TPMDC Campaign Finance: June 2011
2012
Priorities USA Counters Karl Rove With New Ad
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.
Topics: 2012, 2012 Presidential Primaries, 2012 elections, Barack Obama, Campaign Finance, Citizens United, Crossroads GPS, Karl Rove, priorities usa
Campaign Finance
Ron Johnson Ducks TPM Questions On His $10 Million Payday: 'It's A Private Company'
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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, Campaign Finance, Ron Johnson, Russ Feingold
Ron Johnson
Johnson Has Yet To Produce Written $10M Compensation Agreement
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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Campaign Finance, Ron Johnson
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