarlin | August 4, 2011, 3:08PM

Mitt Romney Holds Campaign Event In Front Of Valley Plaza Mall in Los Angeles, July 20, 2011

Watchdog groups are demanding that state and federal officials investigate a $1 million donation from a mysterious firm to an independent political group backing Mitt Romney's campaign in order to determine whether it violates federal campaign laws.

In a letter to Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, the Public Campaign Action Fund claims that the giant contribution to Super PAC "Restore Our Future" from the firm W Spann LLC is out of bounds. As first reported by NBC's Michale Isikoff, records show the firm was incorporated in the state in March and then dissolved in July with little apparent activity besides its donation and virtually no publicly available information on its owners.

Read more »

Campaign Finance

Mysterious Firm Gives $1 Million To Pro-Romney Group, Closes Shop

Benjy Sarlin | August 4, 2011, 9:54AM

GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney (MA)

A firm with no apparent purpose or even clear address donated $1 million to Restore Our Future, a Super PAC supporting Mitt Romney, before closing up shop.

The cash and its mysterious origins, first reported on by NBC's Michael Isikoff, raise significant questions about the limits of campaign money in the post-Citizens United era. Super PACs, which can accept unlimited corporate donations to run independent political ads, are required to disclose their donors. But the firm, W Spann LLC, which was formed in Delaware in March by a Boston lawyer and dissolved in July, is a private company and can thus conceal details of its backers and agenda.

Read more »

2012

Priorities USA Counters Karl Rove With New Ad

Benjy Sarlin | June 29, 2011, 10:06AM

Progressive Super-PAC Priorities USA is hitting the airwaves in five states in an effort counter ad buys from Karl Rove's anonymous-money organization, Crossroads GPS.

The ads specifically target Rove for playing "politics at its worst" and highlight the House GOP's plan to turn Medicare into a private voucher system with stingier benefits. They'll run in Iowa, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida and Colorado, all highly competitive states in 2012 that President Obama won in his first election.

Read more »

Campaign Finance

Ron Johnson Ducks TPM Questions On His $10 Million Payday: 'It's A Private Company'

Benjy Sarlin and Susan Crabtree | June 28, 2011, 1:04PM

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)

Legal experts say that whether Sen. Ron Johnson's (R-WI) $10 million parting gift from his company potentially violates campaign laws depends on when it was negotiated. But asked by TPM to directly address the timing, Johnson repeatedly ducked the question.

Johnson's collected $10 million in deferred compensation from his former company, Pacur, a figure that Wisconsin papers have noted lines up conveniently with the $9 million he spent on his Senate campaign in 2010 against incumbent Democrat Russ Feingold. The freshman lawmaker has offered few details on how or when the company worked out the $10 million number, but legal experts told TPM that if the package was negotiated after his Senate run it could potentially count as an illegal corporate donation to his campaign.

Read more »

Ron Johnson

Johnson Has Yet To Produce Written $10M Compensation Agreement

Susan Crabtree | June 28, 2011, 5:45AM

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Fmr. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI)

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who defeated longtime campaign finance crusader Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) last year, has been under the microscope in recent days for possibly violating laws against corporate underwriting of campaigns.

Last week the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel started asking uncomfortable questions about $10 million in deferred compensation Johnson received from his former company, Pacur, weeks after his $9 million self-financed successful 2010 campaign came to an end.

Read more »

Citizens United

Republicans Push Back On Obama Plan To Force Disclosure Of Political Contributions

Susan Crabtree | May 6, 2011, 1:56AM

GOP Leaders

Republicans are predictably pushing back against President Obama's proposed executive order requiring federal contractors to disclose their political donations to third-party groups.

House GOP leaders and 19 other Republicans sent a letter to Obama Friday urging him not to issue the executive order, arguing it would introduce politics into the federal-government contracting practice and stifle political speech.

Read more »

2010 elections

Poll: 90% Of Voters Say Midterm Elections Had Misleading Information

Jillian Rayfield | December 17, 2010, 11:48AM

A new poll finds that 90% of voters say they encountered information in the 2010 election cycle that was "misleading or false," and 56% say this happened frequently.

