US: Presidential candidates lean on well-funded outside groups

[webfact]

Presidential candidates lean on well-funded outside groups
By JULIE BYKOWICZ

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Jeb Bush and Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton are asking donors to write the checks to get their campaigns started. Yet these "new" candidates have been fueling their presidential ambitions for months — years, in Clinton's case — thanks to outside groups that will continue serving as big-money bank accounts throughout the race.

In the 2016 presidential field, creative financing abounds.

While donors can give a maximum $2,700 apiece per election to their favorite candidatdte's campaign, the presidential contenders offer generous supporters plenty of other options. Outside groups that can accept checks of unlimited size include personalized super PACs that, while barred from directly coordinating with candidates, are often filled with their trusted friends. There are also "dark money" nonprofit policy groups that keep contributors' names secret.

Super PACs working exclusively to help individual presidential candidates appeared on the scene in the last race, with Restore Our Future supporting Republican nominee Mitt Romney and Priorities USA boosting President Barack Obama. One 2012 super PAC, funded almost entirely by Las Vegas casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, kept Newt Gingrich afloat in the Republican nomination contest by spending millions of dollars on television ads promoting him and attacking other candidates.

This time, the influence of those kinds of groups will increase "by a huge factor," said Spencer Zwick, the chief fundraiser for Romney.

"Super PACs in 2012 were still not talked about by the campaign apparatus," he said. Not so in 2016. "You literally have the same leadership group that's running a super PAC that will then run the campaign, or vice versa."

Federal Election Commission Chairwoman Ann Ravel called it a Wild West atmosphere, fostered by the 2010 Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case that empowered outside groups to take in and spend unlimited sums. She argues this system is insufficiently policed by her politically deadlocked agency.

The campaign finance watchdog group Democracy 21 has filed complaints against many of the candidates working with super PACs. Its president, Fred Wertheimer, sees "all sorts of edgy, and I would say illegal, coordination going on."

Others see no cause for alarm. "What could be more American?" asked David Keating, director of the Center for Competitive Politics, which advocates for an end to campaign contribution limits. "More money means more speech. It ensures a robust debate about the future of our country and keeps people interested and involved."

The cash flood has already resulted in more than $1 million in negative ads, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, in an election still more than 500 days away. This presidential race, with the most aggressive use yet of outside groups, is on track to cost more than the $2.6 billion tab for the 2012 presidential contest.

Bush's kickoff this week has come with pleas to help fill his empty campaign coffers. But the Republican former Florida governor has already spent six months raising money for Right to Rise, a super PAC that will help him compete by spending tens of millions of dollars on television ads.

Until he became a declared presidential candidate, Bush was free to fundraise for Right to Rise, and he did so with vigor. He told the group's top donors in April that they had helped raise more money in the previous 100 days than any Republican operation in modern times. Bush will now distance himself from the super PAC, leaving it in the hands of his longtime consultant Mike Murphy. "I'm going to miss him," Bush recently said about Murphy. "But from here on out, I'm not going to be talking to him."

Supporters can also contribute to Bush's separate nonprofit group called Right to Rise Policy Solutions. Such "dark-money" groups — so called because they don't reveal donors — are limited in how much election work they can do. GOP presidential candidates Rick Perry and Rick Santorum and possible candidates Bobby Jindal and John Kasich are each linked to a nonprofit.

Clinton, who became a candidate in April and is dominating the small Democratic field, is also benefiting from outside helpers. Fundraising emails last week encouraged supporters to become "launch donors" before the Saturday speech in New York City that was the first big rally of her campaign.

There are already 135,000 donors — some dating back two years — who might consider themselves her founding backers. They gave to a super PAC called Ready for Hillary, which was formed by aides in January 2013 to encourage the former first lady and secretary of state to run for president.

Clinton's campaign recently obtained the super PAC's donor list, and information on almost 4 million people who signed up with it, by swapping the information with other groups backing her.

One of those, Correct the Record, is blazing an entirely new trail — and one that some election watchdogs say is questionable — by planning to coordinate directly with the Clinton campaign. The group says it can avoid pushback from the election commission by not spending any money on paid advertisements and instead just posting its content for free on social media and websites.

Republican rival Ben Carson, a political newcomer, has gone about all this in reverse.

He started with a campaign announcement May 4, then dispatched top strategists to a still-unnamed super PAC. This approach comes with a drawback: Legally, the former campaign aides must wait 120 days before starting work at the super PAC.

"I put the campaign together, and now I'm going to put the super PAC together because I have the big-money contacts," said Terry Giles, who served as Carson's top strategist and will run the super PAC once he can legally do so in September. "I hired all of the campaign people, and I know exactly what their strategy is, so I can very effectively lead the super PAC. It's unorthodox from a political standpoint, but it is not at all unorthodox from a business standpoint."
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Associated Press writer Thomas Beaumont in Tallin, Estonia, contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-06-18

[stevenl]

The whole system is rotten.

[Scott]

Off-topic post removed.

[mmh8]

incredible with that Donald Trump person stepping in . Perhaps all those articles I read about the illuminati are true, though I thought they prefer to stay in the shadows

[quandow]

The Citizens United decision was the worst thing to happen to the human race. It has outed the U.S. government for the corporate shills they are, and people have done little to repeal it.

