Conservative PAC Calls On IRS To Investigate Democratic Attorneys General Association

A conservative super PAC is urging the IRS to investigate the Democratic Attorneys Generals Association for failing to properly disclose its contributions and expenditures.

Because of that, the organization, known as DAGA, should be slapped with a 35 percent tax on all of its expenditures and contributions, State Conservative Reform Action PAC (SCRAP) chairman J. Chris Jankowski wrote in a letter to IRS commissioner John Koskinen and Tamera Ripperda, the director of the exempt organizations division at the tax agency.

Ripperda’s position is the same one held by Lois Lerner, the retired IRS official accused of targeting conservative groups who had applied for tax-exempt status.

DAGA, which is operated out of Colorado, is a political organization set up to help elect Democratic attorney general candidates. Its largest contribution last year came from the Teamsters Union, which donated $380,000.

Jankowski writes that DAGA failed to disclose its expenditures and contributions on Form 8872. Political organizations are required to file that form unless they are already exempted because they’ve filed similar information with state agencies or are registered as a federal political committee with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Jankowski formed SCRAP last year. The former head of the Republican State Leadership Committee, Jankowski’s group focuses on state-level races and generally supports low tax, small government candidates.

In his letter to Koskinen and Ripperda, Jankowski asserts that DAGA is not exempt at the state level and is not registered with the FEC and that as of July 20, it had not filed Form 8872 reports for the 2014 pre-general election period, the 2014 post-general election period, or the 2014 year-end period.

“Failure to file a required form 8872, or failure to include the information required on the form 8872, is a violation of tax law that is punishable by a tax at the highest corporate rate, currently 35 percent, on the undisclosed contributions and expenditures,” Jankowski writes.

“In light of the foregoing it is imperative that the IRS properly conduct an investigation into the serious and ongoing violations,” he adds. “The IRS should determine and impose appropriate sanctions and penalties for any and all violations, including a tax of 35 percent of the unreported expenditures and contributions.”

Via: Daily Caller

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Campaign Finance Champ Feingold’s PAC Has Given 5 Percent of Its Income To Candidates, Political Parties

Longtime campaign finance reform proponent and former Sen. Russ Feingold (D., Wis.) founded a political action committee that has given just 5 percent of its income to federal candidates and political parties, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Feingold, who is challenging Sen. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) in 2016 to win back his old seat, founded Progressives United PAC in 2011. It has spent more than $7.1 million, but nearly half of the proceeds have gone to “raising more money for itself.” Feingold, a top aide and eight former staffers have also received a sizable amount:

A top GOP official said it was incredible that Feingold’s fund spent so little helping candidates and so much aiding his personal associates. Feingold is taking on Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican, in 2016 to try to win back his old U.S. Senate seat.

“Time and again, Feingold arrogantly says one thing and does another,” said Joe Fadness, executive director of the state Republican Party, suggesting the Wisconsin Democrat’s reform rhetoric doesn’t match his political actions.

Via: WFB

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NYT: Billionaire George Soros Financing Dems' Voter Rights Lawsuits

Billionaire philanthropist George Soros has agreed to spend as much as $5 million on Democrats' court battles against voting laws passed in recent years by Republican-controlled state governments such as in Ohio and Wisconsin.

"We hope to see these unfair laws, which often disproportionately affect the most vulnerable in our society, repealed," the Hungarian-born investor has said about the legal battles, describing himself as being "proud" of his involvement, reports The New York Times. 

Soros political adviser Michael Vachon said the billionaire has given $1 million so far this year to the liberal research super PAC American Bridge. 

Backers of Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who has made the voting laws a cornerstone of her campaign, have been pushing Soros to commit millions of dollars to her super PAC.  Soros has not done that so far, the Times says.

The lawsuits against the states are being led by attorney Marc Elias, who is the Clinton campaign's general counsel, the newspaper reports. 

This is not Soros' first involvement in voting issues. His first major push in American politics included the America Coming Together voter-mobilization drive in 2004, in an effort to defeat President George W. Bush. 

The lawsuits include attacks on voter ID requirements, time restrictions on early voting that make it difficult to cast ballots on the weekend before Election Day, and rules nullifying ballots that are cast in wrong precincts. 

The Times reports that Soros was in contact with Elias in January 2014, while the attorney was exploring federal lawsuits before the midterms and before the 2016 cycle, said Vachon, Soros'  adviser, Michael Vachon. Elias himself refused comment Friday about the lawsuits' funding.

