House Republican Super PAC Ready To Raise Unlimited Funds To Retain GOP Majority

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans will soon have another big money vehicle supporting them. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC that can raise and spend unlimited funds, will launch on Nov. 2 as the only independent group with the sole goal of retaining and expanding the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

Former Sen. Norm Coleman will chair the group, and Brian Walsh, president of the American Action Network, will serve as president of the PAC. The board of directors includes some major fundraising names in Republican Washington: former congressman and current lobbyist Vin Weber, former presidential adviser and current businessman Fred Malek, and former National Republican Congressional Committee chairman and current lobbyist Tom Reynolds.

"The Congressional Leadership Fund is an opportunity for center-right voices throughout America to support our House Republican majority," Malek said in a statement announcing the group's formation.

Terry Holt, a spokesman for the group and former spokesman for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), explained further to The Huffington Post: "The idea here is to leverage the political and fundraising support that there is for the Republican majority in the House and to get the resources it's going to take to defend against the other outside special interests that are intent on wresting control from the Republican majority and putting the House back in the hands of Nancy Pelosi."

The new PAC has invited all of the major members of the House Republican majority to attend a Nov. 2 launch event -- including Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.), Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), Chief Deputy Majority Whip Peter Roskam (Ill.), Rep. Greg Walden (Ore.), chairman of the House Republican Leadership, and Rep. Pete Sessions (Texas), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

"We'll have a very good turnout," Holt said.

Ties between the new PAC and the American Action Network don't end with their shared president. The super PAC's leadership team is composed entirely of officials and board members from the latter group, a conservative nonprofit that has been very politically active in recent elections. It spent over $8 million in the 2010 midterm elections on independent expenditures and electioneering communications to help elect Republican candidates to the House and Senate.

Holt explained that this experience will help the new group hit the ground running. "Brian Walsh, Sen. Coleman and the folks affiliated with CLF are seasoned and effective political figures, and their intent is to bring all of that to bear in defense of the House majority," he said.

The group will operate much like the House Majority PAC, a super PAC that aims to win back the House majority for the Democrats.

Moreover, its announcement comes on the heels of the creation of another Republican super PAC, which will be run by John Murray, the now-former deputy chief of staff to Cantor. The latter PAC is modeled on Cantor's Young Guns program to support conservative lawmakers and challengers in their elections. Murray is expected to attend the Congressional Leadership Fund launch.

Super PACs were born after two court rulings -- most notably the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission -- opened the door to unlimited contributions from corporation and unions to independent groups to be spent on elections. Since then, the FEC has undone restrictions on how lawmakers and candidates can interact with these new outside groups. Technically, lawmakers, candidates and party organizations are not allowed to coordinate with independent groups. The FEC, however, held earlier this year that candidates could raise funds and appear at events for a super PAC so long as the candidates only ask for a maximum of $5,000 -- the upper limit under the rules that govern candidates.

On Wednesday, the FEC received a request for an opinion from the Republican Party-linked super PAC American Crossroads seeking permission to feature candidates in its advertisements. The request notes that the Nebraska Democratic Party has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads featuring Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) speaking to the camera. If the FEC were to allow this type of activity or to deadlock on the issue, groups like the Congressional Leadership Fund and the House Majority PAC would gain another tool in their belts. And the drift since the Citizens United decision of independent groups becoming more and more connected to the parties and candidate committees would continue.

 

 

Comments

[David01]

10:23 PM on 10/15/2011

"New super pacs have Boehner's back." LOL. More like, "'New super pacs have Boehner's backside."

[morbius]

11:11 AM on 10/15/2011

Everybody needs to sign Dylin Radigans "get money out" petition.

[David01]

10:26 PM on 10/15/2011

F and F. And sorry, I accidentally flagged you. My hand slipped. Moderators, please ignore my mistake.

[firstad]

05:05 PM on 10/14/2011

This is another example of the legalization of groups that co-opt the voters, no matter which party they support. The politicians are not going to turn down the support, the money, or be able to refuse requests of the members in supporting their business and political needs. Who will lose? The voters, the taxpayers, state and city governments, and independent candidates who have had enough of the political machines. This is legal American political power today. Nixon tried this same thing with CREEP, and it was toxic to him and the country. These are bad groups.

[Mattcat25]

09:37 AM on 10/14/2011

Private Individuals, Corporations, Wall Street Brokers, and Foreign Entities will all pay Boehner to not pay any US Income Taxes.

[Pastori Balele]

01:17 AM on 10/14/2011

I am sorry for the republicans - GOP nominee is sure to be Herman Cain - great guy- hates Blacks, Catholics, Moslems, gays, lesbians, Mormons and poor Whites. What a leader GOP has selected!

