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« Letter from Lindsay | Main | Picture Seen in Duluth, MN »
Wednesday
Oct062010

Saudi Arabian Money -- Supporting Rand Paul?

The Citizens United ruling comes home to roost:
Exclusive: Foreign-Funded "U.S." Chamber of Commerce Running Partisan Attack Ads The largest attack campaign against Democrats this fall is being waged by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a trade association organized as a 501(c)(6) that can raise and spend unlimited funds without ever disclosing any of its donors. The Chamber has promised to spend an unprecedented $75 million to defeat candidates like Jack Conway, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Jerry Brown, Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA), and Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA).
As of Sept. 15th, the Chamber had aired more than 8,000 ads on behalf of GOP Senate candidates alone, according to a study from the Wesleyan Media Project. The Chamber’s spending has dwarfed every other issue group and most political party candidate committee spending. A ThinkProgress investigation has found that the Chamber funds its political attack campaign out of its general account, which solicits foreign funding. And while the Chamber will likely assert it has internal controls, foreign money is fungible, permitting the Chamber to run its unprecedented attack campaign. According to legal experts consulted by ThinkProgress, the Chamber is likely skirting longstanding campaign finance law that bans the involvement of foreign corporations in American elections.
The story goes on to note that the CoC aggressively raises funds overseas, opening offices in foreign countries and raising money from foreign corporations. These funds are then comingled in the Chamber's 501(c)(6) account -- the account used to pay for the attack ads. Already, this is blowing up in candidates' faces. Roy Blunt, the wingnut candidate in Missouri, refused to speak with a reporter asking him about the CoC attack ads in his race. Democrats are planning ads about this all over the country. Maybe the CoC and its right-wing candidates will get the "Al Gore and Buddhist fund-raising" treatment. Let us sincerely hope so.

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