HUFFPOST FUNDRACE - Omnibus May Open Door To Disclosure

The omnibus appropriations deal made last night to stave off a government shutdown included a tiny change of 19 words that will allow the White House to issue an executive order that would dramatically increase the amount of disclosure around hidden political spending.

After a draft executive order requiring all groups seeking contracts from the government to disclose all of their political contributions, even to trade groups and certain non-profits, leaked out of the White House congressional Republicans passed numerous riders banning the administration from spending money to implement such an order.

While the omnibus language appears to block implementation of contractor contribution disclosure, the change of 19 words enables the White House to require disclosure for contractors after they have won a contract, but not during the bidding process. [HuffPost]

Dem super groups plan to form super PAC league to fight the organized super PACs of the Right. [Bloomberg]

The pro-Romney super PAC is going to go up with a $300,000 ad buy bashing Gingrich in Florida. The big spending by the group has helped stave off Gingrich's rapid climb in the polls in Iowa. [The Hill]

Meanwhile, the Romney campaign is going on the air in South Carolina with a positive spot. [HuffPost]

In the fight to roll back Citizens United a host of groups, individuals, and members of Congress have introduced constitutional amendments to, one way or another, reverse the controversial Supreme Court decision. The folks at United Republic put together a nice run-down of what each amendment says and does. [United Republic]

FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub is none-too-happy about the FEC's failure, again, to approve new rules around disclosure post-Citizens United: "Such a proliferation of anonymous, negative speech cannot be good for our democracy. Nor is it consistent with the view of eight Justices of the Supreme Court, who ruled that 'effective disclosure' is what 'enables the electorate to make informed decisions and give proper weight to different speakers and messages.' Moreover, as Justice Scalia recently noted in another case: 'Requiring people to stand up in public for their political acts fosters civic courage, without which democracy is doomed... [A] society which ... campaigns anonymously ... hidden from public scrutiny and protected from the accountability of criticism ... does not resemble the Home of the Brave.' I remain hopeful that the Commission will one day take this insight to heart."

CAMPAIGN VIDEOS

Help us populate our list of campaign videos. Send any notable TV, radio or web ads that you see to Fundrace. Send your submissions to [e-mail].

Committee: Mitt Romney for President
Spot: "Milford, NH" -- Mitt Romney talks to people in Milford, NH in this video that aims to highlight Romney's connection with voters. The main theme is jobs and the economy.
Link: [http://youtu.be/y2KgYpFii_M]
Market: Unknown.
Buy: Undisclosed.

Committee: Rick Santorum for President
Spot: "Sing, Sing, Sing" -- The first TV ad from the Santorum camp highlights his conservative stances on life and welfare reform. Santorum also uses a quote from his opponent Newt Gingrich, "No one has done more than Santorum to alert Americans to the dangers of...Iran."
Link: [http://youtu.be/5GEwj2AwOa0]
Market: Iowa.
Buy: Undisclosed.

Committee: Jon Huntsman for President
Spot: "Jon Huntsman Is The Candidate We Can Trust" -- This web video uses footage of one of Huntsman's extended answers during Thursday night's debate where he expounds on the deficit of trust in America.
Link: [http://youtu.be/TiRukKRG4I4]
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.

Committee: David Dewhurst for Senate
Candidate opposed: Barack Obama
Spot: "Broken Promises" -- This ad uses some of Obama's lofty rhetoric during the 2008 campaign in contrast with the President's more muted performance in a recent "60 Minutes" interview. Dewhurst proclaims, "We've got to stop President Obama and take back this country."
Link: [http://youtu.be/DYP6tmYMRZo]
Market: Unknown.
Buy: Undisclosed.

Committee: Oregon Democratic Party
Candidate opposed: Rob Cornilles
Spot: "The Real Face of Game Face" -- Rob Cornilles, running a special election in Oregon's first district, is being hit from all sides by the Democrats. This web video traces the history of the company run by Cornilles, Game Face, Inc., which is not portrayed in a positive light.
Link: [http://youtu.be/3DFcy06_HL4]
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.

Committee: Iowans for Christian Leaders in Government
Candidate opposed: Newt Gingrich
Spot: "Newt Gingrich. Partial Birth Abortion." -- Another video from the shadowy group pounding Gingrich for his alleged sins against God. This one features an animated fetus with singing about Jesus over it and text explaining how Gingrich supported candidates who supported so-called partial birth abortion. I much preferred this video when it was the music video for Massive Attack's "Teardrop."
Link: [http://youtu.be/f4K-igXuNOw]
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.