Read more »

John McCain

McCain Praises Feingold On Senate Floor: This 'Will Be A Much Poorer Place Without' Him

Jillian Rayfield | December 1, 2010, 8:42AM

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

Outgoing Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) received a heap of praise from a Senate colleague with whom he had an unlikely partnership. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) praised Feingold, who lost his election to Republican Ron Johnson: "I have to confess I think the Senate will be a much poorer place without Russ Feingold in it."

"I know that in my next term I will experience fewer occasions of inspiration because of the departure of Russ Feingold, a man whose courage and dedication to the principles that guided his Senate service often inspired me," McCain said.

Read more »

DE-SEN

Christine O'Donnell Uses Campaign Cash To Pay Her Rent

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 22, 2010, 6:08PM

Back in September, CREW -- the watchdog group -- filed a complaint against Delaware Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell for, as the group said, using the funds she raised in her primary campaigns "as her personal ATM."

Today, the AP reports, she admitted to one of CREW's main charges against her: that she used campaign cash to pay rent on her Delaware town house. She shed new light on the charge, however, saying through attorneys that the FEC "approved the arrangement." Back in March, she told a Delaware paper that she used "campaign funds to pay half the rent at her current town home," a move she said was "legal because of the home's dual purpose as a campaign headquarters."

But commission rules "say candidates can't use campaign money for their mortgage or rent 'even if part of the residence is being used by the campaign,'" adding more murkiness to her already cloudy financial past.

Read more »

DE-SEN

Christine O'Donnell's Confused Debate Night: Candidate Asks For Hint On Recent SCOTUS Cases

Christina Bellantoni | October 13, 2010, 9:46PM

DE-SEN candidate Christine O'Donnell (R) in a debate with Chris Coons (D)

Delaware Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell may have mastered her debate talking points and had a "Saturday Night Live" laughline, but had a tough time this evening with some basic questions about issues she'd face if she is elected to the Senate.

The most striking example of that in her CNN-televised debate against Democratic nominee Chris Coons came at the end of the 90-minute forum when O'Donnell could not name a recent Supreme Court case.

The debate moderator Nancy Karibjanian of Delaware First Media asked O'Donnell to talk about a recent high court opinion she disagreed with. The Republican, who defeated Rep. Mike Castle in a primary last month, paused.

"Oh gosh. Give me a specific one," O'Donnell said after a deer-in-the-headlights moment which you can watch below. Karibjanian said, no, because that was the point: she needed O'Donnell to name one.

Read more »

DISCLOSE Act

Trumka: DISCLOSE Act Would Be Better For Electoral System

Brian Beutler | October 12, 2010, 12:30PM

Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO

In the wake of a flood of independent expenditure ads attacking Democratic candidates around the country -- and a series of recent stories suggesting that the Chamber of Commerce may be financing its political activities with foreign money -- AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka now says the country would be better off if the DISCLOSE Act had become law.

A partial reversal from his previous position, Trumka today admitted that the DISCLOSE Act -- which the AFL opposed, and which failed in the Senate because of a GOP filibuster -- would be an improvement over the status quo.

"That'd be good for the system, I think," Trumka said at a breakfast meeting with reporters, in response to a question from TPM. "Because the system is awash -- there's more money in the system than there was oil in the Gulf, quite frankly. It's from people that you don't know. You eventually find out I guess, but it's this mysterious money coming in and targeting at three, four, five times what either of the candidates are doing."

Read more »

CA-GOV

Billionaire Meg Whitman In First CA-Gov Debate: 'I Don't Think You Can Buy Elections'

Christina Bellantoni | September 28, 2010, 10:53PM

California gubernatorial candidates Jerry Brown (D) and Meg Whitman (R)

Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown clashed tonight in their first gubernatorial debate, with Brown charging Whitman only wanted to help billionaires like herself and Whitman slamming Brown as beholden to public employee unions. The two sparred for an hour in a debate that focused almost exclusively on the Golden State's economy and how they'd fix gridlock in Sacramento.

Moderators of the debate asked Whitman about charges she'd tried to "buy" California votes by spending more than $119 million so far, and with five weeks still to go before election day. The governor's race in California is usually battled on the television airwaves, and Whitman's ads have been bombarding voters for months.