On the bright side, if Donald Trump gets elected president, comedians will have guaranteed employment for four years.

[wabothai]

sick bunch

[Jonmarleesco]

'One 2012 super PAC, funded almost entirely by Las Vegas casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson ...' In which case, isn't he the PAC, hence exceeding his $2,700 by multiple powers?

[noikrit]

Oh No !!!! Its that time again when billions get spent on getting voted .. while people go hungry on the street ......

[elgordo38]

The whole system is rotten.

Might I add to the core. Give all this money to the poor and down trodden.

[elgordo38]

Oh No !!!! Its that time again when billions get spent on getting voted .. while people go hungry on the street ......

Yes the season of this madness is truly upon us. Nothing will change. The Super money cartels control them all. They are just marionettes dancing to the masters tune. After they are elected their bill comes due for payment.

[Anthony5]

Now consider that all those billions spent will be recovered when the election is over, and they are not coughed up by the elected president. Guess who pays the bill.

[pkspeaker]

I wasn't for the coup here but I would be for one in the US, it seems like the only way to reform big money politics there. The only way to get campaign finance reform is for the congress pass the bill, but those are the same people owned by these big money contributors.

[little mary sunshine]

Approve a new amendment to our constitution something

Like: next 5-7years...DIisolve the useless Fat Cat Money

SuckingCongress. No President elected during this time,

Appoint astute, honest men like WBuffet, Bill Gates, head

Of Salvation Army, and three others to clean up the mess,

Get things back on track. Resume elections after this time

Period...TERM LIMITS FOR CONGRESS 6 years .!!! Retirement

Benefits, Health Insurance MEDICARE and Income $50K

For next 15years and it ENDS. TERM LIMITES FOR CURRENT

CONGRESS SHOULD BE 2 TERMS, 1st in CONGRESS

2nd TERM IN JAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mmh8]

I seem to rememver witht hat 1% thing the main argument was that the fat cats are the greatest contributors to US. Otherwise you end up with a situation like in grenuilleland, they've gone commie and the first thing they do is try to tax big money, off goes depardiue to become a Russian citizen since they won't tax him all his hard earned gains.

[Suradit69]

incredible with that Donald Trump person stepping in . Perhaps all those articles I read about the illuminati are true, though I thought they prefer to stay in the shadows

Apparently now that The Donald has thrown his hairpiece in the ring, he's writing checks to augment the "crowds" at his announcements.

Donald Trump's big presidential announcement Tuesday was made a little bigger with help from paid actors — at $50 a pop.

New York-based Extra Mile Casting sent an email last Friday to its client list of background actors, seeking extras to beef up attendance at Trump's event.

"We are looking to cast people for the event to wear t-shirts and carry signs and help cheer him in support of his announcement," reads the June 12 email, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. "We understand this is not a traditional 'background job,' but we believe acting comes in all forms and this is inclusive of that school of thought."

[Suradit69]

Approve a new amendment to our constitution something

Like: next 5-7years...DIisolve the useless Fat Cat Money

SuckingCongress. No President elected during this time,

Appoint astute, honest men like WBuffet, Bill Gates, head

Of Salvation Army, and three others to clean up the mess,

Get things back on track. Resume elections after this time

Period...TERM LIMITS FOR CONGRESS 6 years .!!! Retirement

Benefits, Health Insurance MEDICARE and Income $50K

For next 15years and it ENDS. TERM LIMITES FOR CURRENT

CONGRESS SHOULD BE 2 TERMS, 1st in CONGRESS

2nd TERM IN JAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've always thought ballots should include "None of the Above" as a candidate for all offices. In many elections it would probably be a landslide winner.

[elgordo38]

incredible with that Donald Trump person stepping in . Perhaps all those articles I read about the illuminati are true, though I thought they prefer to stay in the shadows

Apparently now that The Donald has thrown his hairpiece in the ring, he's writing checks to augment the "crowds" at his announcements.

Donald Trump's big presidential announcement Tuesday was made a little bigger with help from paid actors — at $50 a pop.

New York-based Extra Mile Casting sent an email last Friday to its client list of background actors, seeking extras to beef up attendance at Trump's event.

"We are looking to cast people for the event to wear t-shirts and carry signs and help cheer him in support of his announcement," reads the June 12 email, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. "We understand this is not a traditional 'background job,' but we believe acting comes in all forms and this is inclusive of that school of thought."

You got to give The Donald credit. He is colorful and always adds humor to this 3 ring circus. He speaks more truth than the rest of this corporation controlled cabal put together. I think in the end it will be "just call me Jeb" a financial (he got de money behind him) heavyweight vs Hillary "I stand for the poor and downtrodden" Clinton. The winner will decided in a cock fight style(scratching and clawing at each other) election campaign but both are in the hip pocket of the "big money boys" like all politicians so the outcome is really mute. The Washington game will continue the deficit will continue piling up and carpetbagger politico's will continue to stuff their bags with taxpayer money before retiring and getting more of the same in pension monies. Its a tired old game I have watched it for my 77 years on this planet. It goes on everywhere but in Africa and other countries its more blatant. I watched a documentary on Nigerian oil and some 440 BILLION oil revenue has disappeared since oil was discovered there. The people the owners of this resource received nothing.

Edited June 19, 2015 by elgordo38