TRACKING INDEPENDENT SPENDING IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE:

These numbers represent spending by independent groups, like super PACs and non-profits, to support or oppose a particular candidate for the presidency in 2012. Fundrace will update this spending daily to help show which candidates are gaining from the proliferation of independent groups in this coming election.

Rick Perry (R), $1,972,058 to support, $0 to oppose.
Jon Huntsman (R), $1,864,956 to support, $0 to oppose. (+$409,483)
Newt Gingrich (R), $0 to support, $826,718 to oppose.
Herman Cain (R), $462,217 to support, $0 to oppose.
Barack Obama (D), $0 to support, $357,929 to oppose.
Mitt Romney (R), $0 to support, $329,473 to oppose.
Rick Santorum (R), $200,500 to support, $0 to oppose.
Gary Johnson (R), $518 to support, $0 to oppose.

RECENT INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES

Our Destiny PAC, $409,483 to support Jon Huntsman for President.

RECENT POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE REGISTRATIONS

NONE.

Send tips, hints, submissions, rumors to HuffPost Fundrace at [e-mail].

Comments

[retie133]

11:57 AM on 12/17/2011

If the U.S. goverment had a cover charge for every time a lobbyist walked into the U.S.Capital i'm pretty sure they could pay off the deficit.

[Espantapajaros]

09:52 AM on 12/17/2011

"Requiring people to stand up in public for their political acts fosters civic courage, without which democracy is doomed... "

I'll give Scalia's regards to the psuedonymous authors of the oft-cited Federalist Papers.

[debinphoenix]

07:21 AM on 12/17/2011

The current administration is in very dangerous territory here....better be careful with the double-edged sword.

[pinetar]

06:27 AM on 12/17/2011

What about the white house funded bio fuel company that is to be sold to the USNavy for $15.00 a gallon. !

[Ranta]

04:29 AM on 12/17/2011

Until we have public financing of elections, this corporate clobbering will go on. Public financing would be cheap compared to what the lobbying system of government is costing us now. Think of a country where public officials would have no reason to raise money at every turn. Maybe they could spend their time serving their constituents.
Wouldn't it be great for campaigns to start a few months before the election instead of the day after the previous one. What would the networks and their advertisers do?
Our legislators all say they hate having to raise so much money but they all do it and they offer no alternative. I think it makes them feel like big shots to have so many people with so much money sucking up to them.

[Sagrimore]

02:40 AM on 12/17/2011

Members of Congress will not allow this to stand. There is a long, long tradition of, umm . . . personal service workers keeping the identity of their johns, I mean _contributors_ , secret.

Just ask Sen. Vitter.

[mcartri]

01:14 AM on 12/17/2011

Best government money can buy. Want to own your own politician? It's easy. Tune in next week to the "Shopping Network", where 4-Senate seats and 35-House seats will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. You will not have to identify yourself...period.

[ProductivePeople]

10:47 PM on 12/16/2011

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[FredSanders]

08:55 PM on 12/16/2011

This would cover just about every major Corporation in America, so it is an excellent start:

The centerpiece of the draft executive order is the requirement that entities and their top officers disclose contributions made to any nonprofits or trade groups that could reasonably be assumed to be spending money in elections. The language seeks to close part of the disclosure loophole blown open by the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling. That decision has allowed nonprofits, like Crossroads GPS and Americans for Prosperity, and trade groups, like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to run electoral ads without disclosing their donors to the public.

[FredSanders]

08:52 PM on 12/16/2011

Can the administration not make a direct "reference" to the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of a disclosure law, THEN present it to Congress?

[FredSanders]

08:50 PM on 12/16/2011

They want their Corrupt Contributors to stay in the Shadows, and just proved it:

After a draft executive order requiring all groups seeking contracts from the government to disclose all of their political contributions, even to trade groups and certain non-profits, leaked out of the White House congressional Republicans passed numerous riders banning the administration from spending money to implement such an order.

[nothingchanges]

06:13 PM on 12/16/2011

"Omnibus May Open Door To Disclosure"

IMPO........Corporate money will close it so fast, no one will even notice it had ever been opened

Big Business OWNS this country.

They bought it................ and it's politicians.

They are extremely unlikely to "give" it back. Not without a refund, which no one in Congress is likely to do.

[Dosadi]

07:34 PM on 12/16/2011

The corporations will not stop the door from being opened, they will simply build walls on both sides of it. No one will be able to even tell a door is there.

[mcartri]

01:15 AM on 12/17/2011

"Money ruined democracy."-Bill Moyers.

[debinphoenix]

07:22 AM on 12/17/2011

Lazy and complacent voters ruined democracy. "Me"