"I don't think you can buy elections, I think Californians are too smart," Whitman said. "What you can do is get your message out."

Read more »

MN-GOV

Target Shareholders Demand Review After Pro-Emmer Donation Fiasco

Eric Kleefeld | August 20, 2010, 4:15PM

Minnesota Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer

Target is running into yet another backlash as a result of its $150,000 donation to a business group supporting Republican Tom Emmer in the Minnesota gubernatorial race. And as the Los Angeles Times reports, this time it's not from liberal activists and pro-gay rights consumers in Target's deep-blue home state -- it's from shareholders, who are worried about the damage the flap has done to the company itself.

Target shareholders are demanding that the retail giant review and revamp its political donation process -- to avoid embarrassment and bad press in the future.

Read more »

Americans for Prosperity

Dems Press Republicans To Reject Support From Pro-Outsourcing Group's Ad Campaign

Brian Beutler | August 18, 2010, 8:00AM

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

In response to a giant new anti-stimulus ad campaign by the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, Democratic organizations and candidates will press their Republican opponents to "refudiate" the group, implying that acceptance of support from AfP amounts to support for outsourcing and other unpopular business practices. Although the ads would likely have been allowable before the Citizens United decision, Democrats warn that it's just part of the new, unregulated campaign finance future.

"Republican congressional candidates owe it to voters to denounce these shadowy Right Wing front groups like Americans for Prosperity and demand they stay out of their districts unless they disclose their donor list," reads a statement to TPM from DCCC spokesman Ryan Rudominer, "If they refuse to do so, they are sending a message to voters loud and clear - they stand firmly on the side of these shady Washington front groups and their Right Wing agenda of outsourcing American jobs overseas and allowing foreign corporations like British Petroleum or Huge Chavez's Citgo to influence American elections."

Read more »

MN-GOV

Target's Misfire On Emmer Support Shows Perils Of Post-Citizens United World

Eric Kleefeld | August 9, 2010, 9:36AM

The recent firestorm over the Target Corporation's support for Tom Emmer in the Minnesota gubernatorial race illustrates a major pitfall for companies in the post-Citizens United world: They are now free to spend money on political races -- but are at risk of being identified with a candidate's whole agenda, and not just the key issues they might like.

The lesson here is obvious: If you want to keep your brand clean of politics, keep your wallet out of the whole enterprise, too.

As we'd previously reported, Target gave $150,000 to MN Forward, a pro-business group backed by the state Chamber of Commerce, which is running TV ads supporting Emmer. However, this triggered a backlash from gay rights activists and some consumers in this liberal state, due to Emmer's support for a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and his close associations with the religious right.

Read more »

MN-GOV

Target CEO Apologizes For Company's Support Of Tom Emmer

Eric Kleefeld | August 5, 2010, 2:52PM

MN Gov. candidate Tom Emmer (R) and the logo of the Target Corp.

The head of the Target Corporation is now taking the amazing step of apologizing for the company's financial support of Tom Emmer, the presumptive Republican nominee for governor in the company's home state of Minnesota, after coming under fire from gay rights activists.

And in a further sign of how tricky corporate political spending can actually be in practice in the post-Citizens United world, the company will also set up a review process for any future political donations.

Read more »

NV-SEN

Sharron Angle: The DISCLOSE Act Is Already Law (No, It Isn't)

Eric Kleefeld | July 28, 2010, 4:40PM

Sharron Angle

Sharron Angle has made some new pronouncements in the Nevada Senate race, this time on campaign finance regulations. She first approved of the failure of the DISCLOSE Act to pass through the Senate -- and then later said that we already have the DISCLOSE Act in place and on the books. Here's the only problem: The DISCLOSE Act, which Senate Dems were attempting to pass but failed to overcome a Republican filibuster, is, in fact, not yet a law.

As Jon Ralston reports, Angle was asked her position during an appearance on the Heidi Harris talk radio show today.