Soros is supporting lawsuits filed in Ohio and Wisconsin last month, and is helping finance a case Elias and other groups filed in North Carolina last year.

Clinton and Democrats argue that the states' voting laws affect poor, minority, and young voters, but Republicans say the new laws, enacted since 2010, serve as protection against election fraud. 

Via NewsMax

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Senate Conservatives Fund Ramps Up Earmarking Effort

Using a special method of fundraising that permits moving large amounts of funds to a candidate, a federal PAC has collected and forwarded more than $500,000 in earmarked contributions for five conservative Senate and House candidates.

The Senate Conservatives Fund, a federal PAC that already gives contributions and makes independent expenditures for federal candidates, has reported collecting and forwarding $541,565 in earmarked contributions since May. During November they reported forwarding $201,460 to candidates.

The PAC was founded by former Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and seeks to elect conservative candidates, but does not support liberal Republicans, and is not affiliated with the Republican Party or its campaign committees.

Individuals may earmark their original contribution for a specific candidate, and pass it through a PAC, who then forwards the contribution to that specific candidate. The contribution is considered from the original donor and does not count toward the PAC’s contribution limit. The individual gets the credit for the contribution, and the PAC gets the credit for the soliciting, collecting and forwarding of the funds.

Matt Bevin, R-Ky., who is running against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., received $304,132 in earmarked contributions from individuals that were collected through the PAC. This includes $173,579 in October and $130,552 in November.

Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla., who is running for re-election, received $70,008 in earmarked from the PAC.

Col. Rob Maness, R-La., who is running against Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., has received $63,983 in earmarked funds collected by the PAC. This includes $40,979 in October and $23,004 in November.

Conservative commentator and State Senator Chris McDaniel, R-Miss., who is running against Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., has received $58,750 in earmarked contributions from the PAC. This includes $33,954 in October and $24,796 in November.

Midland University president Ben Sasse, R-Neb., who is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., has received $44,692 in earmarked contributions for the PAC. This includes $30,439 in October and $14,253 in November.

In 2012, former Sen. Jim DeMint cut his formal ties with the Senate Conservatives Fund, and started a separate Super PAC, Senate Conservatives Action, that makes only independent expenditures and is not bound by limits on contributions or spending.

Via: Roll Call

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Obama Bundler Funding VA State Dems, Libertarian Gov. Candidate

A donor to the Democratic Party of Virginia and bundler for Barack Obama funded a political action committee that provided Virginia Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Robert Sarvis with a crucial campaign contribution that helped get him on the ballot.

Campaign records show that Sarvis’ largest contributor is Libertarian Booster PAC which provided $11,454 to the campaign to assist with signature collection and campaign materials. Billionaire Joe Liemandt provided Libertarian Booster PAC with $150,000 this year, making him their biggest donor.

Liemandt and his wife also contributed $4,090 to the Democratic Party of Virginia in2012. They have contributed at least $175,200 to the Democratic National Committee since 2010, according to CQ Moneyline.

The Blaze reports that the Liemandt family is also very close with Obama and was invited to an exclusive state dinner last year, attended by his largest donors.

In March 2012, ABC News reported Liemandt was among three dozen of the Obama campaign’s largest bundlers invited to a state dinner honoring British Prime Minister David Cameron. ABC News reported the invited bundlers, who also included Vogue editor Anna Wintour and Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, were responsible for at least $10.7 million of the $250 million the campaign had collected to that point.

Sarvis has been a force in the race since establishing himself as its third candidate, with recent polls showing him receiving up to 13 percent of the state’s vote.

Via: WFB

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Dingy Reid: “Karl Rove And 17 Angry Old White Men Are Trying To Buy The Election”…

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), a former boxer, isn't one to let a few bruised ribs take the fight out of him.

Still feeling the after-effects of a recent car accident, Reid sat down with the editorial board of the Las Vegas Review Journal and explained that one of his biggest worries about the upcoming election was the power of the moneyed interests supporting GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

"My concern is that Karl Rove and 17 angry old white men are trying to buy the election. And that's the truth," Reid told the Review Journal. "You have [Las Vegas Sands casino billionaire Sheldon] Adelson, the Koch brothers [billionaires David and Charles]. You have [billionaire Harold] Simmons of Texas. They are literally trying to buy the election. Think about this. The day after the election, Karl Rove sits down and talks to …the 17 angry old white guys and says, 'Hey, listen guys, we just bought America. And we're still rich.' That's the concern that we all have."

