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Center For Public Integrity: West Virginia races primed for super PAC activity
September 4, 2013	by	admin
Newly created 'West Virginians for Results' has GOP connection
-By Michael Beckel
September 4, 2013- A newly created super PAC appears to have its sights set on West Virginia, a state where Republicans in 2014 hope to pick up both a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.
A group called "West Virginians for Results" submitted paperwork to the Federal Election Commission on August 29, stating it "intends to make independent expenditures," though it doesn't specify in which races it plans to be active and the website it lists is not yet functional.
The address used by West Virginians for Results on its FEC filing is the Washington, D.C., office of the law firm Clark Hill PLC. The super PAC's treasurer is listed as James "Jim" Tyrrell III, a Clark Hill attorney who did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
David Corn Reveals "Groundswell" : A Cage Match Between Ginni Thomas And Karl Rove
August 5, 2013	by
Young Progressive Voices: Audio Emerges Proving Secret Conservative Organization Behind Benghazi "Scandal"
-by Justin Acuff
August 3, 2013- Groundswell, the conservative behind-the-scenes organization that forms a coalition between prominent Republicans, right wing media, and conservative activists to wage a "30-front war against Obama and progressives" has been revealed to have played a role in the hype and false scandalization of the Benghazi "controversy." A secret tape released by Crooks And Liars (audio below) has detailed the cooperation between House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Ginni Thomas (the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas), former Rep. Allen West, as well as high-ranking members of Judicial Watch and Breitbart. The meeting was presided over by Catherine Engelbrecht, one of the founders of the voter suppression group, True The Vote.
Mother Jones: Groundswell's Secret Crusade to Crush Karl Rove
July 25, 2013	by
Ginni Thomas and her conservative allies have launched a stealth attack on the GOP's top strategist.
-By David Corn
July 25, 2013- Groundswell, the recently created coalition of prominent right-wing activists and journalists, gathers weekly to coordinate messaging and plot strategy for "a 30 front war seeking to fundamentally transform the nation." These sessions usually fixate on how best to battle the president, congressional Democrats, and progressive groups. But their 30-front war also includes something of a civil war: a fierce crusade against the Republican establishment and Karl Rove, the GOP strategist and Fox News pundit.
Mother Jones: Inside Groundswell: Read the Memos of the New Right-Wing Strategy Group Planning a "30 Front War"
July 25, 2013- Believing they are losing the messaging war with progressives, a group of prominent conservatives in Washington—including the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and journalists from Breitbart News and the Washington Examiner—has been meeting privately since early this year to concoct talking points, coordinate messaging, and hatch plans for "a 30 front war seeking to fundamentally transform the nation," according to documents obtained by Mother Jones.
Thom Hartmann: Kochtopus Tentacles are Coming for Public Schools
Center For Public Integrity: Koch Industries PAC spending record cash
Committee has biggest month ever during non-election year
-By Adam Wollner
July 22, 2013- The political action committee of Koch Industries — the energy and chemicals company led by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch — gave more money in June to federal political candidates and committees than it ever has in any other month during a non-election year.
KOCHPAC contributed $262,000 to dozens of politicians, political parties and other PACs in June, Federal Election Commission records indicate.
KOCHPAC's previous record for the most money given in one month during an off-year came in June 2011, when it distributed $227,500 to candidates and political committees.
Center For Public Integrity: Koch Industries PAC Bolts To Fast Start In 2013
June 20, 2013	by
Billionaire brothers' company PAC spending significantly more compared to recent election cycles
-By Dave Levinthal and Michael Beckel
June 20, 2013- The political action committee of Koch Industries Inc. — the energy company run by conservative billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch — is off to its fastest start ever for a federal election cycle.
KOCHPAC donated $559,000 to federal-level political candidates and committees during the first five months of the year, according to a Center for Public Integrity review of Federal Election Commission disclosures released today.
That easily bests its output for the same time periods during previous election cycles: $387,500 in 2011, $274,500 in 2009 and $387,570 in 2007.
Huffington Post: Chris Van Hollen: IRS Rules To Be Challenged In Court
-By Paul Blumenthal
June 18, 2013- WASHINGTON — Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Tuesday that he and two campaign finance watchdog groups would sue the IRS, challenging regulations that allow nonprofit groups to be involved in politics if they're "primarily" devoted to a social welfare purpose.
Van Hollen said he and watchdog groups Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 would sue to clarify an IRS regulation that he said was at odds with the law, which requires certain groups to "exclusively" engage in social welfare to earn nonprofit status. The IRS regulation permitting groups "primarily" engaged in social welfare allows the organizations to participate in an undefined amount of political activity, said the congressman, a leading advocate of campaign finance reform and ranking member of the House Budget Committee.
The Daily Beast: Karl Rove's "Liberal Group" Complaint and the Crossroads GPS Scheme
June 2, 2013	by
When it comes to dark money groups, what really separates Crossroads GPS from its liberal counterparts is tens of millions of dollars in FEC-reported political spending, writes Robert Maguire of the Center for Responsive Politics.
-by Robert Maguire
June 2, 2013- Karl Rove, the co-founder of Crossroads GPS, has taken of late to asking why his 501(c)(4) social welfare group has been scrutinized, while "liberal groups have operated for decades in the same way GPS does without Democrats complaining." He singled out the League of Conservation Voters, NARAL Pro-Choice America, unions and the NAACP.