[firstad]

05:09 PM on 10/14/2011

Nobody has been selected to represent the GOP yet. You have to wait until the debates are over and the party meets in Tampa for its convention. Until then, you have eight parking meters asking for money. Keep it, pay your mortgage or college bills, but don't support the parties with donations.

[tony baggio]

05:17 PM on 10/14/2011

funniest and truest of the week. LMAO.

[election2012]

07:54 PM on 10/13/2011

Everyone wonders why House Democrats seem to be rolling over instead of putting up a fight.

[Rowwdy]

06:27 PM on 10/13/2011

*Well what do you expect, democrats had to get the country out of the mess that Mr. Reagan and Mr. George H.W. Bush got us into; then we had another Bush that put us right back into a mess again… One would think that the republican voter could see who has ruined our Country, but I guess it would hurt their pride to much to admit to it…

[firstad]

05:14 PM on 10/14/2011

You are asking for people who are personally invested, emotionally and professionally to admit they are wrong. Until they lose their business and homes, the voters who support the GOP are going to keep on doing it. Logic was lost on this kind of thing decades ago. How to spot it? Look for those little flag pins on the lapels. Co-opting the American flag for political parties is standard for these inward looking people.

[morbius]

11:14 AM on 10/15/2011

I think you are spot on; especially the part about being emotionally invested. They are going to have to have their noses rubbed in it. But maybe they'll wise up and secede before that.

[election2012]

06:22 PM on 10/13/2011

For some reason Boehner and Cantor are always photographed in packs like a less entertaining version of Entourage, the Congressional version.

[Rowwdy]

05:55 PM on 10/13/2011

*"The idea here is to leverage the political and fundraising support that there is for the Republican majority in the House and to get the resources it's going to take to defend against the other outside special interests that are intent on wresting control from the Republican majority and putting the House back in the hands of Nancy Pelosi."

Republicans themselves have been doing a pretty good job of putting the House back in the hands of Nancy Pelosi; keep it up Teapublicans your doing a great job!!!

[cft611]

05:37 PM on 10/13/2011

the super-pac has been around for a long time:AIPAC. We give billions to israel, they use a billion or two to buy our politicians, loan the money back to us, then get our best technology and weapons: promptly sell the weapon designs to china for a nice profit. it's a win-win-win for everyone concerned.

[modrnknght]

05:21 PM on 10/13/2011

Actually, this is a very bad deal for Joe America. Truly dangerous are not so much the ads in favor of one politician, but the ones where they create some citizen-sounding group name, like "U.S. Housewives for A Better America" or some such and get some actors to portray people of that group, just average people like you and I, and spin some b.s. saying "Vote for your rights, vote yes for Proposition 25." And if you are luck, the small print at the end might give you a clue which private interest paid for it. Those commercials are very deceptive.

We had a commercial in California showing a woman (actress, it was discovered later) getting her mail and worrying about how she has no say in new companies starting up a power and water company, and that Proposition __ would ensure that a new company would have to get 3/4 of the state's vote in order to open. Sounds good, right? Luckily, for voters, Pacific Gas HAD to list their name in the small print at the end, and a close look at the proposition revealed that PG was using this to retain their monopoly. (A 3/4 vote would be impossible to get and they know it.) The trouble is that people just seeing the ad about this nice lady and how we have no vote would make many want to pass the proposition. It's an ad that is the most dangerous of all.

[3x]

06:27 AM on 10/14/2011

Omigod! Free speech is dangerous! It could be...deceptive!

Please give others credit for their ability to see through attempts to deceive. We do it every day when we watch ads. We can handle these ads too. You obviously can see through it, so why do you assume everyone else is too stupid to?

[majorwiblit]

05:10 PM on 10/13/2011

my guess is by election time,,hundreds + hundered of millions will be spent,,

While people are still out of work,,,,,,,maybe on the brink of losing their home,,,,

This is part of why they march!!!

[3x]

11:02 AM on 10/14/2011

They should vote.

[Ioan Lightoller]

11:15 AM on 10/14/2011

We'll do that as well and have our eye closely monitoring the vote talliesl

[starnorth7]

04:58 PM on 10/13/2011

The GOP is useless!

[innerpuppie]

04:48 PM on 10/13/2011

This is the beginning of the end of America as we know it.

[FL TallMan]

04:39 PM on 10/13/2011

Clearly the FEC, and the IRS have become toothless in trying to rein in these PACs that are beginning to run rampant over the country.

All this, of course, is because the Supreme Court issued its bought and paid-for decision in the Citizens case. Yet, should the Dems sweep into a clear filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, take back the House, and retain the White House, I would bet the SC would find time to revisit the case.

[3x]

06:29 AM on 10/14/2011

How does one buy a Supreme Court case?

You've gotten used to making the "bought and paid for" excuse to the point that you're using it in ridiculous ways.