The men Reid listed are all top contributors to super PACs that support Romney's campaign.

Thanks to the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, individuals, corporations and unions can spend unlimited money on attempts to influence elections. And spend they have, to the tune of more than $650 million this cycle.

Pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future announced earlier this month that it raised $20 million in the first half of October, half of it from Adelson alone.

Reid has been a tireless Romney detractor throughout the general election. Earlier this month, Reid described himself as a "one-man wrecking crew" set on getting Romney to release additional years of tax documents. Romney, Reid charged, was a “plastic man" who "changes his position every chance he gets."

Via: Huffington Post

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Obama floats constitutional amendment overturning Citizens United

President Barack Obama used the online springboard provided by Reddit to dive into the media crush at the GOP convention, with a skillfully executed call for a constitutional amendment to curb the free-speech of wealthier people and corporations.

“I think we need to seriously consider mobilizing a constitutional amendment process to overturn Citizens United. … Even if the amendment process falls short, it can shine a spotlight of the super PAC phenomenon and help apply pressure for change,” Obama said during 4:30 p.m. EST online event.

The publicity-grabbing gambit complements his campaign-theme portrayal of himself as the defender of middle-class Americans, and Gov. Mitt Romney as the champion of wealthy, job-exporting plutocrats.

The proposal also helps shift the media’s focus away from the stalled economy, record unemployment, debts and deficits.

“Money has always been a factor in politics, but we are seeing something new in the no-holds barred flow of seven and eight figure checks, most undisclosed, into super-PACs,” Obama told his Reddit audience.

Those super PACs “fundamentally threaten to overwhelm the political process over the long run and drown out the voices of ordinary citizens,” he declared.

Obama’s new focus on spending curbs comes as he is being out-raised by Romney.

Via: The Daily Caller

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New RNC convention video: “Switchers”

Because nothing sells in politics like apostasy, does it?  Just days after the Obama campaign released a web ad featuring Republican Democratic Women for Obama, the RNC will release a new video ad to be played during the Republican National Convention featuring former Barack Obama loyalists looking for some real hope and change:

It occurs to me that playing the apostasy card makes perfect sense for Republicans in this cycle.  They need Obama voters in 2008 to change their minds in order to win the election.  I’m not sure, though, why Team Obama feels the need to push that angle.  If they hold their 2008 coalition, they would cruise to victory in this cycle.  They don’t need McCain voters to switch — they just need Obama 2008 voters to turn out in 2012 and not to have changed their minds.  Instead of building off of brand loyalty, though, they’re trolling for Republicans — and doing it badly.  That should tell us all we need to know about their confidence in this cycle.

Meanwhile, the same super-PAC that accused Mitt Romney of causing terminal cancer has a new spot out today, called “Olive,” supposedly an “independent” whose business got ruined by Romney.  And it’s just as fact-based as its most notorious offering, as Jammie Wearing Fool discovers:

Via: Hot Air

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AFL-CIO Sending Out Union Goons To Knock On 640,000 Doors During RNC…

The AFL-CIO will have its members out knocking on doors early this year to counter the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.

The nation’s largest labor federation is planning to knock on 640,000 doors in 23 states over the weekend for a massive canvassing campaign. Labor unions have traditionally begun their political efforts on Labor Day, but are starting a week early to coincide with the GOP convention.

Joining in the canvassing effort will be MoveOn.org and Workers’ Voice, the AFL-CIO’s super-PAC. Workers’ Voice will also be sending out direct mail to 240,000 senior citizens taking direct aim at Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and his vice presidential pick, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the union ground game would help Democrats and President Obama win the election this fall.

“Working families talking to their neighbors, co-workers, friends and families is kryptonite to the radical right-wing agenda,” Trumka said in a statement. “We’ll be breaking through the noise of misleading ads paid for by wealthy special interests and letting voters hear from the people they trust most on the economic issues they care about. That’s how working families will win this election and lift up the middle class.”

The direct mailer from Workers’ Voice is designed as a viewer’s guide for the GOP convention, with the warning label “viewer discretion advised.” Among many attacks, the piece asks, “Will Paul Ryan tell you about his plans to privatize Social Security and end Medicare?”

Much of the initial campaigning by the AFL-CIO will focus on six battleground states: Florida, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The AFL-CIO has endorsed Obama for reelection. Labor, a key political ally for Democrats, will likely boost the party’s candidates at the polls this November with its voter turnout machine.

Via: The Hill