"Well I think that the Supreme Court has really made their decision on this, they found that we have a First Amendment right across the board that was violated by the McCain-Feingold Act. And that's what they threw out, was those violations," said Angle, referring to the Citizens United case. "The McCain-Feingold Act is still in place. The DISCLOSE Act is still in place. It's just that certain provisions within that they found to be definitely violating the First Amendment. If we didn't have the DISCLOSE Act there would be a lot of different things that people wouldn't be able to find out. And certainly you can go to FEC.gov and see where Harry Reid is getting most of his money from special interests."

The TPM Poll Average currently has Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ahead of Angle by 44.5%-42.8%.

2010 elections

Leadership To Blue Dogs In Campaign Finance Fight: Get With The Program

Christina Bellantoni | June 24, 2010, 4:28PM

(Clockwise from top left) Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), NRA President Wayne LaPierre, conservative activist Grover Norquist, and a blue dog

This morning at the Democratic caucus, the message from leadership to Blue Dogs unwilling to support a new campaign finance measure requiring more disclosure in political advertising -- wise up.

The bill -- a response to the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision -- passed this afternoon, 219-206. There were 36 Democrats -- members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and Blue Dogs -- who voted against it. Many Blue Dogs feared retribution from the business community in an already tough election year if they had voted for the legislation.

Read more »

Gun rights

Friendly Fire: Gun Rights Advocates In Shootout Over Campaign Finance Bill

Christina Bellantoni | June 17, 2010, 11:16AM

Gun rights supporters gather in Washington, D.C.

Gun rights activists are accusing the National Rifle Association of "selling out" to Congressional Democrats over a new measure aimed at requiring more disclosure from corporations getting involved in political races. The NRA was granted an exemption from legislation that would require other groups to disclose top donors, prompting one Virginia group to accuse them of being "bought off" and 45 groups to lodge a formal protest with Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Democratic leaders cut a deal with the NRA, fearing that, if they didn't, the bill's passage this summer would be doomed by members spooked by the potential backlash from the group, an important source of support for gun-friendly lawmakers.

The NRA now supports the so-called DISCLOSE Act, which was written by Democrats in response to the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision loosening campaign finance regulations. The bill would require CEOs to stand by their ads and other transparency measures.

Read more »

Campaign Finance

Democrats Craft Citizens United Response -- Talking Points Frame Bill As Non-Partisan

Christina Bellantoni | April 23, 2010, 9:25AM

The U.S. Supreme Court building

Democrats will be casting their legislative response to the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision as nonpartisan and will say that the majority of Americans favor transparency requirements in the wake of allowing corporations to get involved in elections.

TPMDC obtained House Democrats' talking points on the new measure and a summary of the legislation that's being sent to members. Already Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) has a Republican co-sponsor, Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE). No Republicans have signed on to Sen. Chuck Schumer's version on the Senate side.

"This is not a partisan issue," members are instructed to say. "We hope that people on both sides of the aisle can agree that Americans have a right to know who is spending money on elections."

Read more »

2010 elections

Dems Call For CEOs To Stand By Their Ads In Wake Of Citizens United Decision

Christina Bellantoni | February 11, 2010, 1:13PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)

Democratic leadership today released the first details of legislation aimed at swiftly responding to the Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case, calling for strict disclosure for corporations who get involved in political adversiting.

"If we don't act quicikly the court's decision will have an immediate and lasting impact on this fall's elections," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who said he will introduce the bill after the Senate recess this month.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) will drop the partner legislation in the House.

An Obama administration official told TPMDC the White House has played an "active role" in talking with Capitol Hill about how to respond to the decision, which both Republicans and Democrats have told pollsters they don't like.

Read more »

Campaign Finance

Poll: Two-Thirds Of Americans Unhappy About Citizens United Ruling

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 8, 2010, 1:44PM

Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito may not have wanted to hear it during the State Of The Union address, but a new poll shows the majority of Americans agree with President Obama's take on the Citizens United ruling. More than 60 percent of respondents say it was a bad idea.

The opposition was found across party lines, and according to the pollsters was especially common among independents -- the group both parties have desperately fought over for a decade now. The pollsters said that result suggests that the parties would be well-served to take on the ruling and reinstate campaign finance regulations canceled out by the ruling with new law.